Floors come in all colors, of course. According to trend experts, however, dark brown to black coverings in particular are on the rise

After a two-year break from the pandemic, the Domotex, the world's leading trade fair for carpets and floor coverings, is taking place again in Hanover - and with a clear trend change.

Hanover/Berlin (dpa/tmn). The pandemic and, as a result, being at home a lot has changed us. Where the dream home used to be an open, light-flooded area with as few walls as possible, there was suddenly a longing for places to retreat to.

For more comfort and hiding instead of a chic loft feeling. This change is now reflected more and more in the trends in the furnishing industry.

Even with the new floor coverings and carpets, which will be presented again for the first time after a two-year pandemic break at the Domotex trade fair in Hanover (January 12 to 15).

The many dark wooden or wood-look floor coverings are striking here, says Gabriela Kaiser. "The dark tones make a room cozier and cozier." The trend scout is giving a presentation at this year's Domotex and has been analyzing the innovations in the industry for many years.
 
Can the black floor prevail?

Not surprisingly, the wood look remains a long-running trend on the floor - whether with real wood or plastic coverings and tiles with a wood look. "The proportion of wood in homes has increased overall in recent years - both in the furniture and in the flooring," says Kaiser. "That's because people want to make themselves comfortable, comfortable, comfortable. With the material wood you immediately felt it was one or two degrees warmer at home.”

What is new, however, is a major change in the wood colors. "On the one hand there are very light floors and on the other extremely dark ones - dark brown to black," says trend analyst Kaiser. "The dark for the floor is so new that no one is really sure whether the trend will really prevail."

The longing for more darkness

The problem: A dark floor also makes the whole room darker. "But we've been seeing the trend towards very dark kitchens for a long time. And the combination of dark brown and black is obviously very popular with the other furniture as well.”

And that has something to do with the pandemic. "For a long time it was desired that the living space be open and as bright as possible, the walls were torn out or not planned at all," explains Gabriela Kaiser. "Corona has changed that. On the one hand, people are now looking for more security in their living areas.”

On the other hand, they also want more partitions again, for example for the home office and for withdrawing. Here, too, dark floors come in handy. Together with its bright counterpart, the house can be divided into more different-looking areas. This is even possible if there are no walls, thanks to optical separation.

"Before the pandemic, it was always a matter of at least pulling a floor across the entire floor. Now you're more likely to make a distinction again," says Kaiser. “The living room area should be cozier than the kitchen and dining room area, so it should be furnished in a darker way. It can also be darker in the bedroom, because that’s where I want to chill and relax.”

Playing with familiar elements

This game of breaks and togetherness can also be found in a furnishing trend that Holly Becker will focus on at the trade fair. The interior designer and blogger also analyzed trends for Domotex. One of them: modern craftsmanship that plays with elements of the past.

"In this furnishing style we find elements that remind us of our youth and evoke a feeling of nostalgia," says Holly Becker. "For example, we will notice shapes, lines or other elements of the past in sofas and chairs, but in a modern context." The back cover gives us a good feeling of home, of cosiness and warmth.

“People want to relate more to their living space and feel more comfortable there and even more at home. Especially now with Covid, we have understood how important an environment that offers us comfort is," says Holly Becker, explaining this trend. "That not only offers us beautiful things, but also things that feel comfortable enough to sit on, on which one can enjoy and relax." For modern floor coverings this means: They are made of wood, cork, stone. Carpets are handmade.

Supposed flaws are celebrated

Traditional laying patterns are also in trend, especially with parquet floors and other wood looks, which also play along with the contrast between old and new. "In addition to the classic country house floorboards, which are laid parallel to each other, the herringbone pattern, which can be laid straight or diagonally in the room, is currently very popular again," says Michael Schmid, Chairman of the Association of the German Parquet Industry.

At the same time, floorboards are also becoming ever wider, just as tiles have been taking on much larger formats some time ago, says Gabriela Kaiser. And very important: flaws are welcome.

Knotholes and cracks are brought into focus, not cut off. Color deviations are "properly celebrated", according to trend scout Kaiser. With carpets, lighter or darker woven elements create the impression that the new floor covering is already worn out. "We've had that for a long time, but this look is now becoming even more extreme," says Kaiser. This goes so far that floors can look through insoles as if they had been patched.

Source: abendblatt.de