When you’re trying to achieve a luxurious appearance in your home, you can use your flooring as a key focal feature. There are a number of flooring materials that can be used to achieve an elegant look throughout your home, but which one should you choose? We share some of the flooring options we use across our luxury residential interior design projects.
Marble flooring
Marble is a naturally occurring stone that is a beautiful flooring material. It’s the perfect choice as it can be customised into several different shades or styles depending on your existing décor. Black and white remain the most popular colour choice for marble flooring as it appears stylish and sophisticated in any room of your home.
Room preferences for marble flooring
Marble is great for high traffic areas such as entrance halls, is easy to clean and shatterproof so will be protected from drops and heavy use. Architects recommend composite marble due to its hard wearing and durable nature.
Marble also looks elegant in bathrooms however it’s important to remember that due to its highly polished surface, it can become incredibly slippery when wet. Adding contrasting bathmats into key areas of the room is a great way to combat this whilst still enhancing your chosen style.
Things to keep in mind regarding marble flooring
Marble conducts the cold easily so in colder regions it can make your home feel much cooler, however it can also act as a great insulator that will help keep the warmth in your home. Adding underfloor insulation will keep your home warmer or just avoid using marble in areas where you will have bare feet.
Adding value with marble flooring
The best part about installing marble flooring is the value it adds to your property. Marble is considered a luxurious feature to have in your home, therefore it increases the value of your home. It’s a home improvement investment that you will always see returned after the sale of the property.
Hardwood flooring
If your home is a more traditional property and you’d like to add a touch more elegance, choosing a hardwood floor is the perfect option. Oak and walnut are two very different but equally beautiful woods available for flooring. Walnut tends to have a dark lustrous shade that can add an element of sophistication to a property, whereas oak is lighter, it works well in many style variations and looks appealing in any property.
One of the best parts about choosing a hardwood floor is the opportunity to refinish the floorboards if you change your mind about the shade. To recolour wooden floors, all you need to do is sand off the existing finish and reapply your new shade.
Room preferences for hardwood flooring
A great feature of wooden flooring is that it suits every room in the home, regardless of size, shape or existing style. Hardwood can open up your living space which makes it the perfect choice for apartments or more compact homes. Adding a patterned rug on top of your hardwood floor will enhance your interior décor as well as creating a feature to your room. Wood is so versatile that you’re able to repeatedly decorate around it without worrying it impacting your existing style choices.
A popular hardwood floor layout tends to be chevron or herringbone, which can be used to create a bespoke and elegant statement without being too bold. Herringbone looks particularly beautiful when exposed in living rooms in a lighter oak.
Using a warm-toned wooden floor in your bedroom can create an elegant and inviting environment, particularly when pairing it with similar toned furniture. Consider adding a large, neutral rug under the bed and matching curtains to complete the look.
Hardwood is a great, easy-to-maintain flooring option, as you’re able to sweep, vacuum or steam it to maintain cleanliness. When well looked after, it is hard to dent or scratch hardwood flooring as it’s so durable, making it the perfect choice for your kitchen floor.
Adding value with hardwood flooring
A wooden floor will add value to your property due to its high demand. Most homeowners want wooden floors and will actively seek it out in a property making their value increase.
Concrete flooring
Concrete is an unusual alternative flooring, but it can be stained to become more decorative. As you can stain it, you have almost limitless freedom to do anything with it. Not only will you be able to customise the colour, but you’ll also be able to customise the design and finish. Polished concrete creates a luxurious high gloss finish that is very appealing. A concrete floor can last upwards of 50 years with minimal upkeep or maintenance, making it a true investment feature for your home.
Room preferences for concrete flooring
If your home or décor is more contemporary, a concrete floor is a great addition and can add an industrial twist when used in grey or black and in conjunction with striking artwork. For a more sophisticated appearance, try patterned brown concrete paired with warm-toned furniture and cream walls.
In your bathroom, you’re going to want to choose something that is highly effective at keeping out the moisture and is incredibly easy to clean. Concrete is great for this but you do have to be careful as it can become slippery when wet.
Using concrete in your kitchen is a great option as there are no joints or grout and therefore nowhere for spills to leak into! Due to its durability, concrete will withstand spills and other accidents that are likely to occur in the kitchen.
Things to keep in mind with concrete flooring
Although concrete floors can be colder particularly on bare feet, underfloor insulation paired with beautiful decorative rugs can tackle this cold.
Concrete can be known to crack over long periods of time especially if it isn’t correctly looked after or it’s exposed to extremely low temperatures.
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