DOWN under

The flooring in your home plays a pivotal role in helping to define the functionality and aesthetics of different spaces. Is yours up to scratch?

- CARROL BAKER

Flooring is one of the most important considerations when designing and fitting out a home. It impacts visually and acoustically and creates ambience, warmth and comfort. In fact, architect Luke Carter from Sandbox Studio Architecture and Design believes flooring is the beginning of the story.

“We start with the flooring — it becomes the base for the other finishes in the project,” he says. “That’s because it’s the largest surface in a home that has the most impact visually.”

Flooring will also experience the most wear and tear, so it pays to always select the highest quality possible in flooring materials and products.

LIGHTING UP A SPACE

Flooring affects the ambience of a space and, by its very nature, can make an area seem warm, cool, cosy or even austere. Flooring also impacts the way natural light is reflected in a room. Natural light indoors brings with it a feeling of comfort and also Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, which is essential for good health and vitality. To create light-filled spaces, Luke says limestone tiles or timber is ideal. “Recycled timbers, for example, will create a feeling of warmth throughout the house as opposed to something that might have more of an industrial feel,” he explains. “Select a lighter shade of timber, such as oak or whitewash — it reflects light and bounces it around the space.”