If you’ve ever been faced with the decision of replacing flooring in your home, it can be a bit overwhelming. Hardwood, carpet, tile, stone, laminate, and I could go on! What type of flooring should you buy? What’s going to look best in your house? Should you use a variety of materials, or just one? I recently had a reader ask me about replacing her living room carpet, and she and her husband had different opinions about what they should do (Really? I’ve never heard of that!). : ) She asked if there are any design rules about flooring, and the answer is, absolutely! Here are some guidelines to think about, before making your decision:
- Consider Form AND Function ~ When selecting anything for your home, from flooring to furniture, consider how you need that product to function for you. It’s important to get the look you want, but even more important that it function the way you need it to. You may love the look of plush white carpeting, but it definitely won’t function in your family room with sippy cups and puppy paws!
- Maximum of Three ~ When considering how many different flooring materials to have in your home, this is a rule-of-thumb to remember: While standing in any one place in your home, it’s best to not see more than three different flooring materials within your view. More than three, and it’s too busy. That said, I believe less-is-more, and less than three is even better! Whether it be hardwood, tile, or carpet, try and keep your flooring materials cohesive. That leads us to …
- Go For the Flow ~ Think of your floors as the “backdrop” of your home. Ideally, it’s good to have a seamless flow from room-to-room, and having the same flooring throughout the common areas of your home provides that flow. Common areas would be your main living areas, such as the living room, family room, dining room and hallway. And, if you can include the kitchen, that much better! This is the photo that my reader sent of her
home, and her question was whether to replace the carpet with the exact same laminate as the adjoining areas, or a different style and color of laminate to separate the spaces. I think you know what I recommended! I also gave her the idea of using large area rugs in the living and dining areas, which would give them the definition of spaces that one of them felt they needed. One last idea is to do an inset of carpet within the laminate flooring, as shown below. If it works well with the shape of the room, it’s a nice way to break up the expanses of hard flooring and provides the same effect as an area rug. I’ve used this design idea before, and with great results!
- How to Break it Up ~ If you do want to change flooring from room-to-room, the bedrooms and bathrooms are the best choices for mixing things up. If you like the feel of soft carpeting underfoot when you step out of bed in the morning, then, by all means, put wall-to-wall carpeting in your bedroom! Tile in the bathrooms? Or course! This makes perfect sense, and these are natural areas to break the flow from the common areas. That said, many people like to have tile or stone flooring in their kitchen, and that’s fine too, IF there are doorways or other areas that create a natural break in the spaces.
I hope you’ve found these flooring tips helpful! Choosing flooring for your home can be challenging, especially with the myriad of options available. If you’re in need of a little help, my Designer Download™ session is a great way to get the ideas, information and resources you need to get you pointed in the right direction. Contact me today and I’ll be happy to chat with you about your design needs!
Design should be fun, not stressful!
~ Kathy
Wow, I hadn’t thought of all that.
Good things to consider!
Kathy,
I loved your advise! I’ve always love the look of the wood flooring with the carpet pieced in the middle. I like the idea better than have a large throw rug over carpet (which is what we have). It affects the carpet and when the rug is taken away there is a sun-bleached affect which looks terrible. I prefer to change the carpet piece in the middle when I feel the need for change! I actually suggested this to Clay and you confirmed my idea. I may go with it… Will let you know.
Thank you my dear.
I’m so glad this was helpful, Gina! You might not remember (since it was so long ago), but I put an inset of carpet in the family room of the house in Sonora. It warmed up the space, and gave a break in all the hardwood flooring (even though they were beautiful, solid walnut!). I’d love to see pics if you want to share them! You can email me at kathy@inside-outdesigns.com. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
And then you have to take all of the pattern options into consideration. Certain patterns can make your room look larger or smaller depending on what you choose. The options are endles…. that’s why we need designers like you to hep us make these decisions. It’s so overwhelming for those of us who are not interior designers. Thanks for the tips.
I love how some places have different types of flooring mixed together. When done right it is so sophisticated and beautiful.
When done wrong…..
Kathy has such good taste, I’d hire her in a minute to design any space I had.
I am seriously going to send your blog link to everyone of my Sellers in the future! I have told people about the rule, “Maximum of Three” for years. Nothing kills the typical Buyers’ desire to buy a house faster than cruddy flooring.
Anyone considering changing your flooring look or functionality, contact Kethy Sturr of Inside-Out Designs. She really knows what she’s doing!
Thank you, Dawn! I’m always happy for you to share my blogs with your clients, and home buyers/sellers are usually in need of design tips. With my tips and your expertise, they should be in good shape! : )
Thanks for the great advice. It makes a ton of sense.
You are such a wealth of knowledge!! Your design tips are so easy to understand and you have a great eye! I currently have carpet in our dining room that I am DYING to replace! Kids+carpet+food=not pretty flooring…..
Very timely advice indeed, Kathy! I’m going to keep all of this flooring advice in mind as I visualize all the amazing improvements we can make to the many homes we’ve been seeing in our home search. We’re always trying to figure out how to improve the flow of space in the older homes we’ve been seeing, and flooring is obviously a key component. it’s nice to know all our options – I’ve never seen inset carpeting before but it would look wonderful in one of the homes we’ve been considering!
What perfect timing – I am right in the midst of trying to figure out what to do with the flooring in my kitchen and how to make it blend with the hardwood in the living room/dining room area. You have given me some very good ideas. I really like the way you take a potentially stressful decorating decision and break it down into some simple, practical choices. (Some may laugh, but interior design and decorating is one of my most stressful situations. I am so grateful that we have the expertise of Inside-Out Designs to call in for help!)
Hi Alexandra! I’m so glad that this blog was helpful to you! Though some blogs are written to be fun and inspirational, it’s great to know that I’m also able to provide information that helps with difficult design dilemmas. Please let me know if you have any other questions on your kitchen flooring project! : )
If I understand correctly, the no more than 3 rule of thumb applies in your main living area, or waht you can see standing in one place. Does that inlcude different rooms in the house that are separated by doors? For example if I have laminate of a certain color in a home office with a door, and I would like to put a different color in a bedroom with a door that is across the hall from the office is that ok? I would also like to use that same new color laminate to replace old carpet in the living and dining room (no doors the rooms flow together) seperated by a stone walkway from the front door. What do you think?
hello Kathy i really got benefit from your flooring design rules and i would like to consult you can we still going with the rule of { Go For the Flow } in multilevel floor area as in my new villa we got tow setting areas with a step up from the hall
the other question what kind of floor material should we apply at dressing rooms if we decide carpet in bedrooms
thank you
Thank you for the sugestions for flooring options.
I have one question; I have butcherblock countertops and whits cabinets so I am wondering what would be a good choice for the floor?
I’m building new home. I have dining and living room together. I like hard woods for living but don’t want it dining area. Kitchen is separated I will use tile there. Should I just use wood dining area ?
Hi Rhonda, It sounds like from the layout of your space, that the flow would work well if you had the hardwood flooring in your dining/living room combo because the area is one large space. I hope this helps! ~ Kathy
Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know
a few of the images aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure
why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same
outcome.
Thanks for letting me know! The images on this blog are showing up okay for me. Are you talking about this post or somewhere else on my site? I really appreciate the heads up! : )
Fantastic !!! You gave such variety ideas. I ever seen these beautiful ideas.
Thanks Kathy….
Thank you, Lara! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Kathy I am struggling with flooring for an entry way that is 7×12 which flows to the left for a small hall and a toilet area. The entry way is now old terrazzo. Basically off white with all kind of light tan rocks on it. As you walk through the entry way there is a pool room with wood floor. The wood floor has slowly been bleached by the sun leaving it with different colors of 2 inch wood strips. I actually like it. Gives variety and interest to the floor. Continuing through the entry way there is a step down with a big fily room tiled in 3 different tiles, which all go together, terra cotta color. Some light tan colors and terra cotta colors. But then there is the old terra cotta entry way! I am thinking about a wood color tile for the entryway. But it will not match the wood color in the pool room plus it will not be the same width pool roomies 2 in. Width the wood tile 6 inch I think. Sorry this is much but there are the three floors seen in a very small area. Is it okay? Help. Thanks teri
Hi Teri, Sorry for my slow reply! I’m normally very good with visualizing when someone describes an area to me, but I want to make sure I’m understanding what you’ve got and what direction each room flows from the entry. The pool room and entry way are on the same level, correct? Then directly off the entry you step down to the multi-colored terra cotta tiles? Even if I have this right in my mind’s eye, it would be great if you could snap a pic showing all three of these areas and shoot it over to me. And if you have a sample of the floor you’re considering, put that in the pic too. I’m not sure if you can add it to your comment here, so if not you can email it to me at kathy@inside-outdesigns.com. I’ll take a look and see what I come up with! ~ Kathy
I am soon purchasing a waterfront home and was in flooring stores last night. My instinct was the same ideas as 1 & 2 but my significant other thought it was just me being anal, lol and he’s the engineer! Anyway, I googled “rules of flooring design” on my iphone in the store and your tips were the first to pop up. I started reading it out loud and it was almost verbatim what I was telling him so your advice helped me to get him on my side of the fence. I agree that too many flooing in one home is over kill and being a Realtor I have heard feedback from buyers of same. Thank you for a simple set of rules to follow. I am going to do the new tile that looks like wood in the common areas but including bedrooms and just do tile in both bathrooms that enhance the color of the wood tile.
Hi Linda,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write! I’m so glad my blog was helpful to you, and you’re one of many couples that have Battle of the Sexes when designing their home. ;-). I love the new faux wood tiles, and they’re such a beautiful alternative to hardwood. I hope your renovations turn out great!
Kathy