Choosing the floor in the living room – which flooring is better, more practical and easier to install

Choose the floor in the living room

What is the first thing that catches the eye of guests who first visited the house? That’s right, the floor and the walls. Today, the types of flooring are very diverse, because the market literally gushes with different offers: here you can find linoleum, and ceramic tiles, and a wide range of parquet, and laminate. Moreover, they differ not only in colors, but also in the scope, indicators of moisture resistance, strength, wear resistance. It is difficult for the average buyer to understand the variety, so this publication will give practical recommendations on choosing flooring for the living room.

Content

• Rational selection criteria
• Choosing a living room floor: tips
• Cork flooring in the living room
• Parquet floor – home decoration
• Laminate is a good option for the living room

Rational selection criteria

Of course, the question of which flooring to choose is multifaceted. Therefore, it depends not only on personal desires: for example, the statement “everything, I liked this color, take it without hesitation” is erroneous, because there are many other factors that must be taken into account when making a purchase:

• type of premises – kitchen, bathroom, living room, children’s: all rooms have their own operating characteristics, which should be paid attention to. For example, you can’t put a carpet in the bathroom; in the bedroom, ceramic tiles do not look very good;

• condition, shape of the floor – if repairs are carried out on their own, you should take into account your abilities, as well as the condition of the base of the floor, having thought about which floor covering you can properly lay. And if this process will be entrusted to specialists, then you need to hire only professional workers who have experience, skills;
• the cost of flooring is far from the last factor. If you have money, you can safely realize the most daring fantasies by buying expensive materials and not stinting on wage labor. Well, when repairs are done on their own, and the budget is limited, you need to think ten times whether it is worth buying, for example, expensive tiles. After all, it must be laid according to a certain technology so that it serves for a long time. If you are not confident in your abilities, you should give preference to simpler floor coverings that imitate other materials: you can buy expensive linoleum with imitation of parquet – it looks good and the floor looks great;
• personal tastes, wishes – if, for example, ceramic tiles do not like at all, but it is easy to fit, cut, it is better not to buy such tiles. Why? Because in the future it will not bring joy, a person will walk on the floor and execute himself, that the appearance is absolutely not suitable.

Choosing a living room floor: tips

As already mentioned, each room is characterized by its own characteristics, the living room is no exception. The living room is a visiting card of the house, so it should have a noble, dignified appearance, so that guests, entering the room, immediately understand that people with excellent aesthetic taste live there.

Sex is one of the most important components of the interior, and although the personal preferences of the owners must be taken into account, designers give a number of other recommendations:

• flooring for the hall should be expensive – if boards are chosen as the material, it is advisable to choose not ordinary pine, but Siberian larch or bog oak. The living room should impress the guests, so stinginess is inappropriate here;

• neutrality – despite the high cost, the living room floor should be decorated in soothing colors, that is, luxury should not be intrusive;

Important: the floor should not overshadow the beautiful furniture, decoration of other surfaces. It is the background that sets off the decor of this room..

• natural materials – according to the ideas of Europeans, artificial floor coverings should not be laid in the living room. Therefore, parquet is the most popular, but the laminate, which has always been considered the best replacement for parquet, does not create the impression of prosperity in the house. Natural stone looks luxurious and spectacular: marble, granite;

Important: if the budget is limited, it is better to purchase cheaper floor coverings for other rooms, and spend the saved money on marble tiles, art flooring.

• warm floor – only in this case the guests entering the house will feel as comfortable as possible, since what kind of comfort can we talk about if your feet freeze? For this reason, care must be taken to equip the floor with good thermal insulation or to equip a heating system. Moreover, this factor also depends on the type of material: natural coating retains heat better than synthetic.

Important: in extreme cases, if saving comes first, you need to lay a warm carpet on the floor or offer slippers to guests.

By the way, the appearance of the carpet is also of great importance. The carpet should look chic, a modest palace is inappropriate. Also, do not cover the entire surface of the floor with a carpet, you need to leave at least 30 cm on each side, and place the carpet in the center of the living room.

Cork flooring in the living room

The advantages of cork coating are undeniable, therefore this material is often used today, enjoying tremendous popularity among consumers. Its advantages:

• eco-friendly raw materials – cork is made from the bark of a tree, so it is absolutely safe and does not contain harmful impurities;
• cork flooring has high heat and sound insulation, easily restores shape after deformation;
• excellent wear resistance, resilience, elasticity;
• cork does not absorb odors – an ideal floor covering for allergy sufferers;

• resistance to decay, durability;
• fire safety;
• it’s nice to walk barefoot on the cork. This aspect is very relevant if children live in the house, they can play in the living room on the floor, while their legs will not freeze.

Moreover, cleaning the cork floor does not cause any particular problems: the floor surface can be swept, mopped.

Important: if an adhesive version of the cork is used, the floor can be washed with a washing vacuum cleaner.

An undoubted advantage of this flooring is a wide selection of design solutions. Any artistic ornament can be created from cork, since the colors and tints of it are diverse, and the material itself is perfectly cut.

The only difficulty is styling. It’s better to entrust this process to professionals, because the cork is a thin, soft coating, so any flaws, bumps, cracks, pits are displayed on the floor surface in relief.

Parquet floor – home decoration

The living room will look good parquet board. On the one hand, it resembles floorboards in size, on the other hand, the pattern of the strips of the upper layer can imitate piece parquet. This is a relatively inexpensive material with a three-layer structure: the top layer is made of valuable wood, and the rest is made of spruce, pine.

Parquet board is characterized by increased impact resistance, wear resistance, it is easy to wipe, clean. Also, this flooring normally tolerates the difference in humidity, temperature fluctuations.

Important: one of the main features of the parquet floor is the ability to mount a warm floor. If you strictly adhere to the operating rules, the parquet board does not change its quality characteristics.

When choosing a parquet floor, first of all, you need to determine the color and type of wood. This is an important task, because the floor should be in harmony with the decor elements of the room, with the color of the furniture. To do this, take the time to carefully consider the styles, sizes, shades of parquet floors. It is advisable to familiarize yourself with the finished projects, it is also a good idea to lay out a couple of samples on the floor, visually comparing them against the background of the real situation.

Laminate is a good option for the living room

This material can be confidently called popular and in demand. What is the secret? In fact, there are several of them, firstly, the laminate is aesthetic – the interior takes on the features of nobility, solidity. Secondly, the price of laminate flooring is quite affordable – a beautiful floor is available to almost everyone. Plus, it is easy to install, and it’s easy to take care of it.

These floor coverings for the home are ideal, in the living room you can create a stylish, ultra-modern interior or a respectable, respectable, business. When deciding the color issue should take into account the features of the style. And also takes into account the mood that is planned to be created, because the color of the floor, according to both designers and psychologists, is crucial.

If the living room is made in the classical style, you should buy a laminate for wood of noble species. It can be oak, beech, mahogany – the room is transformed, it becomes “expensive”.

Important: under such a laminate, it is necessary to select a skirting board tone-on-tone. For example, a plastic skirting board emphasizes the artificiality of the flooring, while a wooden skirting board finished with varnish and veneer creates a respectability effect..

Black, white laminate flooring and their combination are perfect for an avant-garde style living room.

But the laminate, which imitates teak, cherry, exotic woods, is an excellent solution for the interior of a living room in a country style, retro, ethnic style. Also, for country, you can choose a whitened version of the laminate, and for retro the material with the effect of scuffing, roughness is perfect.

Some more useful tips:

• a red-brown laminate with a longitudinal pattern adjusts for activity;
• It is desirable to lay a dark glossy laminate in a multifunctional living room, in which the owners relax and receive guests. According to psychologists, the floors, reflecting like a mirror, set up benevolence, active communication;
• to visually expand the living room, it is better to lay the laminate with pronounced longitudinal stripes. But the trick is that such a laminated board is mounted across;
• in a compact living room, it is undesirable to lay a dark laminate, because it visually reduces the room.

Undoubtedly, floor coverings are different, but in order to create an individual living room, it is necessary to apply imagination without fear of experimentation. Of course, one should not violate the laws of color matching, because then the room can turn out to be flashy, heterogeneous, tasteless. And if you use proper combination, the interior of the living room is sure to turn out beautiful, original.