Over the past five to 10 years, designers and homeowners have leaned heavily into luxury vinyl flooring as an affordable alternative to hardwood. While there’s no denying this is an affordable option, the following 2025 trends are showing us it’s no match for authentic hardwood flooring.
Why is hardwood back?
There are a few reasons why hardwood is making a big comeback. First, Muskoka homeowners are taking an eco-friendly stance on home design, favouring natural materials like wood, bamboo, and cork in flooring products.
Second, rising concerns regarding toxic and harmful chemicals such as fungicides, biocides, and the release of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in building materials have homeowners looking for less toxic options like hardwood in their homes.
We also can’t overlook the influence of things such as retro/vintage design trends and biophilic designs that both work best with authentic wood floors. As a result, we’ll see a growing demand for hardwood flooring installation in 2025.
Why choose hardwood flooring in Muskoka?
Hardwood flooring is making a return to its rightful place as the number one flooring choice for Muskoka homes. Some of these reasons include the following:
- Customization: Hardwood can be customized to suit any sense of aesthetic based on the installation technique, finish, stain, and wood grain. You just can’t achieve a customized look with other flooring materials. Hardwood is the only flooring material that can be finished and stained on-site to achieve the exact tone you desire, making it unbeatable for tailored designs.
- Aesthetic: Nothing matches the high-end look and authenticity of hardwood flooring, whether you want something rustic and comfortable, beachy and breezy, sophisticated and elegant, or classic and timeless.
- Home value: Hardwood flooring is the only flooring that maintains or increases its value, making it the smartest investment for homeowners.
- Affordability: Although there’s no denying hardwood floors tend to be on the higher end of flooring costs, you can find suitable choices to suit your budget. Other ways to reduce costs include choosing a standard installation pattern to reduce the costs of labour. As mentioned above, hardwood floors are also an investment that maintain their value for the best ROI, making them the smarter choice in the long term.
Hardwood Flooring Colour Trends
2025 will introduce emerging hardwood flooring colour trends for Muskoka homeowners, including the following:
- Natural wood: Clear coats on natural hardwood flooring installations are a big favourite for designers who want lighter, airier spaces that rely on the less-is-more approach.
- Earth tones: The humdrum gray tones of the past decade are making a quick exit to clear the way for earthier tones that make a space feel warm and relaxing.
- Whitewash: A whitewash finish allows the natural wood grain and tones to shine through. It also softly mutes wood grain to create a coastal or Scandinavian vibe. Think pale pine and bleached oak for this flooring trend.
- Medium browns: A return to medium browns is also trending, replacing overly deep stains like espresso, popular in the early 2000s. By taking the brown tones down a notch, you create a classic, timeless look that feels fresher for lasting appeal that won’t become dated.
- Reddish tones: That reddish hue of pecan shells and mahogany is a bit too obvious for today’s flooring designs. Instead, red is making a comeback with a more subtle tone, such as those seen on red oak hardwood floors.
Hardwood Flooring Finishes
Matte finishes tend to reign supreme in modern flooring options, offering a softer, less high-maintenance look. That’s a big attractor for today’s busy homeowners, who don’t want to contend with polishing their floors.
Matte finishes help reduce the appearance of scuff marks, scratches, and dents, which is a big factor driving this hardwood flooring installation trend. If you have kids, pets, high-traffic areas, etc., a matte finish is definitely the way to go. Also, it’s less likely to date your floors like a high-gloss finish because it’s very subtle.
Hardwood Flooring Styles
There are a few styles Muskoka homeowners should look for in 2025 hardwood floor installations, including the following:
Patterns
Hardwood flooring styles for 2025 will continue to look at more complex hardwood flooring installation patterns such as:
- Herringbone: This is an upscale look used in French chateaus, yet when installed in modern homes, it reflects an updated feel. Although it takes a lot more time for hardwood floor installers, it’s well worth the effort.
- Parquet: Another French-influenced option is the comeback kid: parquet. Parquet hardwood floors add instant texture and interest to a space. Popular in both small and large custom checkerboards, this is an excellent and exciting option with a distinct vintage feel.
Bonus Tip: When in doubt, go with random installations for a timeless look.
Reclaimed Floors
Reclaimed wood is being used for flooring, repurposing it from demolished sites like barns, boardwalks, and fences.
However, reclaimed hardwood floors themselves are also being used, especially for heritage sites where homeowners want to make authentic restorations that maintain the home’s original characteristics. This look is ideal across a wide variety of design styles, from rustic to modern farmhouse and vintage to historic.
Vintage
Design trends like cottage core and mid-century modern are introducing vintage looks like parquet, reclaimed floors, wider planks, and more.
Wide Planks
Wide planks continue to make their mark. Ideal for interior designs offering a more spacious feel, these floors are suitable for rustic designs, as well as the modern farmhouse look.
Although many designers are moving away from modern farmhouse interiors towards looks such as mid-century modern, the warmth of wide plank hardwood floors continues to be a popular choice with homeowners in Muskoka. They’re also easier to install as they require fewer boards, so they can prove to be a more affordable choice offered by hardwood floor installers.
Live Edge
Live edge flooring is a one-of-a-kind plank floor that creates an organic look with every board edge wandering and curving. Much like working with natural stone flooring such as flagstone, the design is created on-site whether you want slight curves or something very dramatic.
Contact the Wood Flooring Installation Experts
These trends are sure to have lasting power, providing unmatched aesthetic appeal and an increased ROI to maintain your home’s value.
At Revival Flooring, we supply unfinished hardwood flooring in Muskoka to provide total customization and increased value to your space. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions you might have about achieving trend-focused customized flooring for your space. You can contact us online or call us at 888-421-3396.