Flooring Color Trends 2024 – What’s in and what’s out

Like all home decor elements, flooring color trends come and go. If you’re planning a remodel or building a home, that gives you a lot to consider. Should you pay attention to trends or go for something timeless? Is there a flooring color that’ll instantly make a house look dated? Any big trends now that will be out of style in a few years?

Knowing the answers to these questions can help you choose a floor stain color that you’ll love for a long time … not just the next few years.

Here, I’m breaking down the biggest flooring color trends for 2024, plus answering common questions about flooring trends and how to navigate them.

Flooring color trends 2024

There are a few different types of flooring, of course, and each one is going to come with its own trends. The three main categories of flooring are:

• Hardwood floors (and for this purpose, I’m going to include Luxury Vinyl Plank, or LVP, and laminate floors in this category)
• Tile
• Carpet

Here are the flooring color trends to expect for each type of floor.

Hardwood floor color trends

One of the best things about hardwood flooring is that it’s timeless. Most of the color options are a version of what you’d find in nature, which means even ‘dated’ hardwood floor colors like golden oaks or reddish-brown tints are nowhere near as offensive as a mint-green shag carpet or burgundy tile (both of which we had in our home when we first moved in!).

That said, some hardwood floor colors are more of the moment and in-style than others. This year’s big tones are:

1. Pale pine and bleached oak

This is the biggest hardwood floor color trend happening right now. Very pale, light-colored wood floors have been the big style for a couple of years now and they aren’t going anywhere. These lighter hues feel contemporary, and are inspired by Scandinavian design.

Pale wood floors are beautiful because they make a room feel more open and modern than deeper tones. They’re well-suited to organic modern decor, contemporary or minimalist homes, modern farmhouse spaces, and new construction homes where everything else feels ‘new.’

The good news about pale-toned floors is that, while they may be the it-flooring color this year, they won’t feel out of style in a few years. Pale wood flooring has been around for ages, and is considered a fairly standard choice. So, even if flooring color trends go a bit darker in a few years, you won’t have to worry about your entire home looking out-of-style. You’ll be able to live with light-colored wood floors for years.

If you love the look, try a stain like Bona’s Nordic Seal over a white oak flooring, which was recommended to me by a interior designer friend (who also happens to be Scandinavian).

2. Dark Brown floors

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll find rich brown floors. This flooring color trend isn’t quite as popular with the masses as pale tones, but it’s still a popular choice for those whose style leans more classic, as well as with interior designers.

If you tend to decorate with pale neutrals and want some contrast, or you love traditional interior design, or you live in a historic home, consider deep-espresso flooring. It’s rich and lends gravitas to a space. I personally love dark wood floors for older homes, since I think it just suits the style and character more than light wood tones.

Consider stain colors like Varathane’s Jacobean or Dark Walnut, or Bona Cocoa for a deep brown wood floor finish.

3. Mid-toned brown hardwood floors

As more and more people turn toward timeless, traditional design, classic, mid-toned brown floors are a big trend. Mid-tone browns are similar to the richer hues I mentioned above, just a little lighter. This more moderate look makes them less trendy, and more timeless.

This flooring color truly never goes out of style. It’s not going to be the trendiest color on the color wheel, but it’s enduring. You’ll find mid-toned brown floors installed in homes from the early 1900s, all the way through modern new builds.

When we renovated our home last year, I chose mid-toned brown wood stain for our hardwood floors, to complement the white paint color.

Stain colors like Varathane’s Special Walnut and Bona Antique Brown, Medium Brown or Spice Brown are good choices for mid-toned brown wood floors.

What hardwood flooring colors are not in style?

Generally, the only hardwood floor colors that aren’t really in style are the yellow or orange-toned oaks (Though pale amber colored floors are also classic), as well as gray hardwood floors.

Gray hardwood floors were a big trend a few years ago, but overall, gray is going out of style in favor of warmer tones. Avoid the look if you don’t want your home to feel dated in a couple of years.

The mixed-tone laminate floors that feel overly stylized, where each plank is a slightly different color, are also already looking dated, so it’s another look you’ll want to avoid.

Tile color trends

Tile color trends are similar to hardwood flooring in that there are a lot of enduring classics. Marble mosaics and porcelain penny, basketweave or hexagon tile is a true classic that always looks polished and in style.

But, there are a number of big trends that have come up in the last few years, the major ones being:

1. Checkerboard tile

2. Carpet color trends

Carpet trends are skewing in a similar direction as wall colors right now: instead of grays and cool-tones, warmer shades of pale beige are coming back in style. Pale beige carpet has almost always been the default color, since it’s such an easy neutral to work with. I think it’s pretty much the only color to choose if you’re going with carpet in a bedroom or upstairs space.

If you’re choosing carpet for a basement, office, or study, you can get a little more creative with colored carpets. If you choose a colored carpet, you should also consider going for a pattern, like a plaid or simple stripe, since the look is more elevated than a solid color. I love plaids, subtle stripes, and herringbones.

Should you consider trends when choosing flooring?

Flooring is a big purchase. It’s expensive and difficult to change. So, in my opinion, it’s best to go to timeless choices over trendy ones. That said, you also don’t want flooring that will instantly date your home either.

So how do you find a happy medium? Go for simplicity. Simple, almost boring choices, like classic brown hardwood floors that aren’t too dark or too light, marble mosaic floor tiles, and pale beige-toned carpets are most likely to stand the test of time. Home decor trends have a shorter cycle than ever, and many fads go out of style five or so years after they come in.

Picking something simple, that has stood the test of time, is the best way to avoid buyer’s remorse.

Are gray wood floors out of style?

Welp, to put it bluntly, yes.

If you’re considering gray hardwood floors, I’m not going to mince words here: don’t do it. Flooring is expensive, and it’s a royal pain to replace. Trust me, in a few years, you’ll wish you didn’t go with a look that was so transient.

If you love gray, use it on the walls. Painting is a lot easier than refinishing or replacing flooring.