A relatively permanent fixture, flooring must be chosen carefully when planning a decor. Experiment in each room with sample tiles and swatches before making a final decision, says Jane Drew
1. Tread carefully
When choosing wall coverings you will need to consider mundane factors such as cost, durability and safety. These surfaces need to be waterproof, noise-proof and often childproof -- and since they cover a lot of ground design-wise, it’s best to opt for something unobtrusive.
2. Magic carpet
Carpet, whether wall-to-wall or in space-defining squares is popular again — it’s a good way to introduce colour into a room without causing too much decorative noise. While purists stick to neutral tones, you can choose to play up accent colours in the surrounding decor.
3. High fibre
If you want a bit of texture without creating too heavy a look, opt for natural fibres like tatami, coir, jute, sisal, rush and seagrass. Fashionable and environmentally friendly, mats can be made-to-measure and look best edged in plain, white cotton or linen.
4. Set in stone
Large rooms need large plain tiles; small patterned tiles will look too busy. Flagstones and large terracotta tiles particularly suit the proportions of large rooms, as do precision-cut slate sheets. Natural tiles of this type come in smooth or rough finishes and wear well over time.
5. Engineered wood
Since the supply of quality hardwoods is dwindling world-wide, most wooden floors laid in the past 20 years are engineered — a thin strip of solid wood is soldered to a medium-density fibreboard base. It’s a stable composite that is cheaper to produce, lighter and harder-wearing then solid wood. Better able to resist changes in temperature and humidity, engineered wooden flooring is a stable surface with a seamless finish and no visible joins.
6. On paper
Totally cutting-edge, paper flooring is a newly viable option. It is hardwearing, stain resistant and even stiletto- proof, thanks to a complicated wetting and weaving manufacturing process.
7. Ceramic art
The most durable and impermeable of all flooring materials, glazed ceramic tiles do not need sealing for protection. They are low maintenance and almost indestructible. Mass-produced, they are easy and inexpensive to buy, and available in a huge range of colours.
8. Solid surfacing
Safe and easy to clean, man-made solid surfacing like Corian or Formica provides a galaxy of interesting design possibilities, whether simulating wood or tile. Materials such as vinyl, while not as long-lasting as natural substances, are cheaper and easier to replace when worn.
9. Rug up
Long, thin rectangular rugs, preferably Persian or Tibetan, look great laid end-to-end along hallways or at the end of a bed. As an even more exotic option, animal skins look particularly striking in a modern monochrome scheme, as do leather tiles, another high-end flooring option, that’s warm and wonderfully tactile under foot.
10. Walk the plank
As a general rule, long- or wide-strip wooden flooring, whether engineered or solid, is more expensive than short-strip flooring, which is made up of short geometrically inlaid pieces of wood. Long, made-to-measure planks beat fussy and old-fashioned parquet and herringbone effects hands down.
