The Popular '90s Flooring Trend That's Making Your Home Look Outdated

The role of your home's flooring isn't just to provide a comfortable surface for your daily comings and goings. In addition to their functionality, your floors form a big part of your home's overall aesthetic. As your flooring can make or break your interior design vision, it's important to choose wisely. But while some crowd-pleasing options like hardwood may always be worth the investment, even the choices that are mostly safe might come with a catch. For example, while hardwood in general is known for its timelessness, there might be some wood finishes that are dating your home — and current trends seem to indicate that orange wood floors belong to this category.

Orange wood finishes may have reigned supreme throughout the '90s and early 2000s, but today, this flooring choice may be keeping your home stuck in the past. While still popular in retro interiors, this option might be too loud and overwhelming compared to more subdued finishes that are currently on-trend, like lighter wood tones or neutrals like greige and taupe. But if your home has orange-toned wood floors, all is not lost. Instead of ripping out your floors and getting new ones installed, you can revitalize your existing ones with just a bit of styling or tweaking.

One affordable way to give outdated floors an upgrade is to adapt your decor so it harmonizes rather than clashes with them. To balance out the dated orange undertones, pair your floors with furnishings and home accessories in a softer palette. Cool and earthy tones like light gray or olive help neutralize the overwhelming qualities of your flooring, making your interior feel more intentional rather than outdated. To focus the effect specifically on your flooring, try adding well-placed area rugs in neutral hues that will break up bigger chunks of your flooring and soften the look.

If you're looking for a more permanent solution, you can always refinish your floor to give it a different color. Orange wood gets its characteristic tint from its finish, and it only gets more prominent with time. Removing the old finish will fix your problem, but you'll have to pick a new one to keep your floors protected and give them a fresh look. Just choose one of the best hardwood floor colors that won't make your home look overly retro (unless that's your thing), and enjoy the luxury of hardwood floors for years to come.