Popularity of Reclaimed Products Has Consumers Willing to Consider Wide Color Variation

A few months back I was in the middle of developing some new engineered wood flooring products that were made from new materials that were detailed in a way to mimic reclaimed wood floors.  We had added circle sawn marks to some engineered hickory wood floors, dialed in the edge bevel detail to look like like the planks were old and then stained and finished it.  We had made three different colors to preview.  As we stood there taking in the aesthetic of each sample panel, one colleague noted, if we really want it to look reclaimed we need to mix all three colors in the same sample.  We re-worked the panel to include a even mix of each stain color (light brown, dark brown and a reddish brown).  Then we stood back and took it in.  It was the right look.  The product looked good as a single color but it looked fantastic mixed.

I’m noticing more and more wood flooring producers coming up with products that show a wide range of color variation.  And this is different than just the natural variation you find in lower grade walnut or hickory.  This amount of variation is the result of actually purposefully staining woods such as hickory three separate colors and then mixing them.  I noticed this week Mannington’s product Heirloom Hickory.  It comes in two different color palates which each look to be a mix of 2-3 different colors.

Heirloom Hickory Aged Bronze from Mannington is a varied color product with wide ranging tones that mimic a reclaimed wood floor.

Mannington’s Heirloom Hickory in Antique Natural.

My guess is this trend is emerging as a result of the popularity of reclaimed wood floors which oftentimes show a very wide range of color.  Although not everyone can afford a true reclaimed wood they are nevertheless enamored by the look of a multi colored wood floor.

Above: The wide variation in color that results from producing wood flooring from aged woods. This true reclaimed oak floorfrom Aged Woods provides a great aesthetic for this interior.

This amazing reclaimed Chestnut floor from Old Wood Workshop in Connecticut shows stark color variation.