Modern flooring is quintessentially rooted in simplicity, functionality, flexibility, and the utilization of advanced materials and technologies. It’s certainly one grand move if you want your futuristic vision to reflect in your decor scheme.
With a constantly expanding horizon of modern floor design modules developed regularly, it’s quite probable that you’ve been experiencing some sort of indecisiveness as to which design pattern would best serve you given all your fundamental requirements. Well, look no further. A well-sorted compilation of the most distinguished and the best performing modern design patterns are here to ease your selection task.
This article is going to provide you with a premium list of the top picks from the vast, diverse, and ever-evolving world of modern floor designs, as well as, a prolific insight on when and how to choose them. So, without further ado, let’s start exploring.
12 Leading Modern Floor Design Modules That Will Surely Amaze You
Flooring in modern architecture is expressive of its core values – high performance, sophisticated yet undertone visual manifestations, and adaptability.
With revolutionary technological innovations, modern floor designs are now incredibly popular more than ever. In this age of utmost globalization, millions’ architectural preference is to go cosmopolitan. Here are such 12 modern floor designs of all time:
1. Solid Hardwood Floor:
As the name suggests, this style adopts 100% natural hardwood planks for flooring. Usually preferred in lighter color tones, solid hardwoods are classy even in darker shades. These planks obtain their color organically from the types of trees they come from, and the material is completely devoid of synthetic or engineered addition.
Versatility, authenticity, durability, and stability are the reasons behind its overwhelming popularity. Some of the most popular solid hardwood choices are – White Oak, Pine, Walnut, and Hickory.
2. Bamboo Flooring:
Being taxonomically classified as one kind of ‘grass’, bamboo plants grow widely and way faster as compared to wood-producing trees. Therefore, the availability of high-quality, matured bamboo stalks appropriate for flooring keeps the expenses quite low despite its great standard. Bamboo stalks are split and processed to make planks used in this flooring.
Bamboo floors are durable, resistant, entirely natural-looking, attractive, ingenious, eco-friendly, cost-effective, eligible to refinish, low maintenance and the praise can go on and on! So, feel free to rock your modern decor style with incredibly majestic bamboo flooring.
3. Concrete:
Slabs made of plain concrete have long been a popular choice for exterior floorings and pavements, and with an extensive modernization of architectural technologies, concrete has now been upgraded and incorporated into modern interior flooring schemes.
Nowadays, concrete flooring is overwhelmingly desirable due to its modernist attributes – viability, durability, elegance, versatility, and sleek appearance.
Concrete flooring slabs for indoor use are cement-based hard, solid blocks that are coated with different types of polymers such as acrylics, polyurea, epoxy, etc applied by hand through a process called ‘screed’. This flooring type is definitely worth all the attention it’s been getting for quite some time now.
4. Cork Flooring:
Cork flooring is a superb inclusion in modern architecture. The product used in this style is manufactured from the bark of Cork Oak trees; the perk lies in the fact that no tree is required to be cut down, only stripping off the bark is to be done.
This entirely natural flooring type is environmentally friendly, warm and cozy, cost-effective, water-resistant, easy to install and maintain. Cork is a soft flooring choice, therefore, can’t be applicable for rough and heavily used surface areas. Nevertheless, it works best in areas that have moderate and normal functions i.e – children’s room or nursery, study, living room, etc.
5. Vinyl Flooring:
Vinyl is an entirely synthetic flooring option that has seen monumental success in the realm of modern architecture. The constituents of vinyl flooring material typically include – fiberglass, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, plasticizer, and color pigments.
Vinyl is a multi-layer flooring material manufactured using advanced technology and scientifically upgraded components, which is why it’s pretty thick-cored and padded. Vinyl flooring generally requires a specific protective coating to be applied which in return makes the flooring very durable, resistant to moisture and scratches, and comfortable to walk on.
Based on shape and form, there are 2 types of vinyl flooring available :
- Vinyl Tiles And Planks:
These have the geometric shape and appearance of any other regular tiles or planks. You can choose your preferred layouts and patterns from a lot of varieties such as wood-look vinyl planks, custom digitally printed vinyl tiles, ceramic art or stone-looking tiles, etc.
- Vinyl Roll / Sheet:
This type is a flexible sheet or folio made of vinyl which simply covers your floor surface in one large single piece. These rolls are generally either monochromatic, plain solid-color sheets, or have intricate graphic design patterns of vibrant colors and hues printed on them.
All these vinyl flooring products usually come in Standard and Luxury Vinyl. They are versatile, evolving, customized, and modern. So, feel free to choose the vinyl flooring type that best suits your requirements.
6. Ceramic Tiles:
Ceramic is one of the most widely used modern flooring options, thanks to its inclusive affordability. This product generally comprises refined silica sands, clay, pottery stone, talc, and feldspar. The manufacturing process involves firing the tiles in a kiln oven at a low but steady temperature, depending on the desired finish type.
These tiles are essentially more preferred in warm climate zones because they add their natural coolness to your ambiance and make summer more comfortable for you.
Ceramics are easy to clean and install, versatile, economical, and scratch-resistant. However, this is a soft flooring material exclusively for indoor uses and is not recommended for exterior flooring.
Popular ceramic tile categories include – White Vena, Napa Gray, Talavera, Vienna Classic, Light Bianco, etc. While ceramic tile with an unglazed surface finish can give you a rustic and subdued natural look, the glazed finish gives out a polished and sleek vibe.
7. Porcelain Tiles:
Let’s just say, porcelain is a specialized form of ceramic that is manufactured through a bit different process than ceramic.
Porcelain tiles are kiln-fired at a higher temperature, and its raw materials include a very specific type of white clay, more refined and exquisitely ground sand, and feldspar – these intricate and substantial changes add up to a final product very different from typical ceramic tiles.
Porcelain is hard, dense, very durable, extremely resistant to heat, water, stain, etc factors that enable this tile for exterior uses beyond the interior as well.
Hence, it’s apparent as to why porcelain is such a popular modern flooring choice. High-ranked porcelain styles include – Arabascato, Adella Calcutta, Taupe Subway, Montello, etc. All these tiles have a variety of surface finishes such as glazed, unglazed, honed, gloss, lappato, etc.
8. Marble:
The naturally occurred metamorphic rock known as marble is one the most luxurious building materials of all time. This elegant stone is so unceasingly timeless that it has successfully maintained its dignified position in modern flooring schemes.
With advanced technologies available, the architectural functionality and flexibility of marble have risen to a new extent. This stone proudly boasts its natural colors of lighter shades such as white, gray, pink, yellow, etc, and sometimes darker ones like blue and black. Marble’s posh color palettes, strength, and authenticity led to its craze in terms of modern flooring.
Some most popular types of marble include – Blanco Carrara, Blanco Ibiza, Volakas, Bardigilo, Negro Calatorao, Crema Valencia, Verde Oasis, Amarillo Triana, Calcutta Borghini, and so on.
9. Laminate Flooring:
Laminate is made of a fiber-based wood composite called High-Density Fiberboard (more commonly known as pressed wood), and melamine resin.
This synthetic flooring is a multi-layer material, usually consisting of 4 layers, namely back, core, design, and wear layer. The layers go through an intense manufacturing process called Direct Pressure Laminate Construction, which typically uses a high heat of over 300 degrees Fahrenheit to fuse these layers.
Laminate flooring is a notably popular modern flooring option due to its amazing durability, flexibility, excellent scratch, stain and fade resistance, easy maintenance, and astoundingly artistic decor-layer printing feature. Laminate works best for flooring areas which experience low moisture and wet.
10. Engineered Hardwood:
As the name suggests, this wooden floor choice is an engineered or modified one, rather than the raw and unformulated use of solid wood. This flooring typically uses hardwood-based boards constructed in layers, instead of uniform timbers.
Engineered hardwood flooring is a revolutionary modern architectural component, and has been gaining immense popularity resulting from its distinctive personality, resistance to heat, flexibility to DIY fixing, stability, and cost-efficiency.
The most commonly used engineered hardwood choices are Oak, Cherry, Maple, Hickory, and Walnut.
Engineered hardwood flooring possesses a natural appearance and performs with great functionality and flexibility.
11. Carpet Flooring:
The primary component of Carpet flooring is woven fiber, and this flooring choice has plenty of styles, designs, patterns, and colors to choose from.
Carpet provides you with features such as – warmth, coziness, stain, soil, and static resistance, convenient installation, easy maintenance, and affordability. Its cushioned surface absorbs sound and makes your floor non-slippery. This choice is specifically excellent for your living room, study, hallways, bedroom, and stairs.
You can choose your desired carpet fiber from four different available fiber options such as Nylon, Wool, Olefin, and Polyester, depending on the nature of use, and amount of traffic your required flooring area is likely to have. Nylon is great for heavy traffic areas since it’s the most durable and resistant, whereas polyester is amazing for rooms that experience normal amounts of traffic.
There are lots of trendy carpet flooring designs and patterns such as Glam, Electric, Scandinavian, etc.
12. 3D Flooring:
Last but not the least, here comes 3D flooring! The most recent, ultra-modern, and overwhelmingly futuristic flooring choice in our list is a 3-dimensional virtual model perceived through a birds-eye view.
Truth be told, 3D technology is exponentially rising all over the global architectural industry due to its high performance and creativity.
The highly recommended base material for a 3D floor application includes high-grip synthetic rubber or polymers such as epoxy.
3D-printed images will engulf you into the ever-lucid realm of virtual reality, and bring your home to life. There are myriads of graphics, colors, patterns to choose from; just like your imagination.
3D flooring is incredibly creative, delightful, unique, trendy, and smart. Go for it.
Complete Comparison Among Different Types Of Modern Floors:
Below I make a complete comparison table among different types of modern floors:
Types Of Flooring | Durability | Maintenance | Cost (Material + Installation Per Sq. Ft.) | Water Resistance | Refinishing |
Solid Hardwood | From Medium To Low | Medium To High | $4 to $15 (Material)$4 to $10 (Installation) | Low | Yes |
Bamboo Flooring | Medium | Easy | $1.5-$5 (M)$2-$5 (Inst) | Medium | Yes |
Cork | Low | Easy to Medium | $3-$12 (M)$2-$4 (Inst) | High | Yes |
Engineered Hardwood | Low | Medium To High | $3-$15 (M)$3-$9 (Inst) | Medium | Yes |
Ceramic Tiles | Medium | Easy | $0.5-$10 (M)$4-$10 (Inst) | High To Medium | Yes |
Porcelain | High | Easy | $6-$15 (M)$5-$15 (Inst) | High | Yes |
Vinyl Flooring | From Medium To Low | Easy | $0.5-$5 (M)$3-$10 (Inst) | High | Yes |
Laminate | Low | Easy | $0.7-$4 (M)$2-$7 (Inst) | Medium | No |
Carpets &Rugs | Low | Medium To High | $1-$20 (M)$0.5-$1.5 (Installation) | High ToMedium | Yes |
Natural Stones | High | Easy To Medium | $5-$10 (M)$6-$15 (Inst) | High To Medium | Yes |
3D Flooring | From Medium To Low | Easy | $5-$10 (M)$1-$9 (Inst) | High | Yes |
Concrete | High | Easy | $2-$30 (Overall) | Medium | Yes |
Answering Some FAQs Regarding Modern Floor Designs:
What Color Floors Never Go Out Of Style?
Generally, the ultimate two colors, extreme beneath and extreme above the color wheel – Black, and White have historically been in style and never seemed to go out of fashion due to their utmost representation of nature.
White is perceived as the phenomenon of all the colored light particles combining together, whereas Black is known as a complete devoiding of color – representing day and night respectively.
Apart from these two absolute naturals, a few other shades of light neutrals are considered timeless, such as – beige, cream, light brown, etc.
What Is The Most Popular Flooring?
Ceramic Tiles, Porcelain, Hardwood, Laminate, Natural Stones, Carpets, etc are amongst the most popular flooring choices based on how well they serve their respective purposes.
The popularity of a particular flooring generally relies on some primary key factors such as strength, durability, viability, flexibility, price competitiveness, and artistic characteristics/appearances. The aforementioned types of flooring have been meeting these criteria efficiently enough to gain such immense popularity.
What Is The Longest Lasting Flooring?
The longevity of flooring depends largely on some important factors such as – the product material, environmental condition, climate zone (temperature, humidity, sunlight, rain, snow, moisture, etc) of a place, the type of use and amount of traffic a particular flooring area sees, etc.
Although subjective specifications are to be taken into consideration while deciding precisely what type of flooring would be best for your establishment, it’s still pretty safe to say that some generally endearing choices namely – concrete, natural stones like granite or marble, porcelain, hardwood, etc are universally distinguished as the longest-lasting flooring options.
What Flooring Is In Style For 2023?
Hardwood such as White Oak and Cherry of various styles – European, Scandinavian, West Coast, etc have been on yet another rise lately.
Hardwood flooring’s natural textures and light, neutral color palettes are creating some buzz in the wake of recent decor trends. On top of that, this flooring choice has successfully created a niche for itself when it comes to various functional attributes such as strength, flexibility, and ecosystemic adaptability.
Which Flooring Is Best For The Kitchen?
Low absorbent, resistant to water, moisture, scratch, molds, and bacteria, functional, and easy-to-clean flooring options are the best fit for kitchen application.
Since your kitchen floor goes through a lot more spills, wet, stains, and abrupt and frequent cleaning as opposed to other parts of your interior, making sure that your kitchen choices meet all the core prerequisites can enable you to use them to their best and fullest extent with subsequent ease.
The most popular and prolific flooring options for kitchen areas include porcelain tiles, natural granite, concrete, and engineered hardwood.
What Flooring Option Is Most Economical?
Generally, there is a wide range of inexpensive flooring options available in the market but you have to determine and combine a product’s quality and functionality with its affordability to get the best possible outcome.
Some extremely reliable economical flooring options are – Concrete, Laminate, Bamboo, Vinyl, Carpet, etc. Then again, all these products have their quality classifications or gradings within themselves which result in a variation in their pricing.
In addition to that, the cost of installment and maintenance can also vary from product to product, grading to grading – an amalgamation of all these precisely distinctive factors would ultimately determine how much you need to spend to get your desired flooring product.
Are Dark Wood Floors Still Popular?
Even though people are now opting for modern floor designs which essentially glorify the use of the light shades of color palette, a large number of users and experts still find dark wood floors immensely desirable and incorporate them in both traditional as well as contemporary architectural styles.
Attributed to the fact that natural hardwood is organic, dark woods lend an exorbitant authenticity to various styles as opposed to other materials of dark shades.
Another vital reason behind its sustainable popularity is that dark hardwood helps hide any kind of imperfection such as dust, stain, scratches, etc.
What Is The Newest Trend In Hardwood Floors?
Organic, neutral, and muted shades of natural hardwoods, the extensive range of designs and patterns of engineered hardwoods, etc are some of the newest trends which are getting exponential prominence these days due to some key factors.
Since neo-modern flooring style holds substantial value on making an interior look bigger in size, accommodating natural lighting, and creating an airy, open atmosphere therein, the aforementioned attributes of both solid and engineered hardwoods fit perfectly to the requirements.
Is Dark Or Light Flooring Better?
Both light and dark flooring options are extremely nice in different ways.
Modern styles have created a niche for making a room look open, airy, big, and bright, which is the reason behind establishing a lighter-toned design fundamental.
On the other hand, darker color schemes are more of a traditional approach that emphasizes hiding imperfections such as pollution, dirt, stains, etc, and on achieving a classic neat look.
How To Pick The Right Color Floor?
These 3 simple steps will help you to choose the right color for your modern floor:
Step 1- Decide Your Theme/Model:
This means to decide as to what model or theme of architecture your interior and exterior are going to follow, such as – traditional, contemporary, modern, or fusion.
Step 2- Pick Your Desired Flooring Choice In Accordance With Your Theme:
Once you’re done choosing your architectural theme, you need to look through the potential flooring materials to decide which product would perfectly fit into your theme. There are a plethora of flooring items such as natural stones, tiles, hardwood, laminate, etc, and you can choose from them accordingly.
Step 3- Research on colors suitable for both your theme and material:
The final step is to figure out the particular shades that would be appropriate for your theme and material.
For example, modern architecture predominantly uses the lighter shade and traditional themes use the darker ones. On top of that, some flooring materials are famous in lighter shades, some are popular in darker colors.
So, you need to sort out both the factors’ color orientations to get trendy and suitable colors by both your architectural schemes and the product material choice.
Bottom Line:
Style is all about functionality, high performance, comfortability, and confidence. Your floor design statement should reflect these core principles.
Modern design modules have expanded the horizon of the experiment, creativity, casual and comfortable essence, and foreseeability. It enables you to keep up with the trends and be futuristic as well as provides you with the philosophical notion of efficacy-based standards.
Now, gear up and be yourself in your decision regarding how you want to navigate this wonderland of modern floor designs.
I liked how you wrote that porcelain tiles can withstand any element. My friend is opting for lappato tiles for their flooring. I should advise him to look for a supplier that offers a wide selection of floor tiles.
https://www.gctm.com.au/floor-tiles