Metropolitan Hardwood Floors: What Kentwood & Evoke Really Offer

“Metropolitan Hardwood Floors” isn’t a single product you order online – it’s the company name behind two flooring brands you’ve probably seen in showrooms: Kentwood engineered hardwood and Evoke luxury vinyl.

If you searched this name after seeing it on an invoice, a dealer’s wall display, or a home listing, you’re likely trying to figure out exactly what you’re getting – and whether it’s actually good. Below is what the company really is, how its Kentwood and Evoke lines differ, what real owners say after living with the floors, and where you can actually buy them (spoiler: not Amazon or a big-box aisle).

What Is Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Really?

Metropolitan Hardwood Floors Inc. was founded in 1992, starting out of Vancouver, British Columbia, before growing into a multi-national manufacturer and distributor with operating divisions in Canada, the U.S., and Asia. Its U.S. headquarters is now in Kent, Washington, and the company markets itself today as Metropolitan Floors – the name “Metropolitan Hardwood Floors” is its original corporate and trade name, not a single flooring product line.

In 2002, Metropolitan began developing its own engineered hardwood line, Kentwood, which launched in 2003 and has since grown into its flagship brand. The company later added Evoke, covering luxury vinyl plank, rigid core, laminate, and a wood-composite “Surge” core – waterproof categories that engineered hardwood can’t cover. Metropolitan also runs a “Clean Floors” program, its internal environmental-compliance and quality-assurance process for the wood it sources. As of 2026 the company is marking more than 30 years in business and was represented at the 2026 Interior Design Show – it hasn’t gone bankrupt, been acquired, or quietly rebranded away, contrary to what you might assume from how dated some of the older marketing copy about it online looks.

Kentwood Engineered Hardwood: Three Tiers Explained

Kentwood isn’t sold as one uniform product – it’s split into three tiers, and the tier matters more than the species name on the box:

• Couture – the premium tier: wider planks, thicker wear layers, and the most design-forward finishes (wire-brushed textures, low-sheen matte topcoats).
• Kentwood Collection – the mid-range tier, balancing plank width, price, and finish durability for most residential jobs.
• Abode – the entry tier, narrower planks and simpler finishes, aimed at price-sensitive remodels and rental-friendly flips.

All three are engineered hardwood, meaning a real hardwood wear layer sits on top of a plywood or composite core – that core is what lets Kentwood handle basements and slab-on-grade installs that solid hardwood generally can’t. Species and finish options vary by collection within each tier, but oak (both white and red) makes up most of the catalog, with walnut, hickory, and maple showing up in the higher tiers for buyers who want more color and grain variation than oak offers.

Plank width is one of the bigger practical differences between tiers: Couture generally runs wider (7 inches and up), which shows off more of the wood grain per board but also makes gaps from seasonal wood movement more visible if your home’s humidity swings a lot. Kentwood Collection and Abode tend to run narrower, which hides normal seasonal movement better in homes without whole-house humidity control.

Evoke: Luxury Vinyl, Rigid Core & Laminate

Evoke is Metropolitan’s waterproof and budget-flexible line, covering luxury vinyl plank (LVP), rigid-core flooring, laminate, and a wood-composite “Surge” core built for higher-traffic commercial and public-sector spaces. Unlike Kentwood, Evoke products can go in kitchens, bathrooms, and mudrooms without the moisture concerns real hardwood carries, which is why the two brands are positioned as complements rather than direct substitutes – you pick Kentwood for a living room or bedroom and Evoke for anywhere water is a real risk.

What Real Owners Say: Strengths and Weaknesses

A third-party installer review of the Kentwood line found real strengths and real limits worth knowing before you order samples. On the plus side, reviewers point to modern, low-sheen finishes that read as high-end rather than glossy-builder-grade, plus flexible installation options (glue-down, floating, or nail-down depending on the product) that make it workable across different subfloor situations.

The same review flagged three real shortcomings: the finish isn’t the most durable on the market for high-traffic households with large dogs or heavy furniture traffic, product-spec transparency isn’t as detailed as some competitors publish (wear-layer thickness and finish coat counts can be harder to find), and warranty coverage is narrower than some premium competitors offer. None of that makes Kentwood a bad choice – it just means it’s a mid-to-premium product, not a top-tier one, and you should ask your dealer for the specific warranty document rather than assuming coverage matches a competitor’s.

Where to Actually Buy Metropolitan, Kentwood, or Evoke Flooring

You won’t find these on Amazon, at Home Depot, or at Lowe’s – Metropolitan sells exclusively through a network of authorized local flooring dealers and showrooms, with regional offices in Kent, WA, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle, plus its original Canadian operations. That’s a deliberate choice most wholesale-first flooring manufacturers make: it keeps installation quality controlled through vetted local installers and lets you actually see and feel a sample before committing to hundreds of square feet.

If you’re shopping for Kentwood or Evoke, search “Kentwood flooring dealer near me” or ask a local flooring showroom whether they carry the line – most metro-area flooring retailers that stock premium engineered hardwood will know the brand even if they don’t have every collection in stock.

Caring for Engineered Hardwood and LVP Floors

Both Kentwood and Evoke floors last longest with the same basic routine: sweep or vacuum (bare-floor setting, no beater bar) a few times a week to keep grit from scratching the finish, wipe spills immediately rather than letting water sit, and use a pH-neutral hardwood floor cleaner instead of an all-purpose or oil-soap product – those can leave a dull film on a polyurethane finish over time. Felt pads under furniture legs and a humidity range of roughly 35–55% indoor relative humidity will do more for a Kentwood floor’s long-term look than any specialty polish.

For Evoke’s vinyl and rigid-core products, avoid steam mops – the heat and moisture can affect the seams over time even on a “waterproof” product – and stick to a damp (not wet) microfiber mop for routine cleaning. If you’re refinishing down the road, ask your dealer how thick the wear layer is on your specific Kentwood collection before sanding: engineered hardwood can typically be refinished once or twice over its lifetime, but only if the veneer is thick enough to survive a sanding pass, and the thinner Abode-tier veneers have less margin for error than Couture’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Metropolitan Hardwood Floors a real flooring brand?

Yes. Metropolitan Hardwood Floors Inc. is a real, currently operating flooring manufacturer and distributor founded in 1992, with U.S. headquarters in Kent, Washington. It now markets under the name Metropolitan Floors and owns the Kentwood and Evoke flooring brands.

What is the difference between Kentwood and Evoke?

Kentwood is Metropolitan’s engineered hardwood line, split into Couture, Kentwood Collection, and Abode tiers. Evoke is the waterproof and budget-flexible line, covering luxury vinyl plank, rigid core, laminate, and a wood-composite Surge core for higher-moisture or higher-traffic spaces.

Can you buy Metropolitan, Kentwood, or Evoke floors on Amazon or at Home Depot?

No. Metropolitan sells exclusively through authorized local flooring dealers and showrooms, not through Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe’s, or a direct online checkout on its own site. You’ll need to find a local dealer that carries the Kentwood or Evoke lines.

What do real owners say are the drawbacks of Kentwood flooring?

A third-party installer review notes the finish isn’t the most durable option for very high-traffic households, product-spec transparency (wear-layer thickness, finish coats) is harder to find than with some competitors, and warranty coverage is narrower than some premium brands offer – ask your dealer for the specific warranty document before buying.

Bottom Line

Metropolitan Hardwood Floors is the real company behind the Kentwood engineered hardwood and Evoke vinyl/laminate brands – a 30-plus-year manufacturer, not a single product or a defunct name. If you’re comparing floors, ask your local dealer specifically for Kentwood (dry, low-traffic rooms) or Evoke (kitchens, bathrooms, high-moisture areas), get the tier name (Couture, Kentwood Collection, or Abode) and the actual warranty document in writing, and clean whatever you install with a pH-neutral cleaner made for its finish type.