Article Number: 3644
Aesthetics, quality, responsible products take center stage
In hardwood flooring this fall, executives such as Roger Farabee, vice president of marketing, Columbia Flooring, believe consumers and retailers are demanding unique visuals in order to enhance the appearance of their homes. “Textured character woods with a variety of surface treatments, including hand-sculpted, recovered, weathered, distressed and time-worn aesthetics, are meeting that demand. In addition, a wide-plank is one of today’s hottest trends.
Columbia
“Business conditions have been challenging with the downturn in both the construction and remodeling segment,” he added. “But we are still optimistic about the growth opportunity for wood flooring.”
Columbia’s latest offering is its new Character Woods collection. “Character Woods make available the popular surface treatments such as distressed, weathered, recovered, timeworn and hand-sculpted design,” Farabee explained. “We’re now offering a full range of 98 character woods across multiple species and multiple colors, in both solid and engineered hardwood. No one else offers this. The new Character Woods collection are the first hardwood flooring products that offer such a myriad of surface treatments prefabricated from the factory. Previously, expensive on-site finishing was required to achieve these looks.”
Mirage
Luc Robitaille, vice president of marketing for Boa Franc/ Mirage, said, above all, people are still looking for quality, especially in this trying period. “That trend doesn’t seem to change as customers are comforted by well-known brands and quality in difficult times. In uncertain times you want something you can rely upon and those are well-recognized brands such as Mirage.
“We are also seeing a beginning of a trend toward cleaner and smoother products with less hand scraping and distressing,” he added. “The sleek look is slowly gaining some momentum to a comeback. Last but not least is the strong trend toward more socially responsible products, and this doesn’t just mean green; it also includes all three aspects of sustainable development (economic, environmental and social). More and more people are looking for products that meet these requirements. This trend will become even stronger as people become more familiar with the concept and understand the overall benefits for them and the future of our world.”
Shaw
From Shaw comes two new styles within its Epic Expressions Collection—Jubilee and Heartland. Jubilee features four hickory colors with a naturally random variation providing a distinct visual range—from planks with extreme character, graining and color variation to those with a clean, consistent look. Jubilee is available in 3/8-inch thickness and 31/4- and 5-inch widths. The product features micro-beveled edges and ends. The colors are named Honey Spice, Antique Gold, Burnt Amber and Barnwood. Mixing planks from different boxes and installing randomly provides a uniquely beautiful floor, according to the mill.
Heartland showcases four oak colors and is available with the same specifications as Jubilee. The colors are Rustic Natural, Caramel, Hazelnut and Coffee Bean. Because Epic is designed to be temperature and humidity tolerant, seasonal gapping is dramatically reduced. Epic can be installed above, on or below grade—even in basements. Zero acclimation is required when site conditions are climate controlled prior to and during installation.
According to Emily Morrow, Shaw’s director of color, style and design, the trend in hardwood flooring seen as most prevalent crossing all boundaries is the “embellished” or hand-crafted look. “In the fashion world, this includes the clothing and accessories that are crocheted or embroidered.
“Considering two of the biggest summer movies of 2008, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,’ Greece and the Greek islands serve as the backdrop for some of the most memorable scenes,” she explained. “The fashions worn by the characters in these films feature hand-crocheted or embroidered details. The look is handmade, peasant-like, and the attraction is to the beauty of the details, and the gorgeous color palettes inspired from the deep blue water surrounding the faded stone cliffs.
“Translate that same trend to the floor,” Morrrow added, “and you will find that chiseled and hand-scraped wood meet the same need for ‘authenticity.’ It is a given that for any trend there is also a counter-trend. The counter trend for the hand-crafted looks is the highly refined and polished floors found at the markets and shows in 2007/2008.”
Designers and consumers alike are demanding the “piano finish” for interiors where they feel the hand-scraped or reclaimed looks don’t quite seem as appropriate as the glossy finishes, she noted. “Much the same as why one would not wear loafers with an evening gown, the light-reflective polished floors are quite popular in stones as well as exotic woods. The glossy surfaces accentuate the beauty of the wood’s graining or the stone’s veining.”
Columbia
“Business conditions have been challenging with the downturn in both the construction and remodeling segment,” he added. “But we are still optimistic about the growth opportunity for wood flooring.”
Columbia’s latest offering is its new Character Woods collection. “Character Woods make available the popular surface treatments such as distressed, weathered, recovered, timeworn and hand-sculpted design,” Farabee explained. “We’re now offering a full range of 98 character woods across multiple species and multiple colors, in both solid and engineered hardwood. No one else offers this. The new Character Woods collection are the first hardwood flooring products that offer such a myriad of surface treatments prefabricated from the factory. Previously, expensive on-site finishing was required to achieve these looks.”
Mirage
Luc Robitaille, vice president of marketing for Boa Franc/ Mirage, said, above all, people are still looking for quality, especially in this trying period. “That trend doesn’t seem to change as customers are comforted by well-known brands and quality in difficult times. In uncertain times you want something you can rely upon and those are well-recognized brands such as Mirage.
“We are also seeing a beginning of a trend toward cleaner and smoother products with less hand scraping and distressing,” he added. “The sleek look is slowly gaining some momentum to a comeback. Last but not least is the strong trend toward more socially responsible products, and this doesn’t just mean green; it also includes all three aspects of sustainable development (economic, environmental and social). More and more people are looking for products that meet these requirements. This trend will become even stronger as people become more familiar with the concept and understand the overall benefits for them and the future of our world.”
Shaw
From Shaw comes two new styles within its Epic Expressions Collection—Jubilee and Heartland. Jubilee features four hickory colors with a naturally random variation providing a distinct visual range—from planks with extreme character, graining and color variation to those with a clean, consistent look. Jubilee is available in 3/8-inch thickness and 31/4- and 5-inch widths. The product features micro-beveled edges and ends. The colors are named Honey Spice, Antique Gold, Burnt Amber and Barnwood. Mixing planks from different boxes and installing randomly provides a uniquely beautiful floor, according to the mill.
Heartland showcases four oak colors and is available with the same specifications as Jubilee. The colors are Rustic Natural, Caramel, Hazelnut and Coffee Bean. Because Epic is designed to be temperature and humidity tolerant, seasonal gapping is dramatically reduced. Epic can be installed above, on or below grade—even in basements. Zero acclimation is required when site conditions are climate controlled prior to and during installation.
According to Emily Morrow, Shaw’s director of color, style and design, the trend in hardwood flooring seen as most prevalent crossing all boundaries is the “embellished” or hand-crafted look. “In the fashion world, this includes the clothing and accessories that are crocheted or embroidered.
“Considering two of the biggest summer movies of 2008, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,’ Greece and the Greek islands serve as the backdrop for some of the most memorable scenes,” she explained. “The fashions worn by the characters in these films feature hand-crocheted or embroidered details. The look is handmade, peasant-like, and the attraction is to the beauty of the details, and the gorgeous color palettes inspired from the deep blue water surrounding the faded stone cliffs.
“Translate that same trend to the floor,” Morrrow added, “and you will find that chiseled and hand-scraped wood meet the same need for ‘authenticity.’ It is a given that for any trend there is also a counter-trend. The counter trend for the hand-crafted looks is the highly refined and polished floors found at the markets and shows in 2007/2008.”
Designers and consumers alike are demanding the “piano finish” for interiors where they feel the hand-scraped or reclaimed looks don’t quite seem as appropriate as the glossy finishes, she noted. “Much the same as why one would not wear loafers with an evening gown, the light-reflective polished floors are quite popular in stones as well as exotic woods. The glossy surfaces accentuate the beauty of the wood’s graining or the stone’s veining.”
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