FLOORING... HOW TO CHOOSE

Floored by Choice…

So, you’ve decided to update your flooring and the options appear to be endless….that’s because they are!

Here’s what you really need to think about while choosing;

What will you be using the room for?

Some rooms are self explanatory – kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms and hallways work really well with hard floors that are easy to clean. Who needs to be cleaning bolognaise sauce of a beige carpet on a regular basis? Carpets can work well in bedrooms and lounges! Nobody likes to step out of bed onto a freezing cold floor!

Will there be a lot of foot traffic?

Hallways are obviously one of the highest areas of foot fall in a house. This doesn’t mean that a carpet is definitely out, but hard flooring can be easier to maintain. Don’t forget too that only certain floorings are suitable for under-floor heating!

What image are you hoping to convey in the new room?

Using carpets can enhance the cosiness of a room, introduce colour or create a feel of luxury. Hard flooring can look sleek, clean and elegant. Of course a hard floor can always be “warmed up” by a magnificent rug.

Budget – set it and “TRY” and stick to it!

There is a massive range of flooring out there, ranging in price from pocket money budget to “sell the Aston Martin to pay for it”! Although there’s a happy medium, you really do need to do your homework on the quality of your chosen floor. I’ve seen many a wooden floor “slip” despite looking amazing on instalment. Likewise, you want to feel the carpet and ensure it is the right colour and pile depth that you want. Most companies allow you to bring home samples of carpets and flooring to check what it would look like in situ!

W O O D

At Amy Nicholas Interiors we work with various companies to offer flooring to our clients, such as Havwoods, who provide some beautiful wood floor options from Engineered Wood Flooring to Solid Wood Floors and Reclaimed Wood Flooring. They also have a wealth of information on their website about the grades of the wood used. Contact us if you need expert interior design advice…

C A R P E T S

For gorgeous carpets, we use a wide spectrum of companies and one of our favourites is Jacaranda Carpets. They create a wide range of carpets and rugs from hand woven and knotted to machine made wools and the use of Tencel to create stunning shine on their products. All this with a determined eye on the ethics and environmental impact of manufacturing.

T I L E S

Another flooring alternative, with more and more choice these days, is a tiled floor. We love London Encaustic, who specialise not only in glorious tiles for walls and floors, but also in some amazing custom made copper baths (just in case you are in the market for one of those as well as some flooring!) From exquisite patterned to elegantly plain tiles of all sizes, it’s well worth a visit to their lovely website.