Miriam Hall, LVT specialist at Tarkett, elaborates on her experience in the LVT market and shares her perspective for what the future holds
Q: What’s your background and industry experience?
A: I’ve been in the flooring industry for 17 years before moving to Tarkett around Christmas last year. I’m still new to the business but I have lots of LVT experience. I started off very early working in a flooring showroom, with consumers and helping them select flooring designs in a customer service role. I gradually moved into marketing, product design and creative elements while working in the B2C space and independent retail sectors.
The role at Tarkett has allowed me to expand on these skills and have more responsibility for the LVT segment working closely with the European manufacturing process. I also work on collective housing, whether that’s built-to-rents, purpose-built student accommodation, aged living and social housing. It’s been a busy ten months.
Q: What do you regard as Tarkett’s greatest success in the past five years regarding LVT?
A: The biggest differentiator compared to other LVT manufacturers is the design process Tarkett has in place. One of the LVT ranges known as the Naturals collection, as the name suggests, is the most natural-looking product we have. It’s printed digitally and offers a 12m repeat, so in a consumer’s home it’s ideal because they’re not going to see any repetition. It gives us the opportunity to have more detailed designs that make the floor look as realistic as possible.
Q: What will be the most significant consumer/design trend over the next five years that will drive growth?
A: It’s interesting to see the impact the growth of social media and DIY interest will have on the market. A report was released earlier this year showing the stats on people that watch tutorial videos on YouTube on how to complete DIY projects, suggesting there maybe growth in the click-style and rigid core products, which will help sales increase.
Regarding designs, we’re starting to see a shift in colourways away from the greys that have been a staple colour for a while, towards the neutral colours. In commercial settings, you sometimes specifically see designs that can put emphasis in differentiating the types of spaces you’re creating, but it’s a more niche market. If the floor has been selected to go down for 15-20 years, people are less likely to go for the wacky designs owing to different colours and trends coming in and out of the market.
Tarkett has a collection known as Mixonomy, which has various geometric patterns and colours that are great for zoning spaces. Equally in student accommodation, you have breakout spaces, and that’s where the pattern element can really be taken advantage of. You won’t make the most growth from it as you might with your standard planks, tiles and herringbone shapes, however there’s still a gap in the market for a small selection of them.
Q: What are the current trends in LVTs?
A: Herringbone is here to stay. From a tonal aspect, we’re starting to slowly move away from greys towards the greyish-beigey, neutral tones which are being noticed, and I think that has something to do with its longevity. It’s got to be a floor that’s guaranteed to last for 15-20 years in the majority of these products, so we’re seeing the drift into warmer tones.
For the new collections, we’re exploring those darker brown, chocolatey warm tones. It’s not for everybody but we’re moving towards that end of the scale from the grey colours.
From a design perspective, we cater for everybody across our ranges. We make sure we’ve a selection from cleaner planks to those that are more decorative, some of which may have more cracks and the rustic aesthetics of the woods.
Q: As a forward-thinking LVT manufacturer, what do you look out for?
A: It’s not just about flooring, it’s about interior trends. The trends you see coming through in the interior world, whether that’s textures and patterns, they’re elements that can be adapted into the flooring world.
Much of our design work is developed through our European team so they spend a lot of time going to shows, gathering ideas and researching what we’re seeing in the world of real wood. The same process is following with the ceramic and stone materials. Ultimately LVT is replicating the natural world, and what better place to find it than going out and looking at the real materials themselves?
Q: What inspires Tarkett’s product team when it comes to designing LVT?
A: It’s taking those natural products, working with them and understanding what elements translate well into flooring because not everything can. You may have the loveliest piece of wood, but it may not be exactly right as a floorcovering, so design work is needed to understand what elements need to be added or lost to make that perfect design.
The European shows are also a source of inspiration for the design team. What happens in Europe, usually follows through to the UK and there’s some amazing patterns being portrayed currently, especially in the ceramic shows. You keep an eye on the flooring market, but ultimately, it’s going out and looking further than just the flooring sector. You research the ideas that other countries are sourcing, and then adapt them into the UK market.
Sometimes we see a design, but it may be too big to translate into an LVT, it’s taking ideas and working out how to translate them into the LVT world.
Q: Why pick LVT from other flooring alternatives?
A: The wearlayer of LVT comes with hard-wearing properties, which gives the product flexibility on where it can be laid and it’s easy to maintain. For example, it can go into Mr and Mrs Jones’ house but can also be laid in commercial settings such as giant shops which see hundreds of people walk on it daily. It’s a specification point that you may not necessarily get with other products such as engineered timber.
The other lovely part of LVT is the design aspect of it, which allows you to have the freedom of where it’s laid and in what format. You can have the geometric designs to zone, or you can have planks in one space and parquets in another, in a different colour. It gives the A&D community that flexibility to express exactly what they want and to portray the clients’ specific needs and wants from a space.
You’ve also got different types of LVT for any solution. For example, if you’ve got to take in considerations for acoustics, or if you need to lift the floor to access under the floorboards, loose-lay LVT would be a suitable choice or if you want a product that’s quick to install, click product LVT is a great alternative.
Q: Why is design so important when it comes to LVT Flooring?
A: We’re under no illusions that LVT is a man-made floor, so it needs to be designed to look as realistic as possible to the natural material, making the design element crucial. However, you can adapt it with other benefits by making it child- or pet-friendly for example, or you can adapt it so it still looks great in 20 years’ time.
Design isn’t just the print itself, it’s the other elements such as the surface finishes that can be applied including bevels and embosses to develop a product to emulate that natural material.
Q: Describe from start to finish how the design process works, from concept to manufacturer?
A: The team here in the UK, works with our European design team who research LVT and resilient floors. They’ll start by investigating the woods and stones they’ve collected previously or through research, by scanning in the designs exactly how they are. The design team then work on the actual design, whether that’s adding little details, taking away elements, deciding if it’s too rustic or not, if it’s too clean or if it needs to be mixed up a little, it’s playing around with the concept and perfecting it as much as possible.
If we’re creating digital prints, the process includes up to 12-metres worth of product, so the team tries to get the best aesthetics out of the woods and stones. Colouring is then investigated. The natural material may be a neutral colour so it may be adapted into a warmer version, or a slightly grey application or to a beigy colour. This is applied digitally before its printed in a physical from, to evaluate what works and what needs to be amended.
We’re starting to see some larger planks around Europe, so we’ll investigate the scale of the product before manufacturing the final offering. Finishes and bevels are applied and explored to match the trends that are being sought, before we get to the final manufacturing. Throughout this process we’re holding events for our customers and architects to see the product before it’s launched for feedback.
Q: What’s the best flooring range Tarkett has designed so far in your career?
A: I’ve only been here for the past ten months but the best LVT collection I think Tarkett has launched recently is the Naturals Collection. The range holds that realistic, attention to detail regarding the design and surface finish. It’s the most natural LVT range Tarkett has as the name eloquently suggests.
Q: Do you find your job rewarding and why?
A: It’s great to work closely with the team in Europe and it’s a team effort creating a range that’s perfect for the market. It’s satisfying seeing the end-result being launched, knowing what we’ve created is fulfilling its need within the LVT sector.
The sustainability aspects are something I’ve also started to think about more through working in a company that absolutely will not rest until they can produce the most sustainable versions of all its flooring. It’s a lovely mission to work by, especially in a world where when you delve deeper into the world of flooring, there’s many things you can do to help the environment, given the time, money and resources.
Q: Have you got any new ranges coming into production and how did Tarkett go about designing them?
A: We’re currently working towards a launch in 2026 of one of our biggest refreshes. I’m in the early stages of the conception of the product and data analysis of what’s selling in the market to develop a design brief.
Something else I’ve been involved with since starting at Tarkett is our loose-lay products which are ideal for office refits because you can install it quickly and access underfloor services if you need to. We’re currently working on a range refresh which is to be launched in January 2025, and we’ve taken the time to select a colour palette that works with our carpet tile ranges. Many offices generally have carpet tile and LVT so the benefit for us as a manufacturer that produces both products, is we have full control to make the concept work together.
Q: What are the differences in designing for commercial and designing for residential if there are any?
A: There are similarities because in some instances, you want that home-from-home aesthetic where you want to replicate the look and feel of a home in a workplace, or communal living space, however size of planks and tiles are a differentiator when it comes to commercial settings as the larger spaces allow you to use larger products and designs. You also need to take into consideration designing for inclusivity with commercial spaces, creating spaces where everyone using them can thrive – this can be done through careful selection of designs, colourways and laying patterns.
Q: Which sectors of your portfolio do you expect to grow fastest in 2024?
A: Glue-down LVT will always remain a strong offering for retailers and contractors owing to its longevity in the marketplace, however, I think there’s also an opportunity for rigid core products for growth as a solid alternative to engineered wood.
We’ve seen more housing being built and renovated over the last 18 months and we’ve worked on residential projects containing rigid core owing to its easy installation process, while giving the property a high-quality finish. Additionally, if the property has multi-levels, it has great acoustic benefits, so there’s much to be gained from a rigid core portfolio.
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