The 8 Most Important Interior Design Rules for Flooring
The 8 Most Important Interior Design Rules for Flooring
Whether you’re remodeling or adding to your home, figuring out how to design the floors in any space is a big project. Given that the floors in your house will need to be sturdy and work with your decorating plans, there are a lot of details to consider. To help you navigate it all, here are a few of our top interior design rules for flooring.
Interior Design Rules for Flooring
1. Start with Functionality
The first questions you want to ask yourself about flooring should always start with how the space will be used. Will it have a lot of foot traffic? Is this a space that might have a lot of moisture and humidity? Do you need this room to be a place of comfort?
Identifying the room's function will help narrow down the exact type of flooring you will need. For example, bathrooms and washrooms might need more water-resistant flooring, such as ceramic tile or vinyl, or water-resistant rugs like polypropylene. On the other hand, a living room where people can come to rest and relax might be better with cork or soft carpets or rugs. It might also need rugs that can stand up to lots of foot traffic.
2. Balance Floor Color with Room Size
The color of your floors can impact how large or small a room feels. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- For smaller rooms, use light-colored floors. They will help the room look larger and brighter.
- If you want to make a large room feel more grandiose, opt for large tiles or wide planks to add to the grandeur of the space.
- To make a larger room feel more intimate, use darker-colored flooring options.
- Use rugs to change up the color balance in your room. You can play with how cozy or expansive the room feels by incorporating different color area rugs into a space.
Use a light rug over dark floors to make a room feel larger, like this Artisan Jute Wool Blend Rug Collection in Birch.
3. Use Flooring to Zone Spaces
Using different types of flooring in each room creates a visual structure around your home. This zoning technique works exceptionally well for homes with open floor plans.
For example, you can use tiles in the kitchen, hardwood in the dining room, and a big area rug in the living room. Even in an open-concept home, the difference in flooring materials will help set each space apart.
The Oval Jute Rug 6'x9' in Tan helps create a distinct zone in the dining area of the open floor plan.
4. Don’t Forget About Transition Management
Your flooring decisions may vary from room to room in your house. You’ll want to ensure a smooth transition between materials to prevent trips and falls. It also will help your home look more polished. You can accomplish optimal transition management through several options:
- Use decorative inlays between flooring materials
- Match the color of one room's flooring to the other, even if they are made of different materials.
- Use a runner rug or area rug to connect the two spaces while also hiding the spot where the flooring meets.
5. Coordinate Design Elements
Another of the interior design rules for flooring has to do with decoration. You want to make sure that your flooring matches the vibe you are going for in the room. Take time to look through flooring options to build cohesion in your interior design. It will only help the room feel more put together.
6. Consider Maintenance
Your lifestyle greatly influences what flooring you should get for your home. Basically, it comes down to how much time and energy you want to put into maintenance. If you have the time and the resources, then here are some flooring types that need more care over time:
- Natural hardwood
- Natural stone (marble, limestone, etc.)
- High-gloss floors (polished tiles, glass tiles)
- Carpet
- Cork
- Bamboo
However, if you are looking for less upkeep with your floors, check out the following materials:
- Engineered wood
- Character-grade hardwood
- Vinyl
- Laminate
7. Use Rug Layering
Adding a rug runner or area rug to your flooring design has many benefits. For one thing, layering them on top of your floor will increase its durability. It creates an extra layer of protection against wear and tear. Rugs also have utility in noise reduction. If your flooring is throwing off a room’s acoustics, a good rug will help manage the sound.
Rugs also provide ample opportunities to add new colors and textures to a space. You can use them to contrast or highlight the flooring you’ve chosen. Designwise, using area rugs can help you zone out different areas of your home when working with an open floor plan.
Finally, layering rugs over your flooring provides extra comfort. Be it in high-traffic areas like stairways or places where you want to be cozy, like a bedroom or living room, adding a rug to those rooms will provide extra cushion.
The Houndstooth Wool Sisal Rug Collection in Raven provides a stylish accent to a dining space.
8. Go Green
If sustainability is important to you, then you are in luck. There are many eco-friendly flooring options for you to consider as you design your home. Materials like bamboo are a rapidly renewable resource, while cork flooring can be produced regeneratively without harming the tree. You can even find unique flooring by sourcing reclaimed wood or recycled materials for your home.
If you’re interested in sustainable rugs, all of Sisal Rugs Direct’s sisal, seagrass, hemp, and jute rugs are sustainably sourced and made out of natural, biodegradable materials.
Get Floored
Now that we’ve walked you through the most crucial interior design rules for flooring, it’s time for you to find the right materials for your home.
Remember, rugs are there to help when it comes to zoning, decorating, and making your floors more comfortable. Check out our full selection to design the floors of your dreams!
