The right flooring will elevate the look of interior spaces and provide comfort underfoot for years to come.
The flooring you choose for your home is one of the most important design decisions you’ll make, and will define the overall look of the space.
Australia’s leading online platform in home renovation and design, Houzz, undertakes extensive surveys to award the Best of Houzz each year.
The people’s choice awards for the best of flooring have revealed what is most popular underfoot.
Classic Timber
Over a third of the participants in the Best of Houzz 2017 survey liked timber as their top flooring choice.
There is good reason for the appeal of timber, whether laying new or refinishing existing floorboards.
With a natural warmth and range of colors that will suit any interior, timber is the classic choice for many homeowners.
Modern stains and treatments mean that a wide range of colors and finishes are possible. Very light tones have been popular for several years, but darker stains are taking over as new interior trends emerge.
Unlike Baltic pine and Oregon soft timbers used in the past, hardwoods such as jarrah and blackbutt are now preferred for their durability.
Cool Concrete
Although concrete is much more of a niche option, in a new, modern build or extension, there are many reasons to love a concrete floor. The Best of Houzz 2017 reveals that the top motivations for flooring purchases are look and feel, durability, and ease of care. A concrete floor hits all of these targets. The clean and expansive look of a polished concrete floor adds a sense of spaciousness to any room. Quite the opposite of being a cold choice, concrete is a warm material that doesn’t show the dirt and is easy to clean and care for. The finish feels very pleasant underfoot.
It’s a low-maintenance option, but there are some things to bear in mind to keep your concrete floor looking its best. Avoid coarse bristles and harsh cleaning products, and mop up spills as quickly as possible because concrete is porous. Use microfiber mops and pH neutral products.
Avoid wax products, as they can permanently damage the polished surface and void the warranty. Degreasers should also be avoided because they are abrasive and can lead to losing the polished finish and dulling the whole floor. When the floor has been installed and cured by an expert, concrete is generally very durable.
Versatile Tiles
For bathrooms, always coming out on top are ceramic or porcelain tiles, with a resounding 75% of Best of Houzz survey participants ticking this box. Graphic patterns add instant appeal to an otherwise simple space, and can be particularly effective in small areas where the pattern doesn’t overwhelm the other elements. Overall, trends are for large-format tiles that can help a small bathroom appear larger and have fewer grout lines to break up the look. Pressed and natural stone tiles such as marble are still very popular bathroom options.
The most commonly used tile type is ceramic. These tiles can be either glazed or unglazed. This essentially means the pattern or glaze sits on top of the base, or the biscuit, as it is called.
The other common choice is a porcelain tile. Porcelain is a more refined material and fired at a higher temperature than ceramic tiles. This process makes porcelain more durable and harder than ceramic, so it’s often more expensive.
Unlike a ceramic tile, where the pattern sits on the top, the pattern in a porcelain tile goes the whole way through. Porcelain is usually preferred for bathrooms, as it is a dense material, which makes it almost waterproof.
Product research and development is delivering significant environmental, maintenance and aesthetic benefits to vinyl. There is greater ability to custom design vinyl floors now by adding accent colors to standard lines. Modern looks range from concrete, natural stone and timber, to even distressed metals.
This new generation of surface finishes results in very realistic timber and ceramic design looks. Performance has been improved in many ways, including wear and maintenance as well as acoustic and comfort underfoot. There is a big push in the industry to use biodegradable plasticizers in the production of vinyl. These renewable resources make the material recyclable.
Far from the garish and unpleasantly sticky linoleum of old, modern vinyl ranges have come a long way.
New and improved surface treatments and coatings, along with advanced laser technologies mean that both the quality and look of vinyl flooring is better than ever.
Available in sheet, plank and tile form, vinyl floors are excellent value for money and straightforward to DIY.
Particularly well suited to high traffic areas, vinyl is easy to clean, non-allergenic, chemical and fire resistant, and often recyclable. It’s the flooring of the future for many.
Cosy Carpet
When the brief is for soft and luxurious underfoot, it has to be carpet. While we prefer hard flooring options in most areas, the Best of Houzz 2017 survey tells us that carpet is still number one in the bedroom.
Carpets are available in 100% wool, wool and nylon blends, and many different synthetic fibers. Wool is cool in summer and warm in winter, but it can be costly. Solution-dyed nylons are cheaper, but are also soft to touch and have good fade resistance. For high-traffic areas, choose a yarn-dense carpet. The heavier the sample, the more yarn it’s likely to have.
The flooring you choose for your home is one of the most important design decisions you’ll make, and will define the overall look of the space.
Australia’s leading online platform in home renovation and design, Houzz, undertakes extensive surveys to award the Best of Houzz each year.
The people’s choice awards for the best of flooring have revealed what is most popular underfoot.
Classic Timber
Over a third of the participants in the Best of Houzz 2017 survey liked timber as their top flooring choice.
There is good reason for the appeal of timber, whether laying new or refinishing existing floorboards.
With a natural warmth and range of colors that will suit any interior, timber is the classic choice for many homeowners.
Modern stains and treatments mean that a wide range of colors and finishes are possible. Very light tones have been popular for several years, but darker stains are taking over as new interior trends emerge.
Unlike Baltic pine and Oregon soft timbers used in the past, hardwoods such as jarrah and blackbutt are now preferred for their durability.
Cool Concrete
Although concrete is much more of a niche option, in a new, modern build or extension, there are many reasons to love a concrete floor. The Best of Houzz 2017 reveals that the top motivations for flooring purchases are look and feel, durability, and ease of care. A concrete floor hits all of these targets. The clean and expansive look of a polished concrete floor adds a sense of spaciousness to any room. Quite the opposite of being a cold choice, concrete is a warm material that doesn’t show the dirt and is easy to clean and care for. The finish feels very pleasant underfoot.
It’s a low-maintenance option, but there are some things to bear in mind to keep your concrete floor looking its best. Avoid coarse bristles and harsh cleaning products, and mop up spills as quickly as possible because concrete is porous. Use microfiber mops and pH neutral products.
Avoid wax products, as they can permanently damage the polished surface and void the warranty. Degreasers should also be avoided because they are abrasive and can lead to losing the polished finish and dulling the whole floor. When the floor has been installed and cured by an expert, concrete is generally very durable.
Versatile Tiles
For bathrooms, always coming out on top are ceramic or porcelain tiles, with a resounding 75% of Best of Houzz survey participants ticking this box. Graphic patterns add instant appeal to an otherwise simple space, and can be particularly effective in small areas where the pattern doesn’t overwhelm the other elements. Overall, trends are for large-format tiles that can help a small bathroom appear larger and have fewer grout lines to break up the look. Pressed and natural stone tiles such as marble are still very popular bathroom options.
The most commonly used tile type is ceramic. These tiles can be either glazed or unglazed. This essentially means the pattern or glaze sits on top of the base, or the biscuit, as it is called.
The other common choice is a porcelain tile. Porcelain is a more refined material and fired at a higher temperature than ceramic tiles. This process makes porcelain more durable and harder than ceramic, so it’s often more expensive.
Unlike a ceramic tile, where the pattern sits on the top, the pattern in a porcelain tile goes the whole way through. Porcelain is usually preferred for bathrooms, as it is a dense material, which makes it almost waterproof.
Product research and development is delivering significant environmental, maintenance and aesthetic benefits to vinyl. There is greater ability to custom design vinyl floors now by adding accent colors to standard lines. Modern looks range from concrete, natural stone and timber, to even distressed metals.
This new generation of surface finishes results in very realistic timber and ceramic design looks. Performance has been improved in many ways, including wear and maintenance as well as acoustic and comfort underfoot. There is a big push in the industry to use biodegradable plasticizers in the production of vinyl. These renewable resources make the material recyclable.
Far from the garish and unpleasantly sticky linoleum of old, modern vinyl ranges have come a long way.
New and improved surface treatments and coatings, along with advanced laser technologies mean that both the quality and look of vinyl flooring is better than ever.
Available in sheet, plank and tile form, vinyl floors are excellent value for money and straightforward to DIY.
Particularly well suited to high traffic areas, vinyl is easy to clean, non-allergenic, chemical and fire resistant, and often recyclable. It’s the flooring of the future for many.
Cosy Carpet
When the brief is for soft and luxurious underfoot, it has to be carpet. While we prefer hard flooring options in most areas, the Best of Houzz 2017 survey tells us that carpet is still number one in the bedroom.
Carpets are available in 100% wool, wool and nylon blends, and many different synthetic fibers. Wool is cool in summer and warm in winter, but it can be costly. Solution-dyed nylons are cheaper, but are also soft to touch and have good fade resistance. For high-traffic areas, choose a yarn-dense carpet. The heavier the sample, the more yarn it’s likely to have.
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