Creating Ambiance with Home Decor - Matching Floor Coverings to Mood

It’s easy to see how color and texture will influence the mood of a home, but ease of care and price must also be taken into consideration. The decorator needs to think about both of these issues if a homeowner is to be satisfied with results.

Ease of care is extremely important in households in which all of the adults work outside jobs. Time for cleaning and maintenance is limited. If the pleasure of a nicely turned-out room is to be maintained, the floor must be easy to care for.

The warm look of hardwood is pleasing and certainly popular. However, this type of flooring takes a good deal of work to keep looking its best. A busy homeowner might do well to consider laminate or luxury vinyl to achieve the look of hardwood without the upkeep. These options also cost less than traditional hardwood floors.

For a cozy look and feel, it’s hard to beat carpeting. Many choices of carpet are available that are reasonably easy to maintain with regular vacuuming and annual professional cleaning. A home that looks well-maintained will boost anyone’s mood.

Moderately-priced flooring that will hold up well to the wear and tear of an active family are readily available. These should be considered for most households both to ease the budget and to provide an easy-care option.

Various textures are available in choices of floor coverings. Each type of floor enhances mood in unique ways. Texture can give an impression of warmth and coziness or elegance and cool sophistication. The right balance of textures in floor coverings provides an ambiance of thoughtfulness and good taste.

Hardwood feels warm and resilient underfoot and gives an impression of elegance to a room. A quality area rug that matches the style of the furnishings will make the area cozier and often provide exactly the right touch. In small rooms, choose a rug with either solid color or a subtle pattern. Large rooms can be enhanced with larger, bolder patterns.

Ceramic tile and stone lend a classic, old-world elegance to the decor. In warm climates with hot summers, the cool surface of tile or stone can help a room feel more comfortable. These are durable choices but need proper maintenance to look their best. Stone should be waterproofed and sealed every two years. The grout for either flooring needs scrupulous cleaning in order to stay presentable.

Imitation in the flooring world came in with laminates and vinyl. Old-style vinyl had a reputation for looking cheap. The newer types of luxury vinyl are sometimes hard to distinguish from wood, stone or ceramic flooring. Some of the luxury vinyl choices even have optional fill-in acrylic grout to give the texture of a much more expensive floor.

Casual and cozy, carpeting is a popular choice for homeowners who lead busy lives. From luxury plush to rough-and-tumble berber, carpet comes in a myriad of textures and moods suitable for most rooms.

Color is among the first aspects of a room that are noticed. A color can be stimulating or calming, rich and dark or light and airy. Colors of rugs and tile should pick up main or accent colors to provide a pleasing whole.

Earth colors like warm shades of brown, red, cream, green and yellow give a relaxing feeling of the outdoors. Vibrant shades denote excitement, though some can be too jarring for day-to-day living. Cool blues and greens provide a soothing ambiance. Soft yellows and greens give a feeling of springtime.

Carefully choose floor coverings for color, texture, ease of care and budget considerations to enhance the mood of any room in the home.