17 trendy styles for hardwood floors – The definitive guide to most popular 2022 wood flooring trends
Hardwood flooring continues to grow in popularity, and it is by far the preferred flooring type for homes. Ironically, this is followed by all sorts of products trying to mimic the look of hardwood flooring, regardless of whether it’s porcelain tile that looks like wood, engineered vinyl planks, or a whole slew of other knock-offs.
But still, most people want the real thing…REAL HARDWOOD. It’s stylish, comfortable, warm, timeless, natural and lasts for over a century.
Hardwood makes a house a home, and you can refinish hardwood over the years to change the color and style as fashion trends and preferences change. For all of these reasons, most homeowners prefer the real deal…and love that it also improves the value of their home at the same time.
As I’ve mentioned in previous floor trend articles, different people have different tastes, and it’s more important to choose something you like rather than something on trend. (Of course doing both is ideal). There are different style homes and different decors, so choose what you love and what works with your home.
Floors are the foundation of your home and set the tone for your color palette and decorating style. You want to get this right as good floors will last a lifetime…and then some. Paint colors and accent colors, as well as styles, may come and go, but good hardwood floors will be there for over a century.
You will also see that some of of these trends are a bit contradictory (e.g. both very dark and very light stain colors are most stylish). Again, this goes back to different types of homes and different strokes for different folks.
Not all colors work in all homes, and you also need to consider your overall decor theme (including paint color for walls and furniture), so choose something that you love…and anticipate you will love for a long time.
So I wanted to share the latest trends in hardwood flooring for 2021. This 2022 wood flooring trend post is organized as follows:
- Hardwood flooring stain and color trends
- Hardwood floor sheens/finishes and textures
- Hardwood floor materials and style trends
Video: Hardwood floor trends for 2020-2021
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
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2022 Hardwood Floor Stain and Color Trends
Overall, there’s a shift towards darks and lights (yes, the two extremes), as well as cooler and browner tones. Redder and warmer tones are less popular and more polarizing.
1. Dark and cool toned hardwoods
Yes, the trend towards darker colors keeps growing and growing. It’s been on the rise for the last decade or so. We seem to find two types of customers:
1) Ones that prioritize style over maintenance and they tend to go darker and darker (these customers tend to be households without kids (either “pre-kids” or kids that have gone to college) or wealthier households that have extra help to keep the floors extra clean).
2) Those that absolutely love dark floors, but want to go a bit lighter so that the floors are easier to maintain.
Either way, one thing is consistent: Cool tones are strongly preferred. There is a strong move away from warmer tones (e.g. reds, red/brown blends or yellow undertones) and a preference towards browns that are more pure and cooler (i.e no red undertones).
Cool tones are preferred both the walls (especially grays) and floors, and these work hand in hand together. I even see some customers blending in a touch of gray to the dark browns (both to lighten it a bit and to add coolness and depth to the color.
For those looking to go darker and darker, they are generally blending ebony/dark walnut (i.e. a 50/50 blend), ebony/jacobean or trying out the new true black. True Black is the newest stain from Duraseal, and as the name implies, it’s truly the blackest stain you can use – it’s more opaque for a darker look and more modern feel as it hides most of the graining you find in oak.
The picture above is True Black. It’s often a good solution if you find that you have a mixture of wood species in your home as it camouflages the differences more. But, true black floors do show every bit of dust, so be aware of this.
Darker floors are a bit more challenging to clean and maintain. You may find this article I just wrote helpful: 10 tips to clean and maintain dark hardwood floors. For those looking to go dark, but a bit lighter (either due to preference or for easier maintenance), try dark walnut, antique brown, coffee brown or special walnut (or a blend of these).
Related articles:
- Duraseal vs Minwax stains – which is better and which do the pros use?
- How to prevent scratches in hardwood floors?
- Most popular stain colors
- Most popular shades of gray paint for the walls
Want to see the floor cleaning products I recommend? This is my first choice vacuum for hardwood floors, the best steam mop for tile floors and best hardwood floor cleaner. You can see all my recos on my Amazon Influencer page.
2. Gray and gray blends (including charcoals, greiges and brown/grays)
Yes, gray, gray and more gray. Gray flooring has been on the rise, and you can see it everywhere you go – in wood, tile that looks like wood, and gray vinyl planks that look like wood. I think I started to notice the trend and demand for gray hardwood flooring around 2010 or 2011. First, I really only saw this in pre-finished (or factory made wood), and it wasn’t until 2012 or so when I started to get lots of local customers ask us to refinish their existing floors and turn them gray.
I finally blogged about how to refinish gray hardwood flooring (the right way) in 2013. Of course, refinishing your hardwood floors gray isn’t a simplest task, and you really need to have an expert who has refinished many floors gray (and yes, over the years I’ve gotten tons of calls from homeowners who hired a contractor who can’t do this…and they find out in the middle of the job).
Check out below article to find out the best way to do it. (Hint: it is NOT by using the gray stains from Minwax or Duraseal). Oh, and you also need to use Bona Traffic HD for the polyurethane.
Related article: How to sand and refinish your hardwood to make it gray
Over the last 2 to 3 years, we’ve been seeing more variations on the grays where people will blend in some browns for a gray/beige (or greige) look. We are also also seeing a lot of variations where grays are subtly integrated with dark browns and even blacks/ebonies.
To address this need, Duraseal just introduced 6 new gray variations to their Inspired line. These are really cool. You have to see them in person because some of them look different in different lights for a really modern and subtle gray sheen.
With these stains, you will want to use Bona Traffic HD water-borne poly to maintain the gray color and avoid the yellowing that you would see with an oil based poly.
This Painting and Flooring Planner will organize your paint shades, finishes and flooring choices by room.
3. Light, natural and muted
Yes, on the opposite extreme to dark, the 2nd most popular floor choice is light – i.e. going natural. But the theme is a consistent one. There’s a preference to drown out the yellows and go for cooler tones. Hence those that are more up on the trends are going for the high grade and more environmentally friendly water borne polyurethane, especially Bona Traffic HD.
Bona Traffic HD is an amazing product. First, it just gives a more natural, lighter and more contemporary look. The wood looks more natural and it doesn’t have that yellowish tint (oil borne polyurethanes give a more amber color, and they amberizes more over time).
And, Bona Traffic is better for the environment (lower VOCs) and it smells less. And, it dries and cures faster. It is more expensive, but it’s worth it if you are going for a light and natural look.
You can read more about Bona Traffic HD Polyurethane in these 3 articles:
- What are the best brands of polyurethane?
- Bona Traffic vs Bona Mega – which is better
- Bona Traffic vs Bona Traffic HD – what’s the difference and is it worth the extra money?
WAIT! Are you about to sand your floors? Not sure how long to wait before using them? Avoid these common pitfalls that can impact your floor’s durability! DOWNLOAD YOUR FLOOR TIMELINE HERE!
4. Whitewashed and lightly whitewashed floors
Whitewashes are back, and they’ve rapidly grown in popularity. For those of you who remember whitewashes from the 80’s, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve been reinvented and modernized.
The whitewashes of today are more matte and many are more subtle in character. They work best on white oak for a modern look. The mineral streaks give the wood a more linear look for a contemporary style vs the heavy graining on red oak which has a more traditional look (and pinkish undertones).
The latest style has been to do a more subtle white wash so that the floors look more natural…but a tad lighter and a tad whiter than natural floors. One of my favorite new products on the market place is Bona NordicSeal.
This is a sealer (used as the first layer) is lightly tinted (a white tint). So, you can now get a subtle white tint…without the need for a stain. And, you have the option of adding multiple layers to get a whiter look until you get your desired hue.
The above picture is by Sye from Gands Hardwood Floors (in Massachusetts). The floors are white oak (rift and quarter-sawn) with
Check out this video to see how it’s done.
Video: applying Nordic Seal to your hardwood flooring
Also, today’s whitewashed (or lightly whitewashed floors) use of higher grade water borne polyurethanes such as Bona Traffic HD, give a more premium appearance and much stronger durability vs the whitewash from your parent’s (or grandparent’s) generation.
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2022 Hardwood Floor Finishes, Sheens and Textures
5. Natural looking finishes (Satin, Matte and flatter sheens)
Matte and satin finishes are the most popular sheens. It’s all about low luster. Semi gloss and glossy finishes are very dated, and very difficult to maintain, as they show every speck of dust, scratch and dent. Over the last few years, flatter finishes have become even more popular as more and more people are going for water borne poly, especially the higher grade Bona Traffic. For walls, flat paint finishes are also more popular and stylish.
The great news for matte and satin finishes is that they are both popular and practical. They are easier to clean and look better longer.
These sheen preferences are complemented in other surfaces such counter tops (think soap stone, poured concrete and honed surfaces) as well brushed nickel hardware.
6. Higher grade and more environmentally friendly polyurethane/oil finishes
The preference, when possible, is to use high grade polyurethanes that are both durable and environmentally friendly. Personally, I think the best option for this is use a high grade waterborne polyurethane such as Bona Traffic HD. You can read more about this in Trend 3. This does cost more, but the finish is very hard and durable. It looks great, smells less and dries faster.
Alternatively, there is another solution that has also been growing, and that is oiled floors. (Note this is DIFFERENT floors refinished than oil based polyurethane).
Oiled floors have zero VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and do not have polyurethane. Instead these oils penetrates into the wood. This gives a rich and more natural patina. They have a duller finish.
Most oiled floors use tung or linseed oil, or a combo. Some use safflower, soy, sunflower or hemp. Some formulas use resin waxes, such as bees wax or carnuba for higher durability. The oils penetrate the wood and attach at a molecular level making the wood stronger while leaving the texture and color unobstructed. Over time, the oil ages with the wood and the patina grows stronger.
Oiled floors allow the homeowner to easily fix scratches themselves by applying additional oil. The oil is easy to use and enhance the natural appearance of the wood.
However, these oiled floors have some real downsides (aside from the much higher cost for the oil and the application process…and yes, they are even more expensive than Bona Traffic HD).
The disadvantages of oiled floors is that they can often be more difficult to maintain (you need to periodically treat the floors with more oil) and the floors do not have a protective finish, so they absorb water (as well as pet urine). Polyurethane provides a protective layer that rests on the wood and prevents water from penetrating. Oiled floors don’t protect the floors in the same way. They require a lot more regular maintenance.
Another related down side to oiled floors is that you tend to see premature color discoloration in high traffic areas. This is often because most people don’t keep up with the maintenance, and these areas wear down faster.
Importantly, with oiled floors, you would not use a regular hardwood cleaner. Instead, you would use Woca natural soap and the Woca Wood Refresher. You can easily buy them on amazon by following the links in this paragraph. These items cost more than the typical hardwood cleaners, but at least you can make repairs as scratches occur.
If had to choose between these two options, I would usually recommend Bona Traffic HD over oiled floors as it provides more protection for your floors, lower maintenance and of it costs less than an oiled floor.
7. On-site refinishing (vs. pre-finished wood)
There has been a rising preference for site finished hardwood over pre-finished wood (i.e wood manufactured and finished in a factory). Site finished wood looks better – it’s more contemporary and has cleaner lines.
Pre-finished wood often has stripes on the edges where you can see the underlying color of the wood underneath, especially if you are using a wood with a stain. This is not always obvious when you are looking samples, but it’s very apparent once you see the wood installed across an entire floor.
Site finished wood looks more professional and has a more consistent color and finish across the floor. It’s smoother on your feet and much easier to clean. (Pre-finished wood has micro-beveled edges where dust gets caught. It’s also a much better option if you using hardwood in your kitchen.
And, importantly site finished wood is customizable. You have the ability to test and mix stains on you wood and look at them in your own home and lighting. You can also choose your desired finish (e.g. matte or satin).
While solid hardwood flooring is by far the most popular and cost efficient option for refinishing floors, we are starting to see a rapid rise in high grade unfinished engineered hardwood. This is because solid hardwood doesn’t work in all environments.
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Solid hardwood is a great option for cooler climates. But for warmer climates that are build on a concrete slab, solid hardwood often isn’t practical (as you can’t nail it into concrete…and it costs more and adds additional height if you need to add plywood). If you live in an apartment that has a concrete, you have the same challenge.
So, I’ve been seeing a stronger demand for high grade unfinished engineered woods with a thick top wear layer that can be refinished multiple times. (The wear layer is typically 4 to 6 mm and the wood is 3/4″ thick). This allows customers to get higher grades/cuts of wood as well as wider planks. Check out this video from Ken Fisher (Uptown Floors) and you’ll see what I mean.
8. Wire brushed and textured floors
Wire brushed floors are etched with a subtle texture to enhance the graining of the wood. They are a more modern version of distressed wood. They have a real vintage look as the wire brushing enhances (rather than conceals) the graining of the wood.
Wire brushing pulls the soft grain from the growth ring leaving the heart wood exposed to the surface. It’s stylish and helps mask everyday wear and tear (and dirt).
Wire brushed wood has a bit of texture, but it’s not rough or wavy like distressed or hand-scraped wood. Some wire brushed wood is monotone, but most are 2 toned, done with 2 passes of stain (generally a darker coat as the main color and then a partial glaze with a lighter color.
You typically would find wire brushed hardwood in a pre-finished form as the wire brushing is very labor intensive (it has to be done by hand) and very few installers know how to do this technique. The pictures in this section are actually site finished locally. These are blends of gray + white and golden oak/white + white and use Bona Traffic HD for the polyurethane.
2022 Hardwood Flooring Material and Style preferences
9. Solid hardwood floors that last a lifetime (rather than engineered wood or bamboo)
Given the preference, most people are selecting solid hardwood over cheaper and shorter term alternatives such as engineered wood or bamboo. Solid hardwood will generally last 100+ years. (We have in fact refinished many floors from the 1800s and 1700s). For those looking for a long-term floor and one that improves the value of their home, this is usually the best solution.
Solid hardwood also allows homeowners to sand and refinish and change the colors as styles and preferences change, as well as allowing new home buyers to choose their preferred colors.
Homeowners are realizing short falls for engineered hardwood flooring (i.e. they usually can’t be sanded and refinished, so if you get scratches, or water damage or pet accidents, you may need to fully replace them.
However, in some areas instances, engineered hardwood may be a better and more economical solution and practical solution, (e.g. warmer climates where homes are built on slabs (e.g. in warmer climates) or concrete sub-floors in apartments or basements), they remain popular.
But, in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, most of East Coast, Mid West and other places built with plywood, solid hardwood is the preferred form.
Also, many more customers are becoming aware of pitfalls and misleading marketing on bamboo flooring. Bamboo is actually a grass and it does not hold up well to foot traffic or pets. It scratches very easily (and shows scratches more than oak does), and it does not hold up well to water (e.g. water by entry areas, minor spills, accidents from pets).
In addition, Bamboo is NOT a green product due to long shipping distances from China, huge amounts of adhesive and of course some from the bigger box stores may be laced with formaldehyde.
Never have I seen a “wood” (and remember it’s not a wood; it’s a grass) have so many customer and installer complaints. We stopped installing it years ago.
There is a reason bamboo costs less…it’s simply inferior and generally doesn’t even last for 10 years, despite the supposed 25 year “warranty claims” (if you can even call it a warranty), don’t hold up. And, removing it, along with the glue left behind on the sub-floor, cost more than than the original wood cost.
10. Farmhouse Style
Farmhouse style and rustic looks have been on the rise, in part accelerated by Joanna Gaines and her Fixer Upper TV show. Farmhouse decor and shiplap is everywhere on Pinterest. In fact, I finally wrote an article with 8 ways to decorate with Shiplap. In terms of flooring, there is a range of farmhouse styles pending on the style of home, walls and the homeowners taste.
Often you’ll find a preference for wider planks, more subtle, paler and cool tones (e.g. grays, gray mixes, white washed floors), floors with stronger graining and/or more knots. Occasionally, you’ll see multiple width planks, and often distressed and rustic floors as well as mid to darker browns.
Farmhouse decor is really a return to a more authentic, simple and natural look…a return to a simpler life.
Check out my article on 12 Fabulous farmhouse style hardwood floors.
11. Simpler layouts
Most customers are showing a strong preference for simpler layouts – more towards a single width plank in a straight lay, and a move away from multiple widths, herringbone, chevron, borders, diagonals, etc. Customers want a clean and simple look for the floor. Some of these other options distract your eye and look too busy.
Customers want a clean look with fewer distractions. You can even see this in kitchen cabinet trends where many are choosing a Shaker style. By creating balance, it reduces clutter. And, it enables homeowners to use more patterns with throw pillows and area rugs.
12. Wider planks
Yes, wider wood planks make your space look larger (and better). Interesting enough, they make modern homes took more contemporary and older homes look more rustic and authentic.
Wider planks have been growing in popularity over the last decade and are strongly preferred over the standard 2 1/4″ strips that were installed from the 30’s through the 90’s. Nowadays, it’s rare to install anything below 3 1/4″ for new installations (unless you are matching wood that’s in the rest of the house.
13. A shift towards white oak (rather than red oak)
Oak accounts for approximately 80% of hardwood flooring in the US.
We are also seeing more character grade white oak for a modern vintage or shabby chic style. And, this leads me to my next point.
We are also seeing rapid growth in French Oak (often called White French Oak). This species of of wood is often used in French wine making as it has higher levels of tannins.
During the aging process, the tannins react with the elements giving the hardwood a beautiful patina and time-worn look. This gives the wood even more character with interesting cracks and knots for a unique and natural style.
14. Broader options for hardwood cuts and grades
As customers are becoming more educated about hardwood, and as manufacturers are becoming more innovative and in touch with customer preferences, we are seeing a wider breath of wood cuts.
Years ago, if I had mentioned rifted or quarter-sawn wood, my customers would have no idea what I was talking about. Today, some customers proactively ask for rifted hardwood because they love the linear pattern. It’s more modern looking.
And, rifted hardwood expands and contracts less, you have a tighter fit/less gapping between the planks (and it works over radiant heat).
On the flip side, many are going to the opposite extreme and asking for more character grade wood (with wider planks). When these are used with more contemporary colors (especially white-washed and grey blends), and coupled with soft matte finishes, they bring an updated and natural look to a room.
15. A return to Authenticity
Over the weekend, I read an article about why hardwood flooring is so popular…besides the obvious. What I thought was so interesting is that one of the reasons deep down inside that we love hardwood flooring is this overriding cultural trend towards AUTHENTICITY.
With so much going on in our lives, and so much distrust out there (whether it’s government, corporations, banks, or whatever), we all crave people and things that are REAL and GENUINE. We take comfort in the people and things we can rely on. We love to look back to the past – the good old days, the simpler times…when life was easier and less complicated..
Hardwood flooring is a perfect example of a product that embodies that feeling. First, the wood has been around for a long time – often it’s taken over 100 years for those trees to grow. Second, that hardwood will be here for at least another century enduring through the generations. Third, because hardwood is a natural product, it has natural variation. Each piece is different – some pieces are darker, some lighter; the graining and knots are different on each piece. And, over time, it ages…and it gets more beautiful with age. It truly is a stunning product.
How is that manifested in today’s trends? I’m seeing a celebration of the wood’s character – the imperfections and mineral streaks, timeworn styles and colors, flatter finishes, longer boards (like in the old days), wire-brushed and hand-scraped textures and even reclaimed wood.
Reclaimed wood is when they reuse wood from old buildings, barns and decking materials and reuse them (a form of recycling). You get something original that is also environmentally friendly. It’s a win win. Of course it isn’t cheap either as these materials are in short supply.
16. American grown
The trend is clearly towards American grown woods, especially white oak, but all of them are seeing a resurgence – red oak, maple, hickory, old recycled pines.
This is driven by combo of factors including authenticity, a preference for reducing our carbon foot print, growth toward cool, dark and light colors (which can be achieved more easily with oaks rather than more exotic redder and yellower woods. It’s also a move away from Chinese made lower grade products.
Of course these woods tend to be less expensive too because they are locally grown. The preference is almost always American grown and American made.
17. Hardwood flooring in kitchens…and almost everywhere
Hardwood flooring for kitchens has been rapidly rising for the last 10 years. It’s more stylish, easier to keep clean, easier on your feet and makes your room look larger. Check out this article on the pros and cons of hardwood floors in kitchens.
Of course with the rise of open concept floor plans, hardwood flooring for kitchens is becoming a “must have.”
We are also seeing a strong preference for hardwood in the entryway, especially if this area abuts the living room and dining room which is already hardwood, as it creates a uniform look and color, makes the space look larger. And, often the hardwood will continue into the powder room (as it’s simpler and saves money if the area is all done at once.
Also, I find it entertaining, that some online magazines are trying to create sensational headlines by stating that hardwood is no longer #1. Clickbait for sure. They state that only 24% of homeowners chose hardwood and 26% chose tile, and then they go on to say that 17% chose engineered hardwood.
Well I have news for them. Engineered wood is hardwood and 24+17=41% which is significantly higher than 26% last time I checked. Not to mentioned that in cooler climates there are tons of homes where customers already have hardwood and simply choose to refinish it and change the color. Voila, whole new look.
What’s out of style for hardwood in 2022
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Red tones
Red stain colors, as well as stains with red undertones are polarizing. And, they are more challenging to decorate with, especially since cool tones are most popular (for both floors and walls).
The browner you go in with the stain, the more it drowns out the red (especially if you have red oak or pine).
Related article: How to get rid of the cherry tones in Brazilian Cherry hardwood.
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Yellow tones
Yellows have become so super dated these days. When you choose a light stain (or even no stain), and you use an oil based poly, you get yellow floors. And, over time, they amberize even more from UV rays, so they turn more yellow and sometimes even orange (pending on the wood and stain used). A simple way to avoid this is to go natural and use a high grade water borne polyurethane.
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Honey tones – on floors, walls and cabinets
I was kind of surprised when I read this on another trend post because it couldn’t be further from the truth. Honey is a slightly modified version of yellow or golden oak, and it is soooo dated. Not only is it detested on floors, but also cabinets and paneling.
It is usually the first thing to go when customers move into a new home. They can’t stand it. On the floors, they want to stain them either very dark or very light – but without any sign of yellow or honey – so either natural with a high grade water-borne poly (like Bona Traffic or Loba Supra) or whitewash (or gray wash).
The cabinets are often painted white or gray (or repleced). Wood base molding or trim is painted white and paneling is either removed or painting white.
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Exotic hardwoods
Most exotic hardwoods are red and/or have red/orange undertones (e.g. Brazilian cherry, Mahogany, Tigerwood). These woods are generally more expensive, but their main downfall is the color – reds and oranges are dated and limit the paint color choices for your room.
Over the last decade, there’s been more of a preference for home grown domestic woods. And, while many love the smoother graining of exotic woods, they more challenging to maintain as they show scratches more.
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Bamboo
A decade ago, bamboo was seen as an exotic and exciting wood that appeared to be environmentally friendly. Well it definitely has been disappointing as its only real benefit is that it’s cheap.
Bamboo does not hold up well to dents and scratches, nor does it hold up well to water (compared to other woods). And, of course the promise of a green product has also proven to fall short, and it’s just a marketing gimmick. They are also laced with a lot of adhesive, so not the best for indoor air quality
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Shiny and Semi gloss finishes.
These are very dated, and they aren’t very practical. Shinier floors are more challenging to maintain as they show dirt, dents and scratches more (due to higher light reflection).
As a result, you need to clean them more often and you need to refinish your floors sooner.
Satin and matte finishes are strongly preferred, as well a finishes that look more natural (such as oiled floors).. Now we even see versions of high grade water based poly that look more natural (e.g. Bona Naturale or Loba 2K Supra).
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High Color variations
Wood with high color variation have come and gone. Why? Because they take over the room. They over power it and make it look very busy.
These have actually been more popular among “fake”or “faux” woods (such as luxury vinyl plank or laminate as the high color variations make the fake stuff look a bit more real and they attract your eye in the store. They do work in some hip commercial restauants.
But, in real life, in a real home, they are not practical. They are way to busy, especially if you use them in more than one room (and most people prefer to have the same flooring in most areas of the home. They are also incredibly hard to decorate with.
People love natural variation in their wood, but not to an extreme. They’d prefer to see only moderate color variation and instead prefer graining variations and natural imperfection.
Avoid getting suckered in to this short-lived trend. And remember that wood is basically a permanent fixture of your home, and you don’t want to date it. You want a wood that is stylish and will stand the test of time. You want a wood where you can change the color over time… so you can change with the times.
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Parquet
Parquet just looks dated and cheap. They make your space look smaller and busier. Over time, they separate more, so they get out of alignment and collect more dirt.
These were often used in older apartment buildings as they could be glued on top of concrete sub-floors and they camouflaged imperfections. Nowadays, most manufacturers have discontinued them, and they are sometimes challenging to replace.
If you do have parquet floors and can’t afford to replace them, I’d suggest choosing a dark stain as this will camouflage the gaps (and stains) more. A dark stain will also make the floors look less busy.
Final thoughts on Hardwood Flooring Trends for 2022 and beyond
So those are my top 15 trends for hardwood flooring for 2022 and beyond. Most of these trends have been building for years, and I expect them to grow even more in popularity. You can see that many of these trends are synergistic and there’s a strong preference for cooler tones, lower luster and more subtle colors and textures. These trends are consistent with paint trends as the floors and walls need to work together in harmony.
Which is your favorite trend?
Related hardwood articles:
- How to keep dark hardwood floors clean
- How to refinish gray hardwood floors the right way
- What are the most popular shades of gray paint?
- How to prevent scratches in your hardwood floors?
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Complementary products that will prolong the life of your hardwood floors
We are currently working on new construction. My husband and I are split between dark and light floors. If we were to go with the water based stain on white oak I’m unsure about what do to for the stairs and balustrades.
Sue – stair treads, banisters and balustrades should match the floors; spindles should be white (in either case).
Thank you for all the information! I really enjoyed reading your outline of hardwood flooring options and it has helped me. Much appreciated! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear this, Joyce. Thank you.
Hello Flooring Girl, Thanks for your blog. Reposting this quetsion here as this post seems more recent.
We are doing a complete remodel and wanted a light-colored modern-looking wood floor. We ended up installing (unfinished) red oak floors by mistake blindly trusting an installer who promised us that it would look like the pre-finished samples we showed him after he colored / stained it (he was originally to install the pre-finished wood but that specific product turned out defective and the store did not have other similar alternatives). After putting in the floor, the installer started making samples with white stains that looked ugly because of the natural color of the red oak.
1. Realistically, what are our options now? We are aiming to get a modern looking finish – lighter, less red/pink than the natural color. We might be ok with a natural / clear finish if it looked less red. We are open to testing different alternatives, stains etc before deciding on one.
2. It seems that you do not recommend bleaching (which we thought might be the way forward). What should we be aware of with regards to this route.
Thanks in advance.
Moran – Yes, sorry to hear this. It’s a very unfortunate mistake. White Oak would have been easier and looked more modern. You can try bleachng, but perhaps a better alternative would be to use Bona Nordic Seal. That’s a sealer with a whitish tint. It won’t fully solve the problem due to the pink from Red Oak, but your can try 2 coats..or more likely 3. Then use Bona Traffic HD on top. Do not use an oil based poly nor oil/water modified nor a cheaper option (e.g. Bona Mega) as all of those will yellow.
This article will show you what it looks like and how to do it. https://theflooringgirl.com/hardwood-flooring/bona-nordicseal-whitewashed-hardwood-floors/
Thank you so much for your response. The post is very useful. We are also now feeling better about our red oak and also looking at the BONA Natural Seal as an option. Thank you again.
Our installer typically uses Duraseal products which seems to be the standard product around here. Does applying BONA products require some special expertise or procedure? What should we look out for if we want to continue using our installer?
Thanks for your detailed analysis. I am thinking of renovating the complete flooring in my house. Your post gave me a very clear idea of it.
Alex – Good for you. It makes a huge difference. So glad this trend article was helpful.
Wonderful article! I love the look of Hallmarks white oak flooring in The colour Malibu but I have Ash Hardwood. Could you recommend any stains to get a similar result? I’ve tried for what seems like a year to mix and blend stains and just haven’t come up with a good ratio! Any advice would be very very much appreciated. Thanks 😊
Hi Stacey. I’m not familiar w/ malibu. IN general, you just need to test & mix. With ash, though, you must use a conditioner first. IF yyou’re still having difficulty, I’d hire a professional.
I love a natural floor. I am doing white oak floors was going to do a water base finish to get a natural look. The contractor said oil base is more durable in the kitchen since we have a large family. Any suggestions on how to get a natural color with oil base with out a yellow orange look
Helen – I think that’s an excellent choice. And, I’m sorry to inform you that your contractor is wrong. If you use Bona Traffic HD, it is equally durable to oil based poly and will in fact cure faster so you’ll be able to use you kitchen again sooner and pets can walk on the floor sooner. And, if you contractor insists on using oil, you should know that you won’t be able to make it look more natural. It will look yellow unless you do a dark color. If your contractor is being difficult, I’d get a new one – a better one who understands the newer materials. I’d only use the highest grade of Bona Traffic or Loba. Anything else will in fact be inferior and yellow more.