IWF Atlanta - Seeing What’s Next in Surfaces
Walking the IWF show floor reinforced just how quickly decorative surfaces continue to evolve.
Across manufacturers, we saw increasingly realistic woodgrains, sophisticated natural and muted colour palettes, tactile finishes and greater attention to how individual surfaces coordinate within a complete environment.
We also saw manufacturers presenting products at a much larger scale. Oversized panels, full-height woodgrains and finished interior applications made it possible to understand pattern, texture and variation in ways that aren’t always apparent from a traditional sample.
For Teknaform, these aren’t simply design trends. Every advancement in the surface creates another consideration at the edge.
As a valued Teknaform partner, Wilsonart was an important stop at the show and provided one of the clearest examples of the growing emphasis on coordinated design.
Its presentation brought woodgrains, linear patterns and subtle textiles together as a coordinated collection, supported by the message “Crafted for extraordinary coordination.”
Large-format woodgrain displays were particularly effective, including no-repeat designs that demonstrated how greater pattern scale can create more natural-looking finished environments. Soft-touch and fingerprint-resistant surfaces further demonstrated how performance, texture and appearance are increasingly being considered together.
That focus on coordination closely aligns with the role of edgebanding. As the surface becomes more sophisticated, maintaining that design intent through to the finished edge becomes increasingly important.
Uniboard used its Origins collection to create a distinctive presentation centred around nature, materiality and craftsmanship.
Tall, sculptural panels and island displays gave the collection a strong visual presence while highlighting contemporary woodgrains and a sophisticated palette of complementary colours.
The presentation reflected another recurring theme at IWF: surfaces are increasingly being considered as part of broader palettes, allowing designers to combine woodgrains, solids and textures throughout an environment.
Tafisa had a significant presence at IWF, demonstrating innovation across several areas of its portfolio.
LUMMIA was presented through large-scale panels and inspirational applications, allowing visitors to experience its high-gloss and matte decorative surfaces at a scale that revealed more of their visual character.
Sustainability also played an important role through Tafisa’s Rewood™ program, with a large graphic installation explaining how post-consumer wood fibre can be recovered and reintegrated into panel production.
ICONIQ® provided another example of the industry’s continued pursuit of surface realism. Inspired by the character of oak, its synchronized texture combines a refined matte appearance with detailed surface characteristics that become especially apparent when experienced firsthand.
Together, these displays demonstrated how innovation is occurring across design, texture, manufacturing and sustainability.
EGGER combined architectural presentation, finished applications and hands-on product exploration.
An interactive island with removable panels encouraged visitors to pick up individual surfaces and examine their colours, woodgrain reproductions and textures at close range.
It was another example of how tactile experience has become increasingly important. As textures become more detailed and synchronized with the printed design, understanding a surface increasingly requires both seeing and feeling it.
ARAUCO used oversized vertical panels and built environments to showcase its TACTIL and PRISM collections.
The larger scale gave woodgrains room to make an impact while allowing visitors to better understand pattern and variation beyond the dimensions of a traditional sample.
Finished environments also demonstrated how woodgrains and solid colours can be coordinated across an application, shifting the conversation from selecting an individual surface to creating a complete design.
Kronospan’s substantial booth reinforced many of the trends visible throughout IWF.
Large-scale woodgrains, coordinated solid colours and finished interior environments demonstrated how individual surfaces could work together, while extensive sample displays encouraged closer interaction with the collection.
Of particular interest was the way colours and woodgrains were presented in families, showing related designs together rather than as isolated products.
Again, the emphasis was on coordination and continuity — from selecting the surface through to considering how all the elements of a finished environment work together.
Arkopa took a straightforward, product-focused approach with accessible displays of decorative panels, woodgrains and solid colours.
The presentation allowed visitors to compare surfaces directly and experience the colour and detail firsthand.
While simpler than some of the larger installations at IWF, it reinforced something important: regardless of how a product is presented, the nuances of colour, texture and grain remain critical to material selection and ultimately to creating an accurate match.
Sherwin-Williams showcased the breadth of possibilities available through colour and finish.
For Teknaform, it was a reminder that the perfect match isn’t limited to woodgrains and decorative surfaces. Paintable edgebanding provides manufacturers with another way to coordinate the edge with evolving colour trends across cabinetry, furniture and interior environments.
As palettes continue to expand and shift, that flexibility creates virtually endless possibilities for achieving a cohesive finished product.
The Surface Continues to Evolve. So Does the Edge.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from IWF Atlanta 2026 was that surface innovation isn’t moving in just one direction.
Woodgrains are becoming more natural and less repetitive. Textures are becoming increasingly tactile and synchronized with the visual design. Matte, soft-touch and specialty finishes continue to expand. Colour palettes are becoming more sophisticated. And manufacturers are thinking more holistically about how surfaces coordinate across complete interior environments.
For Teknaform, all of this reinforces something we have believed for a long time:
As the surface evolves, the edge needs to evolve with it.
A match created years ago may still be the right match. But when a manufacturer evolves a colour, texture, finish or production process, the edgebanding may need to evolve as well.
That’s why our relationships with leading laminate and panel manufacturers are so important. Combined with our ongoing investment in matching and our commitment to continually evaluating our products, those relationships help Teknaform maintain the design intent of the surface from panel to finished edge.
IWF was a great opportunity to demonstrate that commitment, see what’s coming next and spend time with the partners, customers and people who continue to move our industry forward.
Thank you to everyone who visited Teknaform and Charter Industries in Atlanta.
We look forward to continuing the conversations started at IWF and continuing to create the perfect match for what’s next.
