R&K Tarsh

Emerging tile patterns revitalize Mediterranean and geometric aesthetics.

Tile design is stepping boldly into 2025, powered by a twin revival: the sun-baked romance of the Mediterranean and the sharp graphic energy of modern geometry. Designers say the two styles are no longer opposites but complementary tools for adding warmth and personality to once-plain kitchens, baths, and entryways.

On the Mediterranean side, hand-pressed terracotta and glossy zellige are back in bigger formats, while “modern Moroccan” patterns scale up classic kaleidoscope motifs into crisp, room-defining statements. Spanish hacienda–style hexagons and rectangles—long relegated to patios—are migrating indoors across the United States, giving remodels a relaxed, resort feel without heavy grout lines.

Running alongside, geometric layouts are exploding beyond the familiar honeycomb. 2024’s hexagons and chevrons have opened the door to bolder checkerboards, basket-weaves, and mixed-shape mosaics that designers predict will get “even more abstract and playful” through 2025. Homeowners like the versatility: graphic floors ground minimalist rooms, while patterned accent walls add depth to compact spaces.

The freshest projects fuse both directions—satin-sage zellige wrapped around a shower paired with a monochrome cube floor, or a terracotta herringbone hallway ending in a geometric encaustic foyer. The result is a layered look that feels at once timeless and contemporary, ensuring Mediterranean warmth and modern geometry will share the design spotlight well beyond this year.

Top 5 hardwood species for durability and timeless appeal.

For a combination of durability and timeless appeal in hardwood flooring, consider oak, maple, hickory, walnut, and Brazilian cherry. These species offer excellent strength, resistance to wear, and classic aesthetics that will last for generations.

Oak: A classic choice known for its durability, beautiful grain patterns, and versatility. Both red oak and white oak are popular options, with white oak being slightly harder. Oak’s ability to accept stains makes it highly customizable to various design styles.

Maple: Renowned for its hardness and resistance to scratches and wear, making it a great choice for high-traffic areas. Maple also offers a clean, light aesthetic that complements many interior design trends.

Hickory: One of the hardest domestic woods, hickory is known for its exceptional durability and unique, rustic character. Its prominent grain and color variations add a distinctive touch to any space.

Walnut: Celebrated for its rich, dark color, luxurious appeal, and exceptional strength and stability. Walnut is a favorite for high-end furniture and flooring due to its timeless beauty and remarkable durability.

Brazilian Cherry: While being an exotic wood, Brazilian cherry is known for its exceptional hardness and resistance to wear and tear. Its deep reddish-brown tones and unique grain patterns add a touch of drama and exotic flair to any room.

Eco-friendly paints reduce VOC emissions and improve indoor air quality.

Eco-conscious coatings are racing from specialty shelves to center stage. Market researchers project the global low-VOC paint segment will expand from about US $3 billion in 2025 to roughly US $4.3 billion by 2029—an almost 50 percent gain powered by green-building codes, health-minded consumers, and remodelers who now specify “clean” finishes as standard.

Volatile organic compounds are the chief villain traditional paints bring into a home: indoor VOC levels typically run two-to-five times higher than outdoors, and a fresh paint job can spike concentrations up to 1,000-fold until the coating cures. These gases irritate eyes and lungs and are linked to headaches, fatigue, and asthma flare-ups—prompting a surge in demand for safer alternatives.

Regulations and certification programs now draw a bright line: Green Seal’s GS-11 standard caps low-VOC interior paints at ≤ 50 g L⁻¹, while “zero-VOC” labels require emissions of ≤ 5 g L⁻¹—levels so low most people never detect an odor. Water-borne acrylics and plant-based binders let manufacturers meet these thresholds without sacrificing coverage or durability.

Early-adopter studies show tangible payoffs: rooms finished with low-VOC coatings report fewer occupant complaints about smell, headaches, and breathing difficulty, and allow faster re-occupancy—benefits prized by families renovating kitchens or nurseries on tight timelines.

With performance on par with legacy enamels, colorant systems that hit every designer palette, and the added bonus of LEED credits for builders, eco-friendly paints have moved from “nice-to-have” to default spec. Expect the zero-VOC label to become as common as “low-sugar” on grocery shelves as indoor-air quality takes its rightful place at the heart of residential upgrades.

Demand for waterproof luxury vinyl surges in residential renovations

Homeowners tackling kitchen makeovers and whole-house refreshes are increasingly choosing waterproof luxury vinyl flooring, turning a once-niche material into the industry’s fastest-moving product segment. The U.S. resilient flooring market—which includes luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and plank (LVP)—was valued at USD 10.36 billion in 2023 and is projected to climb to USD 14.82 billion by 2032, while analysts estimate that fully waterproof LVT/LVP already represents about one-third of all flooring dollars spent.

Renovation-minded consumers cite “worry-proof” performance as the top reason for the switch: waterproof cores mean spills, pet accidents, or a leaking dishwasher no longer spell disaster, while high-definition embossing delivers the look of hardwood or stone. Interior-design experts add that multilayer waterproof construction brings superior scratch and dent resistance, making LVP a default upgrade in remodels that need durability without compromising style.

Rigid-core technology sits at the heart of this boom. Stone-plastic composite (SPC) and wood-plastic composite (WPC) boards—marketed simply as “100 percent waterproof’’—captured 57.5 percent of all resilient-flooring sales and 46.6 percent of volume in 2023, more than doubling their share since 2020. These dense, click-lock planks can float seamlessly from living rooms into bathrooms, speeding installation and minimizing subfloor prep.

For renovators, the economics are equally compelling: installers report that today’s LVP can be laid in a single afternoon at a fraction of the cost of site-finished hardwood, all while boosting perceived home value thanks to wide-plank formats and trending matte finishes. Meanwhile, leading brands are introducing PVC-free cores and take-back recycling programs, giving eco-conscious homeowners yet another reason to choose vinyl over traditional materials – evidence that the demand curve for waterproof luxury vinyl is set to keep rising throughout the decade.

Demand for waterproof luxury vinyl surges in residential renovations

Homeowners tackling kitchen makeovers and whole-house refreshes are increasingly choosing waterproof luxury vinyl flooring, turning a once-niche material into the industry’s fastest-moving product segment. The U.S. resilient flooring market—which includes luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and plank (LVP)—was valued at USD 10.36 billion in 2023 and is projected to climb to USD 14.82 billion by 2032, while analysts estimate that fully waterproof LVT/LVP already represents about one-third of all flooring dollars spent.

Renovation-minded consumers cite “worry-proof” performance as the top reason for the switch: waterproof cores mean spills, pet accidents, or a leaking dishwasher no longer spell disaster, while high-definition embossing delivers the look of hardwood or stone. Interior-design experts add that multilayer waterproof construction brings superior scratch and dent resistance, making LVP a default upgrade in remodels that need durability without compromising style.

Rigid-core technology sits at the heart of this boom. Stone-plastic composite (SPC) and wood-plastic composite (WPC) boards—marketed simply as “100 percent waterproof’’—captured 57.5 percent of all resilient-flooring sales and 46.6 percent of volume in 2023, more than doubling their share since 2020. These dense, click-lock planks can float seamlessly from living rooms into bathrooms, speeding installation and minimizing subfloor prep.

For renovators, the economics are equally compelling: installers report that today’s LVP can be laid in a single afternoon at a fraction of the cost of site-finished hardwood, all while boosting perceived home value thanks to wide-plank formats and trending matte finishes. Meanwhile, leading brands are introducing PVC-free cores and take-back recycling programs, giving eco-conscious homeowners yet another reason to choose vinyl over traditional materials – evidence that the demand curve for waterproof luxury vinyl is set to keep rising throughout the decade.

Demand for waterproof luxury vinyl surges in residential renovations

Homeowners tackling kitchen makeovers and whole-house refreshes are increasingly choosing waterproof luxury vinyl flooring, turning a once-niche material into the industry’s fastest-moving product segment. The U.S. resilient flooring market—which includes luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and plank (LVP)—was valued at USD 10.36 billion in 2023 and is projected to climb to USD 14.82 billion by 2032, while analysts estimate that fully waterproof LVT/LVP already represents about one-third of all flooring dollars spent.

Renovation-minded consumers cite “worry-proof” performance as the top reason for the switch: waterproof cores mean spills, pet accidents, or a leaking dishwasher no longer spell disaster, while high-definition embossing delivers the look of hardwood or stone. Interior-design experts add that multilayer waterproof construction brings superior scratch and dent resistance, making LVP a default upgrade in remodels that need durability without compromising style.

Rigid-core technology sits at the heart of this boom. Stone-plastic composite (SPC) and wood-plastic composite (WPC) boards—marketed simply as “100 percent waterproof’’—captured 57.5 percent of all resilient-flooring sales and 46.6 percent of volume in 2023, more than doubling their share since 2020. These dense, click-lock planks can float seamlessly from living rooms into bathrooms, speeding installation and minimizing subfloor prep.

For renovators, the economics are equally compelling: installers report that today’s LVP can be laid in a single afternoon at a fraction of the cost of site-finished hardwood, all while boosting perceived home value thanks to wide-plank formats and trending matte finishes. Meanwhile, leading brands are introducing PVC-free cores and take-back recycling programs, giving eco-conscious homeowners yet another reason to choose vinyl over traditional materials – evidence that the demand curve for waterproof luxury vinyl is set to keep rising throughout the decade.

Demand for waterproof luxury vinyl surges in residential renovations

Homeowners tackling kitchen makeovers and whole-house refreshes are increasingly choosing waterproof luxury vinyl flooring, turning a once-niche material into the industry’s fastest-moving product segment. The U.S. resilient flooring market—which includes luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and plank (LVP)—was valued at USD 10.36 billion in 2023 and is projected to climb to USD 14.82 billion by 2032, while analysts estimate that fully waterproof LVT/LVP already represents about one-third of all flooring dollars spent.

Renovation-minded consumers cite “worry-proof” performance as the top reason for the switch: waterproof cores mean spills, pet accidents, or a leaking dishwasher no longer spell disaster, while high-definition embossing delivers the look of hardwood or stone. Interior-design experts add that multilayer waterproof construction brings superior scratch and dent resistance, making LVP a default upgrade in remodels that need durability without compromising style.

Rigid-core technology sits at the heart of this boom. Stone-plastic composite (SPC) and wood-plastic composite (WPC) boards—marketed simply as “100 percent waterproof’’—captured 57.5 percent of all resilient-flooring sales and 46.6 percent of volume in 2023, more than doubling their share since 2020. These dense, click-lock planks can float seamlessly from living rooms into bathrooms, speeding installation and minimizing subfloor prep.

For renovators, the economics are equally compelling: installers report that today’s LVP can be laid in a single afternoon at a fraction of the cost of site-finished hardwood, all while boosting perceived home value thanks to wide-plank formats and trending matte finishes. Meanwhile, leading brands are introducing PVC-free cores and take-back recycling programs, giving eco-conscious homeowners yet another reason to choose vinyl over traditional materials – evidence that the demand curve for waterproof luxury vinyl is set to keep rising throughout the decade.