Living Room Floors

The living room is the household mecca for entertaining guests, uniting families, and relaxation. This part of the house gets a lot of activity, and righfully so. Living rooms are typically placed in the center of a home, condo, or apartment and because of this, decision and material decisions should be of the upmost concern.

Design Considerations

As you embark on your journey to design the perfect living room, consider these questions:

• “How will I be using the space?” Is it a room for family activity, entertaining an adult crowd, or to watch television and read. This will impact the design layout and fabrication choices for your living room.
• “What design style do I want to go for?”  Design styles range from traditional to modern, and coastal to contemporary... Your choices are vast, but stick with influences of one design style otherwise your space will look cluttered and unprofessional.
• “What’s my budget? Consider how much money you have to play with and that will help you decide on furnishings, electronics, flooring, and design accents.

Material Considerations

Flooring: Your living room flooring can be a highlight or understated accent, depending on your design goals. Hardwood flooring provides a warm underfoot, and with new manufacturing methods is becoming increasingly affordable and durable. If a southwest or rustic design styles appeals to you, consider terra cotta or natural stone floor tiling. Other living room flooring materials could include laminate woods (a low-cost alternative to real wood), carpet, and polished concrete.

Material options are vast for living room flooring. One thing to note, however, is defining the space of your living room through area rugs. Oversized rugs are noted to define separate seating areas.

Intelligent Design

Better Homes and Gardens suggests to pair neutral rooms with “statement” accesories. They also suggest to make an open space feel homey by arranging furniture close together and away from the walls.

Consider comfort: When designing your living area, remember that comfort is key since you will most likely be spending a lot of your time in this area of the house.