Soviet-era floor fashion is spreading in Estonian homes again

According to Mari-Liis Mihkelson, the head of Puumarket's Tartu branch, the Baltic region's largest wood retailer, the most striking new trend for the winter interior renovation season is the painting of floorboards, and one material that was very popular for a while is no longer wanted at all.

According to Mari-Liis Mihkelson, painting floorboards has been in fashion for the first time in over 30 years. "Since the 90s, old floor paint has been sanded down or tried to be hidden, but by now that trauma has passed. Instead of varnishing, people now buy already painted boards from the store or apply a new layer themselves on top of the old floor," said Mihkelson.

"While parquet has been the most popular flooring material for the last couple of decades, floorboards are now clearly back in fashion. The most commonly used floorboard as a flooring is spruce, which has smaller knots than pine and changes color less over time. Spruce floorboards are also oiled and varnished, of course, but increasingly people are buying them aged, painting them white, gray, or even brown, which had completely disappeared from the picture in the meantime," said Mihkelson.

"Floorboards are also fashionable in Scandinavia and partly this is likely due to a more affordable price. While parquet has been a quick and accessible flooring material until now, its prices have risen in recent years. At the same time, the price of ordinary wood has fallen significantly over the year, which is why boards are preferred again," added Mihkelson.

According to the Puumarket branch manager, the most classic parquets in fashion are oiled oak and ash. "While for decades people bought cheaper three-strip parquet, now more expensive single-strip parquet is preferred, which resembles floorboards. What is practically never asked about anymore is laminate parquet. It is used, for example, in a rental apartment or when you need to quickly and cheaply put your home in order," said Mihkelson.