HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT FLOORING FOR YOUR HOME (PART TWO)
If you checked in last week you may remember we were talking about flooring. I know. Analysing the benefits of engineered wood over laminate is a bit of a snooze fest. But it’s something we have to get to grips with to make good interior design decisions.
Your flooring choice is so important you really don’t want to mess this one up. If you get it wrong you either have to hate your floors forever, which by the way will mean you hate the whole room, or you have to go to the expense and stress of changing it. So make sure you choose the right type of floor for your project. If you missed it you can catch up on all the info you need here.
So once you know whether you’re going tile, laminate, vinyl or wood you can actually start the fun part. Choosing the right colour, pattern and finish. Yes, that’s the fun part! It’s fun because you are choosing the foundation to build your whole room design on. You can get creative and start to visualise what your finished room will look like. But just because it’s fun doesn’t mean it’s not hard. So if you’re feeling all blasé about it and are just planning on choosing it during a half-hour visit to B&Q then stop! This isn’t a decision to be rushed.
Stunning Cellar Oak by Woodpeckerflooring
Here is how to choose the right flooring for your home (part two).
1. What feeling do you want to create?
I talk about this a lot in my blogs and consultations. This is because it really is the most important element of interior design. A room that feels restful and soothing should have a completely different decor to a room that feels cheerful and upbeat. And flooring makes a massive difference to how a room feels. So start with the feeling you want to create and work from there.
Here are some examples to get you thinking.
A dark, distressed oak floor will create a grown-up, rustic and characterful feel. In contrast, a light-grey oak effect floor will create a contemporary, family-friendly vibe.
Colourful geometric floor tiles in a bathroom would create an energising and playful mood, whereas a neutral stone tile would create a more zen-like, relaxed feel.
A deep pile cream carpet would create a very cosy and luxurious atmosphere, whereas a sisal carpet would create a more relaxed and laid-back feel.
So you see how the colour and pattern of your flooring can have a real impact on the energy and atmosphere of the room so always take this into account.
2. Match the style of furniture and fittings
Chances are you have a style of interiors in mind for the room. If this is the case then you definitely want to make sure your flooring will complement that style.
So let’s say you are looking to create a Scandi vibe living room with a light and airy feel. Then you would want to keep the colour of your floors light, so a pale wood or wood effect vinyl would work. A high sheen surface, like lacquer, would reflect more light which is perfect for this look.
Or maybe you are going for an industrial vibe in your new kitchen with darker units and brass handles. This would suit a darker wood effect floor with a more matt finish, or maybe a concrete effect vinyl or laminate.
Don’t worry if you don’t know the name of the particular style you are trying to create. Just have a look at some of the images of rooms that have inspired you on Pinterest and notice what types of floors are regularly coming up in those images.
3. Consider the size of the space
The size of your room is really important because the size of your tiles or the width of your wood effect floor planks need to suit the size of the space. If you have a huge open-plan room then you don’t want to fill it with tiny-sized tiles, you would need a large-scale tile. And if you were going for wood you wouldn’t want skinny little planks you would want wider plank widths. This is to minimise the number of joins and grout lines and to make sure your flooring is in proportion to the overall space.
Smaller spaces like utility rooms, your downstairs loo or even a small bathroom can be the perfect place to use more detailed and smaller patterned tiles and narrower plank widths.
And if you do have an open plan space don’t think you have to use the same flooring throughout. Using different flooring in different areas can help zone and cosy up a large space, but that’s a whole other blog.
4. Get the right colour
This is probably one of the more important aspects to nail when choosing the right flooring. And there are a number of elements that can have an impact on this.
Practicality – The lighter the floor the floor the more it shows the dirt so think about how much of your life you are prepared to spend cleaning. If you have kids and pets then white and light floors are going to be challenging. Having said that I have all of the above. But I’m not a clean freak I’m pretty happy to let the dirt get trodden in to add character to the place, so it all depends on you and how you live but definitely worth thinking about.
Light – How much light the room will get will certainly have an impact on how light or dark you go with your floors. The less natural light there is bouncing around the room the darker your floors will appear. Darker colours make a room look smaller but this may not be a bad thing if you want to create a dark and cosy retreat. Remember point 1? It all comes down to what feeling you want to create so dark isn’t always bad. But if you are after a light and airy space that makes the most of the light then go for a lighter floor.
Complement – Do you already have furniture or items that are going to be in the room? Probably. So make sure you complement with these. If you have a vintage Persian rug then think about a lighter floor. If you have a pale, powder blue velvet sofa this could look stunning against a dark oak floor.
5. Choose the right pattern
Every floor creates a pattern even if it’s a simple one.
Take a wood or wood effect floor for example. If you lay it in regular plank form you will create a lot of lines that all run in the same direction. Now, if you have a long, thin rectangular room all you are going to be doing is making it appear even longer and thinner with your flooring. So maybe consider parquet planks in a herringbone pattern. This will create a more dynamic pattern on the floor that will break up the boring rectangular shape.
Chevron patterns and very on trend and the zig-zags create a really playful shape so this pattern would be great in the hallway of a contemporary family home.
And don’t forget point 3. If it’s a small space you can have a detailed pattern but if you want to go for pattern in a larger space then keep the sale of the pattern larger.
6. Choose the right finish
With hardwood and engineered wood floors, there are a number of different finishes. It’s worth considering this as part of your decision-making. The most popular two are oiled and lacquered.
Oiled gives a natural look as it accentuates the grain and it absorbed into the wood. They are less durable than the lacquered woods, however, when they do scratch it’s less noticeable on an oiled floor.
Lacquered is a really glossy, smooth and more durable finish. It’s easy to clean but the scratches are more noticeable and they are harder to repair because the finish sits on top of the wood rather than being absorbed into it.
With tiles, it’s much easier to see the finish on the samples. Glazed tiles are the more shiny ones and unglazed have a more rustic feel. A rustic style will suit a more traditional style interior and the glazed will suit a more contemporary look and feel. So just like we discussed in point 1, think about what overall look you want to achieve.
Just a note on high-glaze kitchen floor tiles. Are you going for wash lights in your new kitchen which cast a glow across the floor, or LED strip lighting around your units? Then make sure your floor isn’t so shiny that it reflects the concealed bulbs. I’ve seen this mistake in kitchens and it’s not good.
7. Get the largest samples possible
Some companies can be so mean with their samples and expect you to choose your new £3,000 kitchen floor from a sample no bigger than your phone. If you are going for tiles your sample needs to be at least one full tile. This way you can see the scale of it and the whole pattern or texture. And for the wood effect, you really want a full plank if you can. If they send you teeny tiny samples call and see if you can pay to have a full-sized sample. It’s really not worth scrimping on this so pay for samples where you can to get the best possible insight into your future floor.
Check the sample in the actual room you will be using it in the daylight and nighttime. And if you have sofas or rugs or furniture that are going to be staying check it against those too.
And if you have lots of different samples, don’t line them up all next to each other. How you perceive a sample will be affected by the one sat right next to, which won’t be there once your chosen floor is laid. So consider all your samples one at a time, in isolation from each other.
8. Take your time
I know one couple who suddenly remembered their tiler was arriving the next morning and it was 3 pm on a Sunday. They had one hour to choose their new kitchen floor from the current stock of B&Q. Please don’t let this be you.
Take your time. In reality, this process should take a good couple of weeks and it’s a decision you really can’t afford to get wrong.
Wow, if you’re still reading this well done! It shows you have the right attitude. So there we have it, a two-part guide that should see you through what can be the most daunting interior design decision.
If you’re still not feeling confident then get in touch here. I can talk you through it and give you any assistance you need. Best of luck, let me know how you get on.
