Flooring is a huge part of a room's real estate and can be quite costly, so it is definitely something you need to think carefully about. Flooring need to be super tough as it gets perhaps the most wear and tear of any surface (except for perhaps the kitchen bench top) in the house. And we also want it to look beautiful, right? So here are some fab flooring ideas for your home:
1 Writing with penny round tiles
If you think about it, penny rounds are just like pixels, so you can place them in a way they can create unique designs - including words or short sentences! It will take a bit of planning to achieve the result you're after, but if you're willing to invest the time, you can end up with something really adorable and unique. Do think long term (ie the next owner of the home) so I wouldn't recommend doing anything too personal like a name etc. But you can do something like the image below, or the postcode of the home or a saying in French such as "Ooh la la"!
Pro tip - in super small bathrooms, you might choose to do this on the wall rather than the floor. Above a bath is a prime location in my humble opinion!
2 Borders on rugs or runners
So, this is a great trick I use when we need a 'custom' sized rug for a space or if I'm doing runners going up the stairs! You can get jute or cotton binding in a number of sizes and colours and it really finishes off the piece beautifully. It makes it look super polished and designer-y! Sisal or wool is my material of choice for both these items because they're super classic and long-wearing. The border in the pic below seems to have brass tacks added, which I totally love.
Pro tip - layer your rugs using the sisal or wool one as the base and add the feature one on top.
3 Patterned tiles
There are a growing number of absolutely beautiful options if you want to do something amazing like this one below. Other cute options are Old English tiles or creating your own pattern through a tile that comes in a few colours (similar in approach to the penny round option above).
Pro tip - use the colours from the tiles for your walls or furniture to tie it all in
4 Precious materials inlaid in timber
OK, this one is out there, but how gorgeous is this!! You would need to source an artisan to achieve this and that's no mean feat. I would say this would be best for a small low traffic area or even as wall panels. You could use this as a border which would be divine.
5 Inlay carpet in timber
This is quite common in high value houses. It ensures the heights of the timber and carpet is uniform and it allows the timber to form a border for the carpet. This approach is usually seen when there are timber floors throughout, but you want a bed or a sofa for example, to be on carpet. Suits a number of different styles from modern to my favourite - modern classic.
Pro tip - you can add a metal border where the materials meet for even more definition. Think black or brass!
6 Metal inlay in timber
Not something you see often but so stunning! There are companies that offer these as pre-made 'tiles' so it's somewhat affordable. I'd use this in the public areas of the home to maximise your buck's bang!
7 Concrete inlay in timber
Stumbled across this one in my research for this blog, and fell hard! I love the rough texture of the concrete next to the smooth timber. They grey and brown work beautifully too. I have no idea how you achieve this, but it's on my list now!
8 Metal inlay in concrete
I've seen this done a number of ways, as borders like the image below but also and asymmetrical and random (ie artistic) placing and angles. I've seen it done with brass which was stunning and black such as below is timeless too.
9 Patterned terrazzo
This one is a printed tile, but I do love that it's not just a plain terrazzo that you see everywhere.
10 Transitioning materials
How clever is this! They've transitioned from all timber in the non-wet areas to all marble tiles in the wet areas, while using the same tiling pattern. Brilliant! The obvious challenge would be to find the same sized materials. Interestingly, the timber planks could actually be tiles too - hard to tell from the photo, but that's a possibility.
11 Paint onto timber or cement
OK this one is a bit ambitious. You could attempt to DIY this but you would have to make sure you're using the right primers, sealers and getting straight lines. If you commission a painter to do it (or even a mural artist) you will be paying for their time to tape up all those lines straight!!!
What do you think of flooring ideas? Is there something you'd do in your home (if time and money were no objects)? I would love to hear if you've ever used any of the above options OR if you've done something different!! Once you start researching this, it becomes a rabbit hole of magical things....I love my job!!
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