Laminate flooring has come a long way from its tacky and low-quality photocopied look a few decades back in time. Thanks to modern technologies and the progress of the floor manufacturing industry, nowadays laminate flooring mimics the look of natural materials, mostly wood, to the tiniest detail and even comes with a texture embedded for a super authentic look. Laminate flooring nowadays is designed to look so authentic to the appearance and texture of natural materials such as wood or stone that is hard to tell the difference once the laminate floorboards are installed.
Among the main advantages of laminate flooring over other flooring options on the market is how affordable it is. For just a fraction of the price of a real wood floor, for example, you can enjoy the beauty and elegance of wood on a much more affordable price with laminate. In addition, laminate flooring can be installed anywhere and everywhere, without all the worries of moisture or humidity issues. Last, but not least, laminate flooring is available in a really impressive variety of styles, colours, and designs. Today we would like to discuss some of the most timeless laminate flooring designs, so stay tuned, if you are interested in investing in an everlasting piece of interior that won’t be affected by current trends and will always look classy and beautiful installed in your home or office.
Blonde Hardwood Look Laminate
Achieving that bright and more spacious-looking room is easy with the help of the blonde hardwood look of laminate flooring. For both real hardwood floors and laminate, the blonde look is definitely a timeless one and a safe choice for people, who don’t want to engage in more complex interior designs. The most classic blonde wood species are ash and birch and many people love them for their simple looks that are so easy to style and incorporate in the design of every room. Despite the common perception, blonde floors are not that challenging to maintain and keep clean. A simple and regular cleaning routine is just about enough to make sure the floor looks and feels clean all the time, just like with any other wood or wood-mimicking flooring material. Especially when it comes to laminate, this type of flooring is really easy to keep clean and maintain in good condition.
Gray Hardwood Look Laminate
When considering the grey look for both hardwood floors and respectively floors that mimic wood such as laminate, it is important to mention that the grey look is considered a very modern and contemporary choice. Still, grey floors remain a classic and timeless choice. Just like the blonde range of flooring colours, grey floors can make every room appear more spacious and brighter. Unlike blonde or brown floors, grey floors won’t add a twist of cosiness to the space. However, grey adds a lot of sophistication and a modern twist to every room. Grey laminate flooring is a great choice for contemporary interiors as well as the currently very trendy minimalistic, Scandinavian, and industrial interior designs. Opting for grey laminate provides you with a wide array of shades and undertones too, so you can practically find the exact grey look you are going for.
Med-Brown Hardwood Look Laminate
Of course, no guide to timeless flooring colours and designs can go without mentioning the epitome of the wood flooring look – the mid-brown range. We doubt there is a more classic and traditional colour palette for real wood and laminate floors than this one. Mid-brown laminate flooring is the safest choice if you don’t want to go with the trends and you prefer a timeless look instead. In addition, mid-brown floors are very easy to style and are suitable for all types of interiors, from the more traditional and cosy ones to cutting-edge modern ones. Mid-brown laminate flooring is a popular choice for kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms.
Prime Grade Look
Real wood flooring is divided into four categories of grades, starting with the prime grade which includes wooden floorboards with little to no natural patterns such as swirls, knots, etc., and ends with a rustic grade that includes floorboards with a very distinctive natural pattern and character. The same categories are applied for laminate flooring, after all, it is created to mimic real wood floors. When thinking of a classic flooring choice, many people envision the simple lines and look of the prime grade and this is why so many people opt for laminate planks with little to no design in this context.
Despite the charm and uniqueness of the rustic grade floorboards, there is no doubt that the clear and simple appearance of prime grade is easier to style and incorporate in many interior designs and styles. While maintaining prime-grade real wood floorboards is more challenging, because the flat colour is not good at camouflaging small imperfections such as scratches, marks, and stains, there is no such problem with laminate flooring. Generally, laminate is significantly more stress-resistant than real wood flooring and the laminate planks are not that easy to scratch, distress, or leave imperfections on their surface. Therefore, if you are a fan of the prime-grade appearance, make sure to choose laminate over real wood flooring to maintain the look in tip-top shape for longer.
Subtle Shine
As you already know, real wood floors are finished with different types of finishing products for adding protection of bare wood and also changing the look of the floor. Wood floor finishes are available in a wide spectrum of effects, starting from very high gloss right to absolutely matt. However, laminate flooring cannot be sanded and doesn’t have to be finished, because it is not made out of real wood. Despite this fact, laminate flooring can also be available with different levels of gloss or shine. If you want to go for a timeless look, no matter if it comes to laminate flooring or real wood, make sure to bet on the subtle shine that is often called sateen in the flooring industry.