Wood Flooring Design Trends for 2023

As the seasons change, our homes remain important havens.

We crave their shelter and warmth as the frosts and chilly rains arrive outside; they offer refuge from summer’s intense summer months and give our families beautiful places to gather for winter celebrations.

We want to make design choices that will grow and evolve over the changing seasons and years that follow, making wood flooring the perfect choice.

Now is the ideal time to look forward to the wood flooring design trends of 2023.

With a focus on sustainability, expert craftsmanship and long-lasting beauty, 2023 promises to be an exciting year.

Here are some emerging trends and those which we expect to see far more of as we head into 2023 and beyond.

1. Using bespoke patterns and colours

Gone are the days when flooring colour and pattern choices were limited to what was in stock.

By choosing an expert company to supply and install natural wood floors, bespoke designs can be created using intricate patterns, unique patinas and colours to match any request, creating a truly personalised and individual look for your space.

2. Creating cohesive spaces

Using a bespoke craftsperson for your project allows the same wood for flooring as for other accent pieces, complementing and drawing together the whole project.

With individually hand-crafted mouldings, stairs, kitchen countertops and doors, natural and long-lasting beauty can be brought to every aspect of your home.

3. Celebrating craftsmanship

2023 will see a reprisal of traditional, slow-production methods, which can be admired in every aspect of your flooring: from colour to finish to flow.

Choosing traditionally crafted floors, stairs and cabinetry for your space will sustain and celebrate the artisan producers and help your space stand out from those that use mass-produced, off-the-shelf fittings with a disposable feel.

Instead, carefully crafted, bespoke pieces will bring a depth of character and life into your home, which will last for generations.

4. Sustainability and Circular Economy

Using sustainable and up-cycled materials has never been more critical as we all try to preserve our Earth’s precious materials.

Reclaiming and expertly recrafting old and antique wood which would otherwise never be truly appreciated, is where we started, and it will always remain our passion.

Where new wood floor products are the best choice for a project, it will be increasingly important to choose companies with re-planting programmes.

5. Wellness and Biophilia

Wood is a living and breathing material.

Using wood throughout our homes can satisfy the innate biophilic tendency in humans to seek connections with nature.

In the same way that a walk in the woods is re-energising and grounding, wood flooring in our homes boosts our wellness and helps us to slow down, taking time to breathe more deeply.

6. Slow design

It takes an expert eye to see the treasure held within each piece of wood, and time is needed to reveal the magic within.

Each piece of wood being treated concerning uncovering the strength and beauty it holds is a slow process.

Since our inception, slow production and wellness have been our passions. In 2023, we expect more people to develop an understanding of and love for the benefits of wood flooring products which are designed and created slowly with love, care and attention to the minutest detail.

7. Specialist Installers

There is more awareness that choosing the right installer is as important as choosing the right flooring.

At The Reclaimed Flooring Company, many floors are finished once installed.

Now more than ever, there is increased demand for specialist installers who can work on your specific design brief.

We are proud to be one of only a tiny number of companies in the UK that offer this level of service.

Similarly, trending designs such as herringbone flooring, whether using new or old wood, need an expert eye in planning and an expert hand to lay to ensure the right aesthetic is achieved for your space.

8. Character Grading

Prime grading used to be the most popular. Still, more customers are now choosing character-graded planks, which will have more knots and traditional wooden characteristics like visual cracks, more texture, grain, and sapwood, offering a more “natural” face.

Combined with our bespoke colour services and expert installation, our wood’s deep patinas and glorious aesthetics will help create a feeling that your floor has always been part of your home.

9. Herringbone in Kitchens

As 2022 progresses, we are seeing increased demand for Herringbone floorings in Kitchens and Living Rooms and expect this trend to continue into 2023.

Our reclaimed, new and engineered herringbone blocks are hand-crafted in our Cheshire workshop by experts, always using slow design and slow production methods, which lead to the slow living we all crave in our homes.

10. Natural colours

It is no surprise that as we all embrace more sustainable ways of living, demand for natural colours with depth and varied patina is also increasing.

We want our spaces to feel as natural as possible, incorporating our natural biophilia into our homes.

Because of this, natural things aren’t just more aesthetically pleasing and better for us.

11. Proper maintenance

Nowadays, there is more awareness about after-care routines for wood floors, and we are delighted by this.

Proper aftercare adds more depth and colour variation to your floor and ensures its longevity.

The ageing of new wood floors can be helped with appropriate aftercare, including oils that enrich its patina and careful, expert sanding to ensure a smooth and hard-wearing surface.

A properly cared-for wood floor evolves with time, becoming a deeply ingrained part of what makes your home so unique.

13. Oak, oak and more oak

Unsurprisingly, oak remains the preferred species for wood flooring, and we believe it is simply the best option.

With its broad, long planks, rich, beautiful patina and the history that breaths out of each piece of expertly crafted wood, oak flooring is the natural choice for bringing warmth and luxury into your space.

As oak flooring is hard-wearing, it is perfect for high-traffic zones, and its colour can be adjusted for your space as it works excellently with hard wax oils.

14. Antique Wood Flooring

We are delighted that there is more awareness of Antique Wood and appreciation of the craft, age and provenance of antique and reclaimed wood flooring.

Although it is already an established trend, as we move into 2023, we expect this trend, which embraces all of the other anticipated design directions of the coming year, to gather more momentum.

Using this precious resource in your space encourages a sense of wellness and slow living while remaining a sound ecological and stunningly beautiful, highly versatile choice.