Gloss is back for floors

People looking for properties for sale in Surrey may soon find their dream home, but even then they might look at the interior and decide to add some new elements.

Of course, that does not mean the house they purchase will be in a bad state - after all, a top-end property will by definition have had an owner with the means to keep it in good order - but everyone has their own likes and dislikes and for many, a new home offers an opportunity to redecorate according to the latest styles and trends in interior decor.

Harvey Booth, UK sales manager for wood flooring company Kahrs, said some common flooring styles - such as one-strip wooden boards - "continue to be very popular".

A major emerging trend is for "rustic, vintage looks" to become increasingly popular, with these "being used in both traditional and contemporary interiors, as are very dark or very pale boards, especially silver and lime-washed tones".

Mr Booth added that the high-gloss floors that used to be popular in the US are making a comeback but with an improvement - as the latest products do not hide the wood grain in the way their predecessors tended to.

"In contrast, the new finishes are translucent, so they provide a very contemporary feel, without compromising the natural look," he noted.

Another difference the expert noted is that the new glosses tend to make the floors tougher than before, being applied in several thin layers, whereas the previous generation of glosses went on in one thick layer.

Having a tough wooden floor is something that can offer many advantages, one of which is that they are "very practical" because they are simpler to clean, designer at NoChintz Katie Crolla recently stated.

She remarked that these areas can be "softened" for more comfort by laying a rug on them.