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The creative and innovative ideas of the last few years have also been transformed into creative and innovative results. Easy to lay, varied decors and surfaces, hard-wearing and durable: these factors are making laminate flooring ever more popular.
Trend scouts are out and about
EGGER Floor Products pays special attention to research into general design trends in international markets “Trend scouting” is becoming ever more important. It all starts with intensive discussions with customers, i.e. floor installers, interior designers and distributors, who pass on their experiences with consumers. Similarly suppliers, printing companies and veneer manufacturers are always a source of inspiration for the next raft of developments. Finally, the international trade fairs that cover lifestyles and interior fittings encourage creative initiatives and have considerable influence in the development of new trends. From this wealth of information, EGGER Floor Products develops its own, exclusive ideas that stand out against the collections of its competitors.
Today, the application areas for laminate flooring are as varied as ever. When creating new decors it is vital to consider the different application areas. It's clear that floor coverings for exhibition halls have to have a different look to those for domestic living rooms.
Collections combine naturalness and contrasts
The laminate flooring market offers an ever broader choice. The diverse EGGER Floor Products collections Floorline, emotion, Vivo nature and Feelwood offer a wide variety of flooring solutions, that combine naturalness with exciting contrasts. There's a choice between the natural decors of fruit woods, such as Wild Cherry and Swiss Pear tree, or conjure up paradise in your living room with exotic woods like Rio Palisander and Java Teak from the Vivo nature collection.
For those who prefer a modern designer feel, the Woodstock decor from the Floorline collection will fit the bill perfectly. A further highlight from the Floorline collection is the matt finish Catánia Oak decor. It's just the job for public areas such as exhibitions, shops and fairs.
In developing the Honey Acacia decor for the emotion collection, the EGGER Floor Products design team is in step with the ongoing fashion for darker woods. Acacia is characterised by its warm hue and floral elements, which lend a beautiful, natural character to a floor. The appearance of this decor is also reminiscent of a vigorously-growing oak. As well as the popularity of dark woods such as Wenge and walnut, EGGER Floor Products has also noted a particular leaning towards oak decors, which work well in many different colours. From naturally light and rustic right through to the dark Mocca colour tones, this wood offers a wide range of different design options. Likewise, slight distancing effects along the lines of grey colour shading continue to gain in popularity with end customers.
With the production of new limed decors such as Oak Orleans and Limed Oak, new signals are again being sent. By employing the latest production techniques, Egger Floor Products has successfully achieved a strong liming effect in these products. Another decor highlight from the emotion collection which finds itself very much in vogue is Sycamore. This American wood from the maple family features many natural elements that give a floor a slightly exotic impression. In its light version this decor makes a very lively impression due to its light-brown inclusions, while the dark cognac variant represents an extremely attractive alternative to the Cherry decors. In the meantime, tile decors have also established themselves in the laminate flooring sector. No wonder the market is looking for new ideas. EGGER Floor Products is responding to this demand with new types of tile decor which, with their marble or stone effects, produce a remarkably vivid and natural appearance. However, it's also important to note that customers tend to want very natural effects. The emphasis here is not on rustic effects, but a definite naturalness. Designs that are too elegant may appear too artificial for consumers. Therefore, the new decors often show knots and also deeply brushed effects. A play of colours may also produce a living effect – individual planks show greater differences in colour to again underline their naturalness.
The perfect overall picture is often rounded off by two or four-sided Woodvision edge bevels. These highlight the natural, striking appearance. The bevels are used mainly for more rustic decors, although they also come into their own with more elegant types of wood. Woodvision creates an overall impression, combining decor, surface and bevelling.
People continue to prefer the larger look when choosing the number of parquet strips, in particular the two-strip or country house floorboard versions, as these create an extremely luxurious impression.
Matt and textured surfaces
Not only appearance but also surface finish is becoming more and more important. A contemporary decor must also be characterised by a specific "touch and feel". This is the only way to create harmony between the look and the feel. With wood impressions, the look and feel is increasingly reverting back to the original. Natural pores, scrubbed surfaces, distinct grains: the EGGER Floor Products collections have them all. Matt surfaces are preferred for smoother, elegant woods, while natural designs focus on heavily textured surfaces. These are either brushed designs or the “handscraped” surface for more antique and rustic decors.
The demands of flooring customers have changed over the last few years. Today durability is no longer the single most important aspect; it's the look of the floor that really counts now also. Laminate flooring is being used more and more as a design feature, just like curtains or wallpaper. It's precisely for this reason that the character and shape of a floor needs to adapt constantly to the current zeitgeist. |
The exotic wood type Rio Palisander from the collection Vivo nature |
