We see this trend continuing in the new year, as applying a coloured finish to a wooden floor instantly revives a tired looking room – and in these cash-strapped, austerity times, refurbishment has replaced new installations.
Coloured finishes provide the consumer with the chance to personalise their home, giving it a unique touch. In fact, if balanced correctly with neutral colours, these vibrant finishes can create a really positive change to the room by providing an instant refresh at a fraction of the cost of a complete overhaul.
We’ve taken colour to a new level with the introduction of gold and silver tones to the Polyx Oil range, and these ‘fashion’ tones have proved extremely popular. The metallic tones are achieved with a special level of pigmentation, and create a glitter finish, especially when the sun catches it.
Other popular tones this year for floor finishes are white, honey, amber, terra, graphite and black. Flooring is becoming more and more of a statement feature rather than just a floor, with creativity taking over.
And this treatment is no longer confined to the floor. We have seen a wide variety of applications for our finishes, which extend to joinery and wooden furniture.
Products such as Wood Wax Finish Creativ can allow homeowners to extend their creative touches to their wooden joinery, furniture and finishings. It can be used as either a transparent or opaque finish for interior application and with a choice of eight attractive colours that can be mixed together, an inspiring variation of shades and intensity can be created.
It gives users the freedom to create designs which are individual to them. Instead of having to spend on several different products for different uses, Osmo has designed the range for use on all interior wood, including walls, ceilings, doors, floors and mouldings – helping people on a tight budget to improve their homes.
Oak hardwood floors continue to be right on trend for 2013. Not only is it a hardwearing and beautiful material, it is easy to install and can be adapted to reflect the changing flooring trend. This means that however many years down the line, the flooring can be revamped to look as new as it was the day it was installed.
Another trend sees an increased interest in the renovation of existing wooden flooring. Restoring and renovating your floors is the ideal way to improve your eco-credentials.
Being an extremely hard-wearing material brings additional advantages. Whilst other flooring materials will need replacing over time, worn wood can be simply renovated to present a good-as-new appearance. Sanding and removing any surface finishes will present a fresh-new canvas for your flooring.
All this – and a natural product too. Consumers and contractors alike continue to demand high performance products, made from natural products, with low solvent content – minimal odour, easy to apply, hard-wearing and available in a range of colours and tones.
We confidently expect this trend to remain strong throughout the new year and beyond.
