
SummerHouse, the latest addition to Interface’s World Woven collection of commercial carpet tile, is among the flooring product introductions that wowed Floor Trends readers in 2017.
Innovative Flooring Products of 2017
From trendsetting surfaces to innovative installation tools and materials, we delighted in discovering the latest and greatest flooring product introductions this year. Here are some of the products that wowed and created buzz among Floor Trends readers in 2017 (as noted by the clicks and shares on our online platforms), leading the way in style, design and innovation.
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Designed with nostalgia in mind, Interface’s World Woven collection of commercial carpet tile is made up of a set of styles that reminds us of classic fashion and upholstery textiles from the past. Speaking to that style is SummerHouse, the latest addition to the collection. SummerHouse is a lighthearted pattern that recalls picnics on plaid blankets, cotton curtains in the kitchen window and the pure bliss of summer days. Complimenting World Woven’s strong foundation of neutrals and an expanding offering of color, pattern and texture, SummerHouse explores the light and dark values of this large-scale pattern in the same eight pure neutrals and Skinny Planks format of the World Woven collection.
J+J Flooring expanded its Form + Finish Collection with the addition of six new products that feature a plethora of texture, luster, pattern and dimension. Drawing inspiration from Detroit’s historic Pewabic pottery studio, J+J Flooring’s designers immersed themselves in the time-honored crafts of pottery and glazing, resulting in the collection’s latest designs. All six products feature bold organics, unique color combinations that effortlessly wash into each other and the graceful yet unexpected fluidity of patterning that result from the art of glazing.
In an eclectic combination of reclaimed wood visuals, Marazzi’s Urban District Mix collection provides additional variation on the popular reclaimed wood look. For this collection, Marazzi has taken its Italian heritage and mixed it with a modern-forward style. Mix offers modern color palettes–in high-contrast motifs for style preferences as diverse as shabby chic, coastal, farmhouse and urban. With a strong presence in the tradition of tile manufacturing for more than 30 years, Urban District Mix speaks to Marazzi’s leading edge design and exceptional quality.
Attendees at this year’s HD Expo held in Las Vegas got a first look at Karndean Designflooring’s new product ranges, including the custom Kaleidoscope collection. This collection features modular, compatible designs which utilize the most popular colors from the company’s glue down ranges. In hospitality settings, these components may be used to highlight featured areas or create pathways which facilitate guest flow and wayfinding. Notably, the award-winning collection is a recipient of the 2016 Good Design award, a 2017 finalist in the Hospitality Design Product Awards and an IIDA/HD Expo Product Design Competition nominee.
Engineered Floors added the revolutionary Advanced Polyester Extrusion–Apex SDP to the commercial polyester fiber portfolio of its commercial brand, Pentz. From its beginning, Engineered Floors has developed and exclusively used solution-dyed fiber for all of its products. Blended with performance and value, the collection is designed for commercial applications. Included in the offering are two styles: Revival and Revolution. Shown here, Revolution is the new standard in style and design.
With fluid movements in its design, Daltile’s Cove Creek glazed porcelain features a distinctive stone look that creates an impact with elegance and style. Cove Creek impresses with a refined palette of natural colors shown in a light stone graphic with a soft, linear pattern. The collection’s three standard sizes, serene tones featuring three colors and corresponding trim will add character to any design.
Designed by Jason F. McLennan, the founder of the Living Product Challenge, and his team at McLennan Design, Mohawk Group introduced the Lichen Collection, the first floorcovering to achieve Living Product Challenge Petal Certification. Inspired by assemblages of multi-hued, multi-textured lichens and their regenerative role in our ecosystem, the Lichen Collection is on the path to give more resources back to the environment than it uses during its entire life cycle
Innovator in sustainable flooring and sports surface solutions, Tarkett, launched Transcend with SureSet Technology and Click with FreeSpan for commercial use under its Johnsonite brand. Both Transcend with SureSet and Click feature product design and installation breakthroughs that promise a true floating floor installation. Transcend with SureSet technology features a thin layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to the unique sculpted wave design backing system, which makes direct contact with the subfloor. As a result, the Transcend Collection delivers on the true promise of floating floors.
Shaw Floors’ new Floorté PRO collection of LVT is the industry’s first direct glue rigid core LVT product with attached acoustical pad for greater comfort and a healthy dose of noise reduction. Floorté PRO addresses the demand for a LVT crossover product suited for residential as well as multifamily and commercial applications. Designed to perform in multiple business segments where end users are concerned with heavy traffic or prolonged wear and tear and prefer an upgraded resilient product, Floorté PRO is the first commercial grade, direct glue RCB product with an attached pad to minimize sound issues and enhance comfort, providing greater warmth and cushion underfoot.
With 87% of pet owners considering their pets part of the family, Invista has expanded its collection of Stainmaster PetProtect products with PetProtect luxury vinyl flooring, designed to resist scratches and stains that result from both large and small pets. Easy to maintain and made to withstand the demands of busy households that share their homes with pets, Stainmaster PetProtect luxury vinyl flooring can be combined with the company’s PetProtect carpet to fully coordinate a pet-friendly home. The flooring is designed for durability and engineered to resist absorption of odor-causing pet accidents.
Harvest Grove, introduced by American Olean this spring, evokes the charm of rustic wood and brings an inviting linear design to floor and wall applications. Designed with Reveal Imaging, the collection is crafted from glazed porcelain and features a textured, grained visual, creating an inviting warmth and vibrancy. Available in four organically rich colors, Harvest Grove defines both residential and commercial settings with rustically chic appeal.
From the floor to the wall, Armstrong’s Alterna is adding style to spaces. Alterna engineered stone offers the timeless elegance and beauty of stone and tile and its engineered stone construction makes it tough enough to handle the hardest working rooms. Offered in a wide variety of styles, including marble, travertine, slate and urban-inspired designs featuring weathered metal, concrete and linen, Armstrong continues to expand the collection to provide endless design possibilities.
Aspecta by Metroflor has unveiled its second LVT flooring range. The Aspecta Ten collection combines advanced technologies in a floating floor system that matches the look of natural wood and stone finishes. With 24 planks and 10 tiles, in designs that span from dramatic dark wood tones, rich urban concrete, and unique time-enhanced leather, Aspecta Ten provides a wide range of design possibilities. Backed by ISOCORE Technology, which is made with an extruded, closed-cell vinyl construction, Aspecta Ten is highly durable and easy to install.
Shaw’s Tuftex premier brand has introduced the Stainmaster PetProtect Signature and Classics lines. These Stainmaster PetProtect products effortlessly resist soil accumulation and prevent the absorption of difficult pet stains. Tuftex’s Signature collection pulls from West Coast inspiration with a national influence to offer a wide range of styles, while Tuftex’s Classics line offers ‘tried and true’ products with universal appeal. These latest additions highlight the brand’s reputation of innovative color, design and quality.
Included in the latest collections displayed by MS International (MSI) at Coverings this year was Kenzzi Porcelain. With roughly 25,000 people in attendance, Covering’s provided an exciting place to showcase the collection’s timeless look of encaustic tiles in stylized flowers and mod geometrics in floor and wall tiles. Kenzzi speaks to the continued trend toward more geometric patterns, as MSI focuses on next-generation design trends that combine high-quality materials with innovative technology.
An authentic reproduction of 12-inch encaustic tiles used throughout Europe for centuries, Mannington’s Deco features a dramatic large format pattern based on the beautiful symmetry of intertwined florals. This product is available in both traditional resilient felt-back as well as fiberglass luxury vinyl sheet (LVS).
FloorFolio’s EnviroQuiet II LVT has all the same benefits of the original EnviroQuiet without the delays incurred to acclimate the product to ideal job site conditions. This glue-down product is composed of 3.2 mm thick rigid LVT adhered to 3mm thick acoustical backing, yielding an overall thickness of 6.2 mm.
Custom Building Products strengthened its line of award-winning Aqua Mix tile and stone care products with a focus on grout haze prevention and removal. Aqua Mix Cement Grout Haze Remover and Aqua Mix Non-Cement Grout Haze Remover helps installers avoid or address costly and time-consuming call backs associated with grout residue on tile and stone.
Schluter-Systems has developed three new thin-set mortars for ceramic and stone tile installation. SET unmodified thin-set mortar, ALL-SET modified thin-set mortar and FAST-SET rapid-setting modified thin-set mortar have been specifically formulated for Schluter membranes and boards, and allow installers to use a single source for their tile installation systems, with guaranteed product compatibility.
MAPEI introduced its Flexcolor 3D grout collection this year at Coverings. Designed to give designers the opportunity to add multi-faceted effects to their tile options for clients, Flexcolor 3D is a professional-grade, ready-to-use (RTU) translucent specialty grout with an “iridescent effect” finish. Its translucent characteristics not only reflect but also refract light. This allows the grout to transition in color to complement the tile color. Flexcolor 3D’s nearly translucent neutral base, Crystal Moon, takes on the color of whatever tiles surround the grout joint, and the other nine color effects in the collection possess an iridescent quality that shines through gold, silver and copper metallic hues.
Independent third-party testing has confirmed that Laticrete Supercap can help contractors and installers comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new workplace standards that reduces the allowable amount of exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust in construction projects. The self-leveling underlayments are pumped into a building using a mobile blending truck, eliminating any dry material from entering the interior of the jobsite and the need for workers to haul and manually open individual bags and pumping equipment.