Key sectors within the UK timber flooring market have been very buoyant of late, recovering faster than elsewhere in Europe with, perhaps the exception of Scandinavia, which has also seen significant growth.

It’s a welcome return to form after a disappointing 2013, according to Junckers Ltd managing director Steve Maltby.

"As the last trade to go into any building it took a while before the recession really affected us, so 2013 was appalling," he said. "However, 2014 was good and the recovery has continued during 2015."

Growth has been seen on both residential and commercial fronts.

Within the latter, the education sector has "stabilised" and is providing good levels of business for solid wood specialist Junckers.

Meanwhile, timber flooring within the residential sector has tracked the geographical recovery of new house building, with many enquiries coming through for projects in London and the south-east of England.

Harvey Booth, country manager of Kährs UK and Ireland, which specialises in engineered timber flooring, also notes "a greater appreciation of quality over price" as the recovery has progressed. And this greater appreciation extends across all timber floor types – solid, engineered and laminate.

"There is still a reasonably high percentage of clients that have trialled hard flooring at entry level [laminate flooring] and decided to trade up," said Mr Booth.

"But the increase in designer laminate floors is creating a demand all of its own.

" Neil Smith, flooring director at Atkinson & Kirby, part of the Archwood Group, agrees.

"Laminate is still growing, driven by innovation such as surface textures and ease of installation," he said.

"And as the housing market picks up there will still be a number of people looking for quality products at achievable prices. That’s where laminate comes into its own."

Design innovation has also played a part in the increasing popularity of engineered flooring, he added.

"People are getting away from being swayed by the thickness of a product in favour of how it looks when it’s down."

It’s a similar story for Junckers where customers are said to be "making choices dependent on what [interior look] they’re trying to achieve". Although Mr Maltby added that misinformation sometimes sways buying decisions.

"There’s still an awful lot of misunderstanding among architects and specifiers who believe if you want to put wooden floors over underfloor heating, then solid wood is out, when it quite clearly isn’t. We put more solid wood flooring over underfloor heating than anything else these days – a couple of hundred projects per year – and we don’t have any issues," he continued.

Best selling products for Atkinson & Kirby, which supplies solid and engineered wood, laminate and vinyl flooring, include its contemporary engineered Diamond Plus range, its Kronoswiss laminate and its timber-effect Livloc vinyl. And oak, either real or representational, is at the top of the list.

Oak is also in high demand at Kährs, particularly, said Mr Booth, "oak floors with design-led finishes".

For Junckers, 90% of whose business is in the commercial sector, beech is one of its dominant species, being the preferred option for sports and leisure facilities and for the education sector. However, there is also "constant pressure" to source and supply oak flooring – and at shades at both ends of the colour chart.

"Light oak is definitely coming back in," said Mr Maltby. "For example our white-stained Nordic oak is very popular, as are the lighter, silvery grey colours in oak.

"We’ve introduced Driftwood grey and three Pearl products, which have a pearlescent finish, all based on silvery-grey colours.

"At the other end of the spectrum, however, black oaks are very much in demand, often as a replacement for black walnut which is hard to source in good quality."

After a period of "semi-shiny" finishes, surface treatments are now tending towards the matt look.

For Atkinson & Kirby, brushed and oiled UV finishes remain very popular as they "allow the client to see the true character within the wood".

Kährs also reports that white and grey-toned oil finishes continue to be very popular, as are brushed and aged treatments that result in a very tactile appearance.

"Some treatments, such as those in or Småland Collection, are very dramatic and create an undulating, multi-faceted surface that’s very sought after," said Mr Booth.

"In contrast, there’s also growing interest in less rustic, more even-grained floors featuring coloured oil treatments, like our Capital Collection."

It’s not all going oil’s way, however. "They need a little bit more maintenance and aren’t quite as hardwearing as lacquers, so manufacturers have developed very matt, natural-looks with just 5% gloss levels and these are proving really popular," said Mr Maltby.

To meet demand for a less finished look, Junckers also offers a brushed oak, where a a wire brush is run over the surface to raise the grain. The next stage is to put a band saw across the face resulting in a very raw, industrial-looking board.

In terms of board dimensions, Atkinson & Kirby reports that 120-150mm width boards for solid wood and 180mm "as a minimum" for engineered wood are in vogue, while Junckers says that 140mm and 150mm boards remain the bread and butter widths for its solid floors.

Kährs has identified two very different trends. "One-strip planks continue to be very popular and there’s great interest in large, statement oak boards," said Mr Booth.

"Our Real Collection includes floors in a mix of lengths measuring 2.4-3m in length and 250-300mm widths – very imposing formats that create a real impact."

Parquet flooring is also seeing a major comeback and manufacturers have added new block ranges to satisfy the increased demand.

One of Atkinson & Kirby’s recent customers is property developer and TV presenter Sarah Beeny, who bought bespoke parquet block flooring for her kitchen, hall and basement on the grounds that "it’s a fantastic all rounder, so hard wearing and lasts almost forever".

The contract consisted of 186m2 of unfinished 8x67x254mm tongue and groove square edge iroko solid overlay blocks, laid in a herringbone pattern.

"Traditional parquet flooring has become very desirable over the last couple of years," agreed Junckers’ Steve Maltby.

"We’ve introduced a wide, chunky block – most are about 60mm wide by about 300- 400mm long.

"We’ve also introduced ‘Whalebone’ staves which can be 140mm wide by 800mm long. They create a very distinctive appearance and are available in oak and black oak and also pre-finished, which is quite rare in block flooring as it usually has to be fitted, sanded and sealed on site."

Kährs is also finding that patterned designs are popular.

"Our new oak stave floors include natural and coloured options in various sizes," said Mr Booth.

"They can be used to create unlimited geometric designs – from traditional herringbone to modern brick.

It’s a style that’s popular in domestic and contract sectors."