Options for fashionable flooring abound, but floors still are the design element most often overlooked in homes, designers say.
“I think a good, quality floor kind of sets the stage for the whole room,” said Penny Bowen, owner of Bella, a Columbus interior design firm, noting “hardwood floors, including heart pine and hickory, tend to be the most popular” in flooring trends now.
“In bathroom areas, we see a lot of natural stones, like tumbled marble,” she added.
“The floors are durable and pretty much will last your lifetime,” Bowen explained of the benefits of hardwood flooring. “The other advantage is they”re neutral, so in the future when you choose to change your wall colors or decor in your room, the flooring isn”t an obstacle. It just allows you to change.”
Installing hardwood is the best choice, say Atlanta- and New York-based designers Mallory Mathison and Janine Carendi.
“You can”t replace the warmth and texture a wood floor gives you,” said Carendi.
Mathison suggested painting scuffed or faded hardwood floors.
“If you have tons of dings and divots, paint makes the imperfections look cool,” she explained. “And paint makes the lines of the wood more pronounced and kind of creates a nice, linear architecture in the floor.”
Designers and flooring store owners are seeing less wall-to-wall carpeting and porcelain tile.
“You see porcelain tile mainly in laundry rooms,” said Mathison, “But not much elsewhere.”
“If somebody chooses carpet, it”s usually a Berber or frieze,” said Bowen, referring to two types of carpeting. “Hard surfaces and area rugs (are popular).”
And environmentally friendly or ”green” floorings have become more popular, Mathison observed.
“You see fully recycled ”green” flooring now,” she said. “Every single major company is moving toward having a huge portion of their products be green-friendly.”
“I would say a real popular trend nowadays is bamboo flooring,” said Austin Speck, owner of Brickerton Flooring and Design in Columbus. “It”s go-green, recyclable material. With bamboo, you don”t have to replant after you cut it down. It”s good for the environment and it”s real durable.”
“Things green, like bamboo and reclaimed hardwood (are popular),” said Lisa Dennison of The Design Group in Columbus. “Seagrasses, sisal and woven fibers are also popular.”
The versatility of concrete flooring also is appealing to Speck”s customers.
“Acid-stained concrete is fairly cheap and looks decent and you can always go back over and tile it,” he said.
“It”s been very minimal on wall-to-wall carpeting,” he added. “Nobody really does that anymore.”
Melissa Rayworth of The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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