Dear Debbie: We have decided to rip up our carpets and put down hardwood floors. It’s a big investment and we want them to last a long time. There are so many choices of colours and even the size of the planks. Have you any suggestions? Thanks
Dan and Allie
Dear Dan and Allie: Over the past 15 years, we have seen a big swing from wall-to-wall carpets to wood flooring. Engineered floors, floors that could be laid down without nails or glue, bamboo, cork and all the hard and soft woods, have become familiar and accessible and there are so many options it is difficult to settle on one.
Popular floor colours expanded as well, from basic wood tones to sun-bleached shades of white and grey. I suggest you look at photographs of different floor styles on the Internet, in magazines and books. When you have narrowed your choices down, most retailers are happy to allow you to bring home samples, and live with them for a few days. See if the change complements the furniture and decor you already have, or if you want to make a more radical switch in paint colours as well.
You may notice while you are doing your research that one of the most predominant colours showing up in interior products right now is grey. This shows up in soft furnishings, cabinetry, paint colours and fabrics.
Shaw Floor’s colour of the year for 2015 is “Lady in Grey.” This grey theme doesn’t just hold for their wood floors, but also their porcelain tiles, their luxury vinyl and, yes, carpets, too, (shawfloors.com).
I spoke with Emily Morrow, director of colour, style and design at Shaw Floors, to see if she thought the popularity of this neutral shade was going to last. Morrow notes that “grey is not a trendy colour, rather it has eased its way in beginning in 2007 with high-end fashion and design. Its popularity continued to explode, building every year.”
This colour has longevity and Morrow predicts that it will last for five more years. Why so popular? “It’s practical. Greys are forgiving. They don’t show every little footprint, [which is] perfect when you have kids and pets.”
One of the colour themes I chose for 2015 I call Industrial Neutrals. Grey plays a big role in this style as it complements utilitarian settings. Shaw’s grey is a warm tone that co-exists with cool shades of blue, such as teal and aqua, and also hot shades such as coral.
The tranquil bedroom shown here from Shaw Floors combines medium and pale greys with dreamy blues in a gentle blend of hues that are soothing yet fresh. From their Castlewood Collection, the 18-centimetre-wide planks of the White Oak veneer floor show lots of graining, with a low sheen finish that provides an attractive, distressed look.
When planning for your new wood floors, take into consideration what other materials they will butt up against. For the kitchen, grey porcelain floor tiles work well. They look good with the popular commercial appliances in stainless steel as well as the more traditional white. Then add colour and texture with the backsplash areas and the counters.
Wallpaper is back and provides more opportunity to boost your decorating with the grey giving you all the balance you need.
Is grey the new black? Grey tells a softer story, and we are all loving it today.
Debbie Travis’s House to Home column is produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Please email your questions to [email protected]. Follow Debbie on Twitter at twitter.com/debbie_travis, and visit Debbie’s website, debbietravis.com.
