Timber trends – September 2020

Back in January, the predicated timber trends for 2020 were to be celebrated – the timber frame market was set to surpass £800m, we were going to see a huge push for environmental sustainability in construction and carbon neutral initiatives were top of the agenda.

Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances in the form of COVID swept across the globe and all bets were off. Whilst the market couldn’t grow as expected, there are still trends that are showing some levels of optimism, giving timber the buoyancy to bounce back in the latter parts of this year and into 2021.

Here are some of the key trends to pay attention to.

Cross laminated timber

Brand new research has found that the global Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) market size is projected to reach $2,062.2 million by the end of 2027.

The increasing construction and building activities will create several growth opportunities for the companies operating in the market. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, the market was worth $756.9 million in 2019 and will exhibit a growth rate of 13.7% during the forecast period, 2020-2027.

CLT is engineered wood panel product that offers strength, durability and sustainable credentials and its use is growing substantially in the construction industry.

Fireproof timber protection

In more good news, the fireproof coatings for wood market is expected to have a growth rate of 5.10% between 2020-2024. Key factors that are moving this market forward include:

• The ever-growing construction industry
• The growing demand for furniture – which is likely to have increased during lockdown
• Increased fire rules and regulations

According to the report, this growth may be hindered by the growing environmental regulations surrounding the harvesting and usage of wood, however with solid sustainability pledges in place we’re sure this will be overcome.

Interior trends

This year, people have spent a lot of time in their homes – whether they’ve wanted to or not.

For this reason, we’ve seen some late-blooming interior design trends that have seen people turn towards a more natural, biophilic aesthetic.

Key interior trends that can be found here are the erection of living walls and the green-fingered move towards house plants. Bringing nature inside has been found to improve mental wellbeing and sleep patterns, so this environmental shift during lockdown comes as no surprise.

Equally, wood has seen its fandom grow amongst those looking to update their kitchens. Experts in Elle Décor say: “People are increasingly seeking connections from nature. It creates a welcoming and calming environment, and is a timeless, versatile material we love. We see a growing desire for lighter, airier spaces, and wood is a wonderful material to incorporate to achieve this.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

And that’s it!

If you’d like to speak to a timber consultant about our product range, or want a bit more information on what we can offer you, get in touch and we’ll be able to help you out!

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