When we’re thinking about building work at home, the floor is one of the main things to take into account, both for aesthetic reasons and because it accounts for more than 30% of a home’s surface. Yet despite being somewhere we have to walk and use daily, it doesn’t always get the importance it deserves, since we tend to think more about other elements, such as what to put on the walls.
We consider flooring an element that largely determines everything else, since it’s a large surface that affects the visual and sensory perspective of the space, setting the terms for the whole. A good choice of floor is therefore fundamental to the success of the project.
1. Wooden floors: a byword for comfort
The material taking over in every home is wood. Wooden floors adapt to every style and can be found in different tones. Natural wood has many advantages: it’s ecological and fully renewable, with good thermal and acoustic insulation, and it brings maximum comfort to any room thanks to its look and texture. However, because of its high cost and upkeep, we can consider other options such as laminates or synthetics. These materials are very affordable, letting you enjoy the warmth and beauty of wood without a large investment and achieving a good result with greater strength, durability and less care.
2. Ceramic floors: durability and function
If one type of flooring has shown exponential growth in sales, as well as in formats and finishes, it’s ceramic. The arrival on the market of mortar-based pieces — lightweight, rectified and in large dimensions, which reduce the number of joints and give a spectacular look in large spaces — is the reason for its ever stronger use in the principal rooms of homes, such as living rooms and circulation areas. Despite being very cold to the touch, they’re the perfect ally of underfloor heating. They’re undoubtedly very easy to clean, with practically no maintenance, very resistant to wear and to damp, and with highly versatile textures able to fit a variety of styles and settings, whether residential, commercial or institutional.
3. Natural stone floors: a range reinventing itself
Natural stone is a decorative, imposing material with a special charm. It guarantees durability and a timeless look, but requires continuous maintenance and a high investment. That’s why floors made from artificial materials have displaced those made from naturally noble materials such as marble, since their strength and appearance are strong competition.
On the other hand, there are options such as terrazzo, with its vivid colours, being reintroduced in current schemes to great effect.
4. Cement floors: an industrial look on the rise
This is an option more typical of the industrial sector, but increasingly found in the home. There are more refined options such as microcement floors, which use traditional cement as a base to obtain a 3 mm-thick fluid of great hardness and flexibility. It’s highly versatile and can be customised with various colours and textures. It can also be applied over several existing floors, which makes it very useful in refurbishments and renovations where you don’t want to raise the floor level too much. It isn’t porous and it’s applied continuously, with no joints or cuts, resulting in a waterproof surface suitable for floors and walls, and widely used in kitchens and bathrooms.
5. Textile floors: for tight budgets
Carpet isn’t usually considered a first option. Good temperatures don’t make it a very necessary alternative in the home, although for reasons of practicality, low budget and ease of refurbishment it has a strong presence in a great many professional spaces, such as hotels and offices. There’s a wide variety of textures, colours and patterns, whether in rolls or tiles, and the materials used have improved enormously in terms of durability, ease of cleaning and hypoallergenic qualities.
We hope you find it useful.
¡¡Lets work!!