When you’re renovating or even building a home, one thing on your mind is style. As you choose the flooring, how can you express your personal style throughout the house?
“You can start by going to manufacturers’ websites or Pinterest and Houzz to get great ideas,” says Julie Zeigler of Martin’s Flooring (www.martinsflooring.com), with locations in Denver, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Wyomissing. “We can also go into your homes, and when we see your surroundings, we can offer advice on what would go with your style and complement what you already have in your home.”
“It depends on the house itself,” comments Linda Hersh of Leola’s Florhaus (www.florhaus.com). “I’m designing for a new house built to look like an older house, so we would put in a more smooth-looking floor, such as oak or maple, for a traditional look.”
“Arts and Crafts style is big in this area,” notes Gary Hurst of Heritage Floors (www.carpetlancasterpa.com) in Ronks. “A lot of people choose a custom-finished hardwood, like white oak, which goes with that style. Farmhouse is also popular locally; our manufacturers say we sell more hand-scraped hardwoods here than anywhere else in the country. Customers opting for an industrial chic look will go after grey hardwoods or a ceramic or porcelain tile that has a concrete look.”
Dawn Woolf of Mechanicsburg’s Floormax (www.floormaxpa.com) sees flooring as “the canvas for the room. For a Scandinavian look, you would want to use a natural maple, which creates an open, light, clean look, whereas tile would be the most likely choice for a Tuscan style room. There are many styles these would complement; it depends on how you put them together and what you’re putting them with.”
Brad Rehmeyer of Rehmeyer Wood Floors (www.rehmeyerfloors.com) in Shrewsbury notes that people often have a variety of design elements in a room. “Some people have a rustic side to them but like cleaner lines throughout the room.
Being able to combine those elements gives people the flexibility to show their personality and their different tastes.”
Try Today’s Trends
Luxury vinyl flooring: New luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and plank (LVP) Hurst points out, “is highly water-resistant, and it’s a softer, quieter floor, not as loud to walk on. It’s also more practical than laminate. The pricing is comparable, but you don’t need a moisture barrier underneath it.”
Wide plank flooring: Whether you’re looking at hardwood, vinyl or ceramic tile, wider planks and large format tiles are definitely a current look. They make the room seem larger and the floor less busy. Hurst says large-format tiles are practical, because there are fewer grout lines to clean, “plus you see less of the grid lines and more of the beauty of the tile itself.”
Eco-flooring: Strand-woven bamboo is overtaking earlier versions of bamboo flooring, which dents easily. The bamboo is shredded and heat-set with a waterproof resin, making strand-woven bamboo one of the hardest woods out there. Another eco-winner, cork, is not only sustainable; Hersh likes it because it’s “durable and it’s a good sound barrier.” Look for a wider variety of colors this year, from chocolate to wheat in bamboo and from spring green to tangerine in cork.
Eco-friendly carpeting: “The eco-friendly carpeting is non-allergenic, and some is made with plastic bottles. It’s very durable,” Hersh explains. And with some of the new colors and patterns, you can achieve an eclectic or boho style.
Engineered flooring: Reymeyer calls engineered flooring “a responsible choice. You can sand it down later and refinish it and you’re back to the life of a solid floor. But it’s more
sustainable, and there is less movement after it’s installed.” Woolf predicts, “Over the next few years, engineered flooring will represent ninety percent of the wood flooring market. People are gravitating toward wider planks, and the wider the plank, the stronger the engineered floor.”
Customized wood flooring: Ziegler notes, “Craftsmanship is still of value, and hardwood floor gives warmth to the room unlike any other product.” Check out the new stain options, like Dramatic Red Ash, Pin-striped Walnut with Hard Maple, and a golden Ofram on Rehmeyer’s “extreme custom” web page.
Tile with radiant heat: Whether you’re using tile to achieve a contemporary or traditional look, radiant heat is something people are placing under the tile,” explains Woolf. “Radiant heat is a good source of energy, keeping energy costs down as it warms the room.
Making It Yours
It’s possible to create different looks by the way the flooring is laid. For example, you can mix sizes and colors or stagger tiles for a less formal look. With wood, Reymeyer says a border, a pattern, or even a medallion states, “there’s something special about that room.”
Depending on the room, Zeigler says, “Carpets have a lot of really nice patterns being introduced that can change the feel and bring out a different personality in the room.”
Hersh says many are choosing ceramic tile or vinyl in a wood look “simply because it’s resilient. If they have children or dogs, it’s not going to scratch. Ceramic tile costs more, but you can achieve the wood look in vinyl less expensively than [in] hardwood or engineered wood.”
Generally, cost-wise, the least expensive are carpeting and traditional vinyl. Next come laminates and luxury vinyl tiles and planks, and at the top are real ceramic tile and real hardwood, but this can vary. No matter what you choose, Zeigler says, “Flooring can set the tone for everything else in the room. It can set the base for furniture and paint colors and anything else you want to put in the room.”
