With grey being one of the most popular colours today, it’s not surprising that there’s some news on the solid wood floor front involving the colour.

Hardwood flooring manufacturer Junckers described grey as the most sought-after shade for floors in the design industry and has plugged in to the trend by launching a new, subtly textured solid hardwood floor in grey – Vista Grey.

The company said the product combines pale grey with white tones to enhance and highlight the natural grain structure of the timber. The wide board floor (140mm or 185mm) is made in Junckers’ signature long-length planks.

Taylor Maxwell says it has noticed a certain maturing of the wooden floor market with the UK consumer spreading their search for “something different”. “The drive to use more diverse colours and finishes has created some stunning examples in both engineered and solid floors and has pushed manufacturers to higher levels of quality and innovation,” it said.

“Architects and interior designers are realising that the aesthetic of a great floor is now a vital part of a property’s appeal and is a must-have to maximize development value and satisfy client demand.”

Adding to the floor sector buzz in 2016, Taylor Maxwell adds, has been the move towards reclaimed, refurbished and regenerated wood for both floors and wall panelling. Fishing boats, railway sleepers and ex sea defence timbers have all been used to create something special, with the company’s Ubercraft products finding their way into the boutique hotel and café markets.

Meanwhile, Timbmet said customers were moving away from solid floors to engineered flooring, due to the latter product’s stability and its ability for longer lengths where customers want a “planked” look.

To follow this trend, Timbmet has added a new interlocking, engineered hardwood flooring range from manufacturer Kährs. Timbflor employs the Kährs Woodloc glue-free joint mechanical jointing system and is made from engineered oak with a locking joint and is available from stock in a choice of six lacquered finishes plus one brushed oil finish.

“Compared to a traditional solid wood floor the Timbflor range is 75% more stable,” said George Demetriou, Timbmet head of sales (East).

“It will resist buckling and cracking even as temperature and humidity change throughout the seasons and, as such, also works well with underfloor heating. “Engineered flooring ranges also give our discerning customers a greater colour selection. Our partnership with Kährs enables us to offer 160 colour variations.”

The products takes pride of place in Timbmet’s new Flooring Guide, which also has details on other engineered ranges – Silkflor Prem and Silkflor, as well as information on the Tavernflor solid oak hardwood flooring.

Timber Natural has noticed a shift away from traditional hardwax oil finishes on oak flooring and a move towards lighter, whiter, “barely there” finishes, showing off the natural grain of the wood.

“It’s a very elegant look, especially on wide board oak,” said director Matthew Roberts. Our most popular width is currently the 240mm wide board although we do go wider. With light colours, there’s also a growing preference amongst customers for “cleaner” boards with fewer knots.

Havwoods has noticed a popularity surge in the classic Versailles pattern, citing projects in a high-end Budapest restaurant, a London pub and a luxury spa in a Middle East style.

On the project side, Junckers has supplied over 6,500m2 of Junckers Oak Boulevard at the new €350m Aeroville shopping centre development near Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris.

With an expected footfall of up to 12 million people a year, a hard-wearing, floor was specified – Junckers’ Whalebone Staves, a solid hardwood floor with a stave width of 140mm laid in alternating patterns originally inspired by an African design, as an over-sized parquet floor.

Taylor Maxwell has supplied Projects including the RIBA award-winning Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford.