Whether you’re building from scratch or simply updating, make your flooring choices early on to create a solid foundation for your interior style
How to choose flooring for your home like an expert
Deciding on your flooring early provides a starting point to inspire and develop your design aesthetic and colour palette. The benefits of new flooring include warmth, insulation, softness, durability and fade or stain resistance, but it also forms the foundation of a decorating plan, and inspires your other interior choices.
There’s no hard and fast rule about which floor colours go with which paint schemes – it all comes down to the colours you like and the look you’re trying to achieve. When it comes to building and renovating, it’s important to select flooring that strikes a balance between practicality, comfort, style and personal preference.
Carpet Court design ambassador Jane Carolan’s tip:
To help determine your interior style, look at your favourite clothes, the artwork you love and your ultimate travel destinations – you’ll start to see a common thread. If possible, choose your flooring before selecting your paint, wallpaper and furnishings. The colours in your floor can inspire the rest of your colour scheme.
Look at your lifestyle
When selecting the right flooring for your project, consider the space, your lifestyle and the workload the floors will need to endure. The flooring you choose should reflect your personality, add style and comfort, and, if need be, complement existing walls and furnishings.
If you know what you love, and your taste won’t change, then be bold, add some drama and make a design statement. If, however, you’re after something more timeless, browns, greys, and honey tones work well with other hues, and will create a warm and restful atmosphere in your home.
Jane’s tip:
When you want to achieve something that is not going to date and has a sense of timelessness take inspiration from nature. Look for a natural grain running through the boards or laminate or choose a more textured carpet like a loop pile.
Create a cohesive effect
Texture, pattern, contrast and colour are the building blocks of any good design and are pivotal to achieving a sophisticated, stylish and polished look. Choose flooring that flows between rooms to establish a cohesive look throughout; and create that visual wow factor by playing with contrasting colours and textures.
Jane’s tip:
If carpeting a small space, keep the colour tonal to the room, slightly darker than the walls. Wall-to-wall rugs or carpet squares in small spaces can make the space seem smaller, as the eye reads the rug or square, not the room as a whole.
Choose colour cleverly
Choosing the right colour flooring for your home can be a challenge, but colour, when done right, will instantly transform a space. Dark floors will create a sense of intimacy and have a grounding effect in spacious rooms, whereas pale floors will reflect light and make a small room appear larger.
From comfortable carpets to textured tiles and everything in between, remember colour is key when it comes to setting the mood of a room. But before making a final decision, be sure to colour test your flooring sample by day as well as by artificial light at night. It’s an important step in the design process as colours change dramatically when flooded with sunlight or lit by lamps.
Jane’s tip:
Use paler hues to lighten up a room. Soft, cool colours will make a small room appear more spacious. To create more height in a room, use a mix of tones. Apply the darkest shade on the floor, the next shade on the walls, and the lightest shade on the ceiling.
For more ideas and inspiration and tips from Carpet Court design ambassador Jane Carolan, visit www.carpetcourt.nz.
Words by: Annick Larkin.
EXPERT PROJECTS
Create the home of your dreams with Shop Your Home and Garden
SHOP NOW
