How to use floors to solve awkward spaces

Are you struggling to design an oddly shaped room? Maybe all you need is a simple flooring technique to change the entire character and flow of the space. The following tips will help you rethink your floor design for 6 of the most challenging rooms.

1. Confusing traffic patterns. Are your guests locked into the layout of your space? Do they have difficulty finding their way from the front door to the living room? Simply leave a trail of breadcrumbs by installing tread inserts in your floor. In formal areas, this technique works well with tiles. In less formal areas, like a finished basement, rug inserts can be used to create a trampoline path.

2. Hidden niches. Often an alcove or alcove can disappear next to the large main room. To tie the two rooms together, use a contrasting floor border around the perimeter of both rooms. But keep the scale of the rooms in mind: for smaller spaces, it’s better to use a narrow border.

3. Kitchens in L. An L-shaped kitchen creates a design dilemma similar to the disappearing alcove or alcove. Once again, it helps to use a contrasting floor border to tie both spaces together. If you have a work island, be sure to use the same trim around the island to highlight it as a design feature and bring order to the room.

4. Tight rooms. It is possible to visually stretch a narrow room by installing horizontal stripes on the floor. The longer the room, the more colors you can use for your stripes and the more dramatic you can be in your color choices. But if the room is shorter, it is best to stick with narrow stripes and a color palette of two light colors.

5. Rectangular rooms. A large rectangular room can be visually overwhelming. You can tone down this look by dividing the room into two or more areas, each defined by its own floor covering inserts. These inserts work like an area rug surrounded by deep borders. You can stick with two inserts of the same size to divide the room into two areas, or for very large rooms, install one large insert in the center of two-thirds of the room and flank it with smaller inserts.

6. Square rooms. The word “square” has come to mean serious and heavy, and it’s no different in room design. A boxy room can often lack dynamic energy. You can counteract this effect by drawing an X from corner to corner to create four triangles on the floor. You can then install one floor color on two of the opposing triangles and a second floor color on the remaining two triangles. This can be a fun effect in a playroom or child’s bedroom, but it can also be used in more sophisticated settings by keeping the colors muted and with less contrast.

By using your imagination and creativity in the design of your floor covering, you can turn an uncomfortable space into an amazing space with very little additional investment of time or money.