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How to Use Your Floor as a Fifth Wall
I work as a blogger for businesses although I do a variety of different types of writing. I particularly enjoy writing about all aspects of design and creativity. I think that your home should reflect your personality and that it should change as you change. More about me at www.kathrynvercillo.com and http://diaryofasmartchick.com.
I work as a blogger for businesses although I do a variety of different... More »
Too many people overlook the design possibilities inherent in a great floor. They simply cover up the floor with furniture. They design their rooms with objects, art and paint to bring people's eyes to the walls of the space. They may even use great lighting to draw eyes upward to the ceiling. However, the floor is the foundation of your room and it can be used as the foundation of your design to create a truly polished and interesting look for your home.
When you are beginning to design any room, you should look first to the floor and build up from there. Try to think of the floor as a fifth wall for the room. In fact, think of it as the most important wall since it sets the tone for the rest of the decor. Use color, texture and patterns to make the floor an important part of the room. This will give your room more depth and will enhance the total design appeal of your space.
When you are beginning to design any room, you should look first to the floor and build up from there. Try to think of the floor as a fifth wall for the room. In fact, think of it as the most important wall since it sets the tone for the rest of the decor. Use color, texture and patterns to make the floor an important part of the room. This will give your room more depth and will enhance the total design appeal of your space.
An amazing rug can entirely change the design of a room. There are a few great design elements of this particular rug. The bold colors of the rug allow it to function as art. They also make it possible to have a room filled with neutral furniture that still stands out. And the stripes elongate the room and draw your eye towards the floor. Geometric rugs and colorful woven rugs are other great choices for a floor piece.
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| This is another great example of how a rug can add to the total impact of a room's design. The tile here is neutral and rather boring but the rug is rich and textured. It serves as a great foundation for the colors and textures of the furniture. Those colors are repeated throughout the room in the art and objects that decorate the space. |
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Rugs can also be used to not merely cover up the original floor but to add to it. Here we have a great hardwood floor that's been topped by a rug that compliments it in color and design. The furniture atop the rug carries out the color scheme. This makes the entire space a three-dimensional work of art starting with the floor.
Many people have tile floors that you don't ever look twice at. However, changing up the colors and patterns of your tile can make the floor an interesting part of the room. This black-and-white checkered tile option is a terrific example of a floor that can be easily decorated around to create a beautiful room.
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| Like tile, hardwood can be laid out in a way that creates a more appealing design than merely laying down wood in a straight line like most people will do. Here we see a great wooden pattern that brings depth and character to the floor. |
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If you have the option of choosing the material of your floor then a stone floor is a really cool choice. It brings elements of nature into your home which you can then build around to create a great look. Here the sunny yellow coloring contrasts nicely with the stone to make you feel as though you're lounging around on rocks in a warm destination.
A marble floor is another great option for modern home design. The marble is a bit overwhelming here since it's repeated in the walls but it certainly creates the modern mood that the designers were going for here. The eye travels up from the floor to the art that is displayed in the hallway. This effect wouldn't be nearly so stunning if the floor were a boring neutral tile floor, would it?
Here is a more traditional use of marble flooring. Here the floor is the starting point for an opulent design that includes columns and statues. Again, the statement that this room makes would be entirely different if another type of flooring had been selected.
Marble can also be used in a less modern manner to surprise the eye. Here we see a really cool marble pattern on the floor. This makes the entryway of the home truly stand out. I love the way that the rug in the adjoining area closely matches and compliments the marble floor tiles. That's a great use of the floor as art space!
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One really fun way to make your floor interesting (even though you don't see it done too often) is to actually paint the floor itself. In this example, the floor has been painted with colorful geometric patterns that make the colors and shelving of the rooms stand out. Solid paint colors or other designs would also be a great way to make use of your floor space to design a unique home.
Ideabook updated on Sept. 7, 2009.
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I love the stone floor- it adds a lot of eclectic charm to this space.