Milliken’s 5 Commercial Flooring Trends of 2024

With the right flooring, a whole space can be transformed—in more ways than one.

Commercial flooring forms the foundation of a functional yet inviting space, and undoubtedly, flooring selection is shaped by emerging and existing trends. Understanding what trends shape our perspective helps inform what collections manufacturers design, guide what products dealers provide, and inspire designers as they create purposeful spaces. With a strong understanding of the latest trends, the entire value chain can work together to help commercial sectors create built environments that appeal to their audience.

What are the Main Flooring Trends for 2024?

In 2024, our team noted flooring trends mirror broader architecture and design trends. The emphasis on innovative and sustainable materials, purposeful design, and technology-driven craftsmanship all continue to play an important role this year.

Continuing Floor Covering Trends from 2023

Of course, some flooring trends from 2023 continue to influence the commercial sectors. Many of these multi-year trends shape the direction of floor covering solutions as designers and architects look to create spaces that people feel comfortable in:

• Here to stay is a connection to biophilic designs in built environments. Bringing an “out of nature” feel to commercial spaces helps ground surroundings. Flooring can be a simple way to infuse nature-inspired elements into interiors, while a focus on purposeful and sustainable materials can support this trend during the specification process. “Organic, biophilic designs have been trending for a long time because people are drawn toward that connection to nature. It’s probably trending even more in 2024,” shares Holly Nguyen, Milliken’s Senior Designer, Commercial Carpets, for Milliken’s Floor Covering Business.
• The pandemic continues to shape our lives, and the same holds true for interior commercial spaces. This year’s flooring trends are influenced by the idea of creating homely and tranquil environments while also aligning with the renovation craze that continues in residential markets.

• Along the lines of creating comfortable spaces is the desire to ground interiors in something well-known. The nostalgia of the 1970s revival movement can be seen in a number of ways within the A+D space. For flooring trends, specifically, we’re seeing warm, deep colors like mustards and browns, as well as a penchant for retro patterns and styling.

Five Commercial Flooring Trends of 2024

These continued floor trends are blending with emerging design aesthetics to create the top 2024 flooring trends.

Home is Where You Are

The architecture and design community is leveling up to create inviting spaces. As a holdover of the pandemic, commercial spaces—especially office settings—are looking for ways to bring people back in. “The residential aesthetic is a trend for 2024—creating spaces that feel more like home,” adds Nguyen. Both carpet and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring solutions can be used to evoke a home-like setting for the benefit of all.

Milliken designers recommend Clean Break to create an inviting space worthy of your own home.

Goodbye Grey, Hello Beige

Designers are moving away from the cooler colors that have dominated the interior scene in favor of warmer colors and tones. Departing from an industrial, almost institutional, palette preferred in years past, the warmer color spectrum evokes a sense of invitation and coziness. “Think natural ropes and fibers, things that are pulling natural colors,” illustrates Summer Holbert, Milliken’s Project Manager, Design Services, for Milliken’s Floor Covering Business. Instead of a cool grey colorway on the floor, picture a warm beige or taupe-hued brown—the undertones of trending neutrals have definitely warmed up.

Milliken designers recommend New Ground to infuse warm colors into your setting.

Softening Wood Trends

LVT is an ideal flooring solution for bringing a wood look to a commercial setting, as it provides robust and functional flooring that withstands the demands of foot traffic. In 2024, wood LVT trends are shifting from the rustic, distressed aesthetic to softer wood graining and more minimalist wood looks. Preference for grey-hued or industrial wood colorways is now moving toward warmer, richer color tones and soft beiges to evoke an overarching Scandinavian feel.

Milliken designers recommend Merge Forward for a minimalist wood look that still adds complexity to the space.

Lighten Up

In the past, flooring solutions tended to use dark colors or bold patterns to help disguise wearing and staining on the floor plane. A desire for brighter spaces is encouraging designers to take more of a risk in specifying light-colored floor covering solutions. Flooring collections in 2024 can offer lighter colorways backed by resilient-wear characteristics and stain-release functionality.

Milliken designers recommend Coastline for a daring, light-tone flooring collection without the maintenance shortcomings.

Tailor-Made Patterns

If you are looking to add texture or visual intrigue, 2024 might be the year you try a patterned colorway. Using a pattern, especially stylized ones like herringbone or plaid, can add a neo-traditional feel that elevates your space with a tailored feel. Plus, these patterns can layer texture into the space using a trending color.

Milliken designers recommend Six Pack as a bold pattern that is of the moment.

What are the Top Flooring Trends in Different Environments?

These 2024 flooring trends can be seen throughout the industries we serve, with nuanced approaches based on the space’s purpose.

Workplaces

Offices and traditional commercial spaces are very much attuned to creating welcoming, home-like atmospheres. Brands are striking a balance between branded color palettes and cozy interior spaces by prioritizing muted brand colors to soften interiors. Expect to see workplaces harness this trend with flooring that alludes to brand colors without shouting them.

Education

Primary colors have long been tied to education spaces. While primary colors aren’t going away completely, 2024 flooring trends show that education settings are less color-driven on the floor. “Many schools pull from primary color families. In 2024, these projects don’t want a fire-engine red, but they still want a red. The pallet is primary, but it's just not as in your face,” says Jess Herring, Creative Manager, Product Design for Milliken’s Floor Covering Business. Education projects are specifying either muted primary colorways or utilizing Terrazzo-like colorways, where flecks or spots of colors pop against a neutral background.

Hospitality + Healthcare

Especially in the hospitality and healthcare industries, the need for PVC-free flooring is increasing by the day. Architect and design firms are actively seeking non-vinyl flooring options for their resource catalogs. While non-PVC carpet options have been around for years, flooring manufacturers are exploring alternative materials and technologies to create pathways for non-vinyl hard-surface flooring options. Hospitality sectors rely on LVT and hard-surface flooring from a performance perspective and are highly interested in harnessing sustainable options when creating interior spaces. From the healthcare side, material wellness clearly connects to human health, resulting in increased interest in non-PVC flooring.

Milliken designers recommend Merge Forward for a resilient, PVC-free flooring option that is as beautiful as it is innovative.

New Technology in Flooring

Technological advancements are furthering 2024 flooring trends—with technology serving as a catalyst and a resource to achieve these trends.

Amplifying Acoustic Needs

Creating sound-conscious spaces relies on several design elements and installations to achieve acoustic goals. There is ample soundscape technology to dictate the way sounds move through an office or commercial environment. Selecting the right kind of flooring, particularly the cushion-backed carpet Milliken is known for, can enhance existing acoustic tools and mitigate the impact of ambient sound. 

About Milliken’s Floor Covering Business

Since 1973, the year we launched Millitron, the first large-scale digital carpet printer, Milliken has worked to provide innovative solutions that align with the latest flooring trends. Our portfolio of cushion-back carpet and resilient flooring highlights design aesthetics that the A+D community gravitates toward and digs deep into Milliken’s materials science expertise. Our industry-leading flooring offers functional benefits, including enhanced acoustics, increased moisture management, and mindful material selection, while our commitment to sustainable manufacturing inspires us to seek new ways to develop our products responsibly.

Explore flooring collections that help unlock these 2024 design trends, including our newest non-PVC LVT collection, or speak to a sales rep who can help you find the right flooring solution for your needs.