Hottest trends in home flooring for 2013

When it is about selecting flooring for your home, you may think that there are limited options available. The good news is that some really unique flooring styles have come up in the last few years that can render a distinctive look to your edifice. The best part is that these floors are economical and environmental friendly; some of them are even recyclable.

Scratched hardwood flooring – Home owners often complain of scratches and dents that appear in their hardwood flooring. It is more common in homes with children and pets. Pre- scratched hardwood flooring is one of the latest trends in home flooring. It suits best for the homes with a retro theme.

Recyclable floors – These floors are made of various kinds of materials such recycled tire rubber, recycled ceramic and granite slabs and recycled wood planks. These are very easy to install and maintain. These are more beneficial for those who rent accommodation as they can uninstall the floor and take it with them. Polypropylene floors are also a widely used recyclable floor and can be easily rolled and carried to another place. 

French bleed flooring – It is another latest trend in flooring in which the corners of each one of the boards is darkened for providing a contrast to the natural color of the board. It gives a very rustic and natural look to the floor. These come in a wide range of colors but the best ones are earthy brown, antique bronze and burgundy.

Piano high gloss finish floor – The quality and shiny appearance of these floor tiles justifies their name as they have a very glossy and glowing finish just like the surface of a piano. These render a very sophisticated look to the floor and look like natural hardwood flooring. It can be used to highlight a particular corner of the house like the hall.

Home Décor: Best Material for Flooring

Building the dream house is certainly everyone’s dream. One of most inevitable part of home décor is flooring. Granite and marble are generally used for the purpose; they are the two most popular type of material for walls and flooring. Both being suitable for the function however there is a great difference between the two pertaining to the quality and other attributes.

Granite or Marble, which one is better…

Marble as flooring material is beautiful but is likely to get scratched easily and can also lose its shine when exposed to oil, chemical, beverages etc. Being a limestone it absorbs water easily and a wet marble surface is fragile and dull.

Conversely, Granite Tiles are study, durable, are less likely to get scratched and hence a little expensive than other materials. Dark granite is usually denser than the light colored; this is because dark granite has fewer amounts of pores. Besides granite has identical pattern and hence can easily be placed with the apprehension of a particular design or certain order. It can primarily be seen in offices, hotels, shopping malls and such likes. However now it is the most preferred type of material for building houses as well.

Preservation of Granite…

As mentioned granite being a sturdy material thus do not require much of the maintenance. In addition to flooring it is widely used for counter tops, kitchen’s slabs, wall space etc. Granite Tiles also have less dense pores yet it is important to clean them at regular intervals or the staining may enter the tile exterior.

For the preservation, you can use hot water with laundering cleaning soap which is applied using a sponge or soft cloth to prevent scrapes. Sealants are also an important part of installation in order to preserve dirt and staining. However before you take the decision of implementing granite as the flooring material consider its costs and availability.

Limestone tiles- beauty in disguise

Adorning a home is dream of every home owner. For some getting this done is an easy job while for some it is quite over whelming. They plan out each and every detail so that they could exceptionally decorate their house to give it a more phenomenal and stunning look.

While flooring, everyone goes for limestone tiles as they don’t want to compromise with the quality. Known to be strong would add beauty to your home. These tiles are not just meant for homes but are being hugely used in commercial enterprises also as they feel that limestone would adorn the flooring. Being tough flooring tile is durable too. In construction materials, crushed limestone is used as concrete. Capable of being resistible to freezing and thawing states provides range of cobble stones, limestone, wall rocks, boulder outcropping stones and a large assortment of garden stones. All of these are used in making wide hue of rocks.

Limestone is available underneath the seas and oceans. Likewise, its opus comprises of dead creatures and sea shells. Shells are known to be present in their existing form at the bottom of the sea or the ocean. As these are made up of dead creatures so for the same reason some of the other sediments also get attached with these decayed materials. After long span of time, now these are being converted into a cemented layer which would later turn out to be hardcore rock which indicates that immense pressure has been applied on the substance. As soon as it is employed in pure form, it is ready to be used as floor tiles and counters.

Just not for flooring, these tiles are also used for art purpose. Advancements indicate that limestone is these days being used as the base material while constructing roads. Other than this, in the process of glass purification also, limestone is used. In order to exclude impurities from the molten form of the iron, limestone’s help is taken. All must have heard about Portland cement, it is produced with the help of limestone. If want to see its live example then you could give a look at the ingredients written on your filler and abrasive toothpaste. Lime and quicklime creation is also with the help of limestone.

After seeing so many classification of limestone, the same is now excessively and popularly used for flooring. This tile is one of the most remarkably implemented tiles both in houses and other commercial places all over the world. Bring along a fragile look are capable of giving your house that wow look.

Now if you have planned to buy limestone tiles, you could take help of internet resources and at once with the help of the search engines could look for the retailers who make available with this service. There are many retailers who are active online so that they could help their customers in their queries and deliver them the best product. The best part of the online service is that the customer has direct link with the experts and could buy what would be best for his residential or commercial building. Through online retailers you could bag the most affordable prices in shortest time possible.

Marble floors – making a comeback in the interior designing

Howsoever old may it be the idea of using marble in home floors and shelves will never become outdated. This idea grew popular in the late 50’s but till date marble is the first choice of many people who wish to make their homes appear elegant and classy. Unlike the earlier times when this pretty stone was just used in buildings and offices, many people are installing this stone in their homes not only on floors but also on kitchen shelves and racks.

Marble is strong, durable and good-looking which makes it popular among many interior designers. It is available in various colors and patterns. As it is formed naturally, no two stones can be exactly same. This also satisfies the people seeking uniqueness in their home. Some home owners also choose to renovate their home floors by removing the earlier traditional floor by a marbled one. Marble is easy to maintain and strong to withstand any kind of usage. There is no question of the design washing away by continuous usage of the floor as the stone installed is very rugged. Even if the upper layer of the marble slabs is removed, the lower layers are the same due to their thickness which is not the case in floor tiles.

Marble is best suited for kitchen floors and shelves. A prime reason for this is its easy cleaning and maintenance. A kitchen counter top made of marble is an essential part of a modern house. While the other parts of the house demand for a light colored marble, people prefer to install dark colored marbles in the kitchen like black, green or a darker shade of brown or red. The lighter shades used for halls and bedrooms like pastels, ivory, white, etc. can be mixed and matched with marble slabs of other colors and various patterns like flowers and geometrical figures can be made.

Due to globalization, a mixing of cultures all over the world is being observed. The ancient eastern culture was very rich in various kinds of interior design patterns. The use of such patterns is making a comeback in the eastern culture and the western countries are also incorporating these patterns in their homes. Other than marble, the kinds of stones available for flooring and making shelves are granite, limestone, travertine, quartz and other exotic slabs. Now it depends on your personal choice that what kind of look you want to give to your home.

Stone flooring also plays a great role in maintaining the temperature of the building. Because of its ability to keep itself at low temperature, it is well suited for places with high temperatures. You can also incorporate the stone into your home interiors by using some innovative interior designing ideas like installing it on the walls called wall cladding, mosaic flooring, exterior paving, marble vanity tops for bathrooms and stairs. Another quality of marble that makes it splendid is its light reflecting ability. After marble is polished and a proper finishing is provided to it, the surface of the stone becomes extremely reflective and appears like glass. It makes the house appear even more sophisticated.

Use travertine floor and decoration tiles to give your home a unique look

People who are constructing a new home tend to select the most unique things for their home whether it is about the external look or the interiors. The floorings and fittings are a long term investment and cannot be done again and again. Thus these are needed to be selected very carefully. Most of the people prefer floor tiles in place of stone as these have a more varied range of designs and colors. Also after 10 years, when you may want to change the tiles and place other modern style tiles it will need less effort than replacing a stone floor.

A popular type of tiles is the travertine tiles. These tiles are liked by people due to their natural looks and durability. The reasons for these looks are their natural occurrence and a long development stage of thousands of years. This stone is generally formed by the deposition of minerals in underground rivers and other water bodies. The minerals of various colors like calcium carbonate give them unique appearance and a smooth surface. The internal structure is porous due to the escaping of the gases formed inside the stone. This stone generally has a creamy appearance with other natural shades in various shapes. It is taken out of the earth in the form of huge blocks and then cut into desired shapes.

These stones are reliable building materials and thus these can be used both ways that is as floor tiles as well as wall tiles. These stones are being used for many centuries thus many ancient buildings of heritage in various countries have used this stone. This fact will also give you an idea of the strength of the stone as a building material. This stone is used in both residential as well as commercial structures. It can also be used for wall cladding, pavements and shelves. Due to the raw and natural look it provides to the building, it is becoming the first choice of art lovers to design a peaceful dwelling.

While choosing the correct travertine tiles for your house or office, you should check a few things. Of course the appearance of the stone is a primary factor, choosing a shape also matters a lot. As the stone is obtained in the form of rocks from the earth’s surface, it not only has different colors and designs but also various shapes. It is cut into different shapes which gives you more options to lay a unique style of flooring in your home. Some of its popular shapes are cross cut, vein cut, honed, tumbled, brushed, filled and polished.

For inner house flooring, simple shapes like rectangular or square are more suitable. For pavements, any shape of these tiles will do. By using tiles cut into different shapes like valley, round cornered tiles, bull-nose cornered tiles and those cut into polygonal shapes for your pavement areas, there are endless designs and patterns that you can make in some corners of our house. You can also choose tiles of more than one color to make unique flooring patterns.