Danube home expert
Your decorating and DIY questions solved by the interiors specialist
Q
We
are a group of friends who are all moving out of shared homes into spaces of our own. While we are having a lot of fun shopping for furniture and accessories, we can’t make up our minds about flooring. Can you give us some options?
A Flooring
is as essential to a living space as painting a wall or putting up wallpaper. It has to match your design aesthetic and should be strong, durable and easy to maintain. As there are a group of you shopping, you have the chance to cover lots of ground – choose what you like depending on the function of the space and your design ideas. Here are some of the key flooring options:
Stone flooring
This could be expensive and difficult to maintain, but stone floors never go out of fashion. Need a totally luxurious home? Opt for granite, marble, limestone or slate. If you need to stay within a budget, do up one room as a talking point.
Ceramic tiles
These work exceptionally well, especially in a hot country such as the UAE as they keep the floor cool in summer. Come winter, they provide a perfect background for carpets and rugs. As they are available in many shapes, colours, sizes and textures, you can mix and match to create your own signature flooring style. Have a more sedate bedroom flooring for example then splash out on a bold pattern in the living room. There are three top types of ceramic tiles: Glazed ceramic tiles: These have a glass-like coating that gives the tiles a huge range of colours and textures. Almost maintenance-free, these are great for every room in the house.
Quarry tiles: Unglazed and therefore rougher in texture than the glazed tile. Slip-resistant and great for bathrooms and kitchens.
Porcelain tiles: These can be glazed or unglazed. Fired at super-high temperatures, it is an ultra-durable tile, so can be used both indoor and outdoors.
Parquet flooring
This gorgeous wood or wood-like flooring adds warmth and class to every home. The top three types of parquet flooring are HDF laminated flooring; engineered wood and, of course, solid wood flooring.
PVC vinyl flooring
This is made from polyvinyl chloride plastic. Inexpensive, water-resistant and durable, this synthetic flooring is fast becoming popular. It’s available in several colours including silver, greys, browns and neutrals plus wood grain designs.
Carpeting
This refers to fitted or wall-to-wall carpeting. It’s a good idea to carpet a toddler’s room to cushion falls, but avoid carpeting if someone in your family suffers from asthma and allergies or if you have pets. Creating a sense of warmth and luxury, modern carpeting comes in a range of colours, patterns, textures and materials. It’s a good idea to keep to neutral colours and low-pile carpets, especially in high-footfall areas. But if you can vacuum regularly and have your carpets professionally shampooed periodically, there’s nothing more luxurious than foot-sinking, snow-white carpeting.
Linoleum
Modern linoleum comes in lovely colours and patterns and is great for spaces such as kitchens. Made with renewable, biodegradable materials, linoleum is also considered a top eco-friendly flooring option.