Dear Rob:
The rooms in my home are small, so I’d like to choose a flooring that will help them feel bigger. Any tips?
-Rita in Texas
Dear Rita:
Floor coverings are an important part of your home. Its main purpose is obviously functional, but there are decorative aspects that can help determine the way a room feels. Depending on the type of flooring you choose, a room can feel intimate, spacious, cold, warm, inviting, large, or small.
For example, darker or warm color schemes will make a room feel more intimate. Lighter and cooler colors will make a room feel less intimate.
People often think that dark floors will make a room feel smaller, but this is not necessarily true. Dark floors will only make a room feel smaller if there is insufficient lighting either from windows or overhead lighting sources, or the walls are painted a darker color in combination with the dark floors. The opposite is also false. Light floors will not make your room feel larger if the walls are painted a darker color and there is insufficient lighting.
The size of the flooring you use can help determine how large or small a room feels. You might not think that a wide-width hardwood or large format tile (12×12 or larger) belongs in a powder room, but they actually can help visually increase the size of the room. The fewer lines there are for your eyes to intercept, the larger the space will feel. As long as the tile or piece of hardwood can be repeated more than twice, the larger format will look great!
A larger tile in a larger area also helps maintain the spaciousness of a room. Using a small tile (smaller than 12×12) in a larger room will break up the room with so many lines that it can, in fact, feel smaller.
Flooring patterns can also affect the way a room feels. More complicated patterns usually work better in larger rooms. Simpler, more restful patterns often work better in smaller spaces.
For example, a large room may benefit from a modular pattern using 18×18 or 20×20 tiles. This type of layout can make the room feel more spacious than a simple 12×12 straight-lay pattern. In general, laying tile diagonally or at a 45-degree angle can also make a room appear larger.
To see how a flooring pattern might affect your room, start with a simple drawing on graph paper. Draw the room to scale, then sketch in the flooring pattern. This can help you decide whether the pattern looks too busy or too simple.
Planning the layout in advance can also help you control costs. You may find that you can eliminate unnecessary pieces. On the other hand, you may decide that adding a pattern improves the overall appearance of the room.
If you have difficulty visualizing your options, look through home decorating magazines or online design photos. Pay attention to wall colors, flooring patterns, and tile or hardwood sizes. Also notice how those choices relate to the size of each room.
-Rob
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