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Floor is a specific thing, it is an important part of the interior and it is perceived not only optically, as for example walls or ceilings, but also in a tactile way as an object designed for our moving around the room. When we look at the floor, we assess not only its aesthetics but also whether it is comfortable to walk on it. That is why while choosing the kind of design of the floor one should pay special attention to the material and the quality of the cover, and only then to its aesthetic qualities. Inequalities of concrete base on the floor which can be seen through thin linoleum, knobs on wooden floor, creaking and slipperiness of parquet, coldness of ceramic or marble floor, warm coziness of carpet flooring; all that make a double impression on us, when we judge not the aesthetics of a particular floor covering but its expected comfort.
The most unpleasant peculiarity of mass (not individual) building is the imposing of a particular interior for an apartment (wall, ceiling and floor cover) as if the future owner is impersonal. That is why most of us take the floor cover of our flats and houses as something already decided, as entity, which is not for us to decide. Though the floor cover is not so easy to change or make better, it is up to us to change the perception of it. First of all we should take into consideration the future or present furnishing of the room; its quantity will influence the perception of the floor and its place in the interior of the room.
While evaluating aesthetic possibilities of floor in some particular room we should bare in mind that the floor covering, no matter of what material it is made or what aesthetic qualities it has, makes a big impression if a big part of its surface is not occupied with furniture.
Special attention should be paid to the floor design in big specious rooms where there is little furniture, and in a small room with lots of furniture it is not so important. A large part of floor surface without furniture will impress more by its texture of material than a small part of it in a tiny room. Marble looks humiliated in one square meter in the bathroom. A rich with beautiful design carpet looks cut when it is partially under the furniture. Mosaic colorful parquet with huge figures will not make the desired impression in a small room.
Rule:
Floor covering with big pictures or big elements (tiles, parquet blocks, boards and so on), also materials with large texture (marble, long tufted carpet, linoleum imitating wood with large texture, brick or stone laying) should be used in large rooms. The smaller the room is the smaller should be the elements which determine the texture of the floor covering, its design, texture and joints.
Carpet and linoleum floor covering and carpets with large colorful and clear design should be used in rooms which are not less than 20 square meters.
Only self-colored covering should be used in rooms which are less than 10-12 square meters. Floor covering from marble will be aesthetically approved on the floor which is not less than 10 square meters. If the surface of floor (in the bathroom for example) is less than 10 square meters, marble should be put on the walls as well.
Parquet floor with large squares marked by group of parquet blocks put in one direction should be used in rooms which are not less than 17-20 square meters. · Wood flooring in small rooms should be made from boards no more than 10 centimeters wide.
Ceramic, stone or plastic tiles which have dimension 20x20 centimeters should be laid on the floor which is not less than 10 square meters.
Linoleum covering which have separate designs or elements imitating others materials with dimensions more than 20 centimeters should be used on floor surface of no less than 15 square meters (linoleum design looks much clearer than the design of other materials).
Design tiles are used on floors with surface no less than 10 square meters.
Napless or with short tufts and small stitches textiles should be used for carpet covering in small rooms.
While choosing floor covering wee should take into consideration that with its help it is possible to optically change the geometrical form of the room. For instance, if the room is long and narrow, parquet blocks (or boards) should be laid across the width of the room; in case the covering is made of ceramics or stone it is preferable to use rectangular not square tiles, putting their long sides in cross direction to the long side of the room. The same things should be kept in mind while choosing linoleum floor covering: long elements of its design should be in cross direction to the room.
Chalk up,
Well-marked texture of natural materials (for example, knots and lines of annual rings of a tree, stria of marble) raggles between boards or between tiles, strongly marked picture of artificial materials are very suitable for floor covering as they create an optical effect of surface prominency, and that may cause a subconscious feeling of movement obstructions.
Joint-free covering is ideal floor covering for small rooms. Even if the joints are imitated in the design of the covering, they will make the character of the floor unquiet, which is especially noticeable in small rooms. In any case it is preferable to choose a more calm design for floor covering: perception of floor as an entire structure is the most acceptable. Ceramic tiles with pictures, boards with knots, carpets with dynamic and extraordinary design are more suitable for walls and not for floor. It is also important to bare in mind another important for all occasions rule:
The bigger the room is the greater impression should be made by the floor.Timber floor painted even with the best paint will bring to naught all your design efforts (if you have used them) to make the interior of the living-room look, for example, beautiful and charming. At the same time marvelous parquet will look silly in a place where there is not enough room to swing a cat in.
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Glazed, shiny and smooth floor are preferable in small rooms. The main rules of floor covering color and its surface matching are nearly the same as the rules of an object color and size matching. Applying these principles on color design of the floor, we shall only concretize that colorful, deep tone of the floor in a small room will irritate, and it will pack the whole space.If we paraphrase the above recommended rule about correspondence of the character of floor design and its size in small rooms, it can be formulated in the following way: the simpler the room is the simpler should the floor look. While choosing the material for floor covering, its color and texture do not forget about their matching with the color and texture of the material of the walls. Remember that the aesthetic connection of the walls and the floor must be broken by no means. Disharmony of these important aesthetic elements of interior, no matter how well they are designed separately, will make the interior artistically unideaed and inexpressive. Shiny color or original texture or picture of floors will loose their expressiveness, if the floors compete with even more colorful walls or other surfaces of the interior. The rule of contrast harmony with other elements of the interior must be absolutely observed for the floor. What will play a dominant role, walls or floor, depends on the interior situation of the room. If a big part of the surface of floor is not occupied, and the walls are hidden behind huge furniture and elements of decor, it will be logical to lay the emphasis on the floor. In that case the main decorative points should be concentrated on the floor and the walls should look simpler: the expressive design on the floor should not be the same as the design of the walls. If the floor covering is made from wood, there is no point in covering the walls with wood or material imitating wood. Geometric elements of the floor design - bars, squares, rhombs, and triangles - must not be repeated in the covering of the walls.
Combination of close but differently deep colors of the floor and walls will create a calm and representative atmosphere in the room and it can be accepted as the simplest and the most convenient variant of harmony of the interior. In a classical variant when the floor is covered with linoleum of yellow-brown color, which is close to the tone of wood, it is preferable to decorate the walls with wallpaper or some other covering (for example colorful) of beige, yellow-brown, light-brown and light-olive tones.
Remember the rule, which says that the walls must be lighter than the floor! In goes without saying that it is difficult to put an accent on the floor in our small rooms, which are typical for our multistoried buildings, because even the best and the most expressive finishing material will poor in a small piece of surface which is not occupied with furniture. The main emphasis in the interior must be made on the walls if we speak about the connection of the walls and the floor. Inexpressive floor covering in small rooms is worth changing as it will not influence its interior strongly. Try to focus your design efforts on the correct material, picture and color of the walls; and the middle of the floor which is not occupied with furniture cover with a carpet of an appropriate color and size, preferably with a vivid picture in the middle. It will visually make the floor smaller, but at the same time it will distract attention from its dull parts which can be seen from under the furniture.
While putting carpets on the floor make use of the following recommendations.
Choose the place to put a carpet according to the planning or existing placement of the furniture. If there is or supposed to be a sofa, a bed or some armchairs the carpet should be symmetric to them.
If the carpet does not cover the whole surface of the floor, then its color should contrast the color of the floor (for example, red and yellow) - the contrast harmony will make an impression that the surface of the floor even: it will be divided in separate color parts. It is preferable to use floor carpets of tame colors and calm shades, without any flourishes or intricate designs.If we speak about floor covering of separate rooms in the house baring in mind their functional specifics, then we should take into consideration the following.· Self-colored floor covering in halls, kitchens, bathrooms and other small utility rooms are more preferable than semi colored covering.
Putting immovable carpeting in entrance lobby is not rational, as it may cause some problems in taking care of it.
Mere carpeting made from synthetic fibers is not preferable in small bedrooms and nursery rooms.
Long fluffs of the covering and covering imitating animal fur (and also made from natural fur) use only as local covering (that means not on the whole surface of the floor) and put mostly in living-rooms and only in places it will not be effected much (for example, in front of a sofa or a bed). It is not very comfortable to walk on these floor coverings.
The best variant of floor covering in a living-room is parquet or immovable carpeting with short fluffs;
in a dining-room - linoleum;
in a bed-room - linoleum with small carpets near the bed;
in a nursery room - linoleum, board or tile flooring from soaked in color substances smooth wallboard slabs (it is possible to put over it a small carpet which is easy to wash);
in a study - linoleum with a carpet strip; in a room for doing things for pleasure (doing music for example) - linoleum;
in an entrance lobby - linoleum with a small "welcoming" carpet with short fluffs near the door;
in a kitchen - linoleum or tile covering from hard plastic (not ceramic) tiles;
in a lavatory - tile covering from ceramic or marble tiles;
in terraces and balconies - linoleum.
In conclusion the following important moment should be mentioned: making quality and beautiful floor covering is an expensive and time-consuming process. Like everything that is supposed to be used for a long time, material and aesthetic stylistics of the floor should not be subjected to the changing fashion crazes. All kinds of "decorations" in the form of extravagant designs and materials (something like vanished colorful textile fixed on a wooden floor) and other tricks created by amateur enthusiastic designers or smart temporizers can bore you so much in some years or discredit their features that you will have to redo the floor covering from the very start.
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