F O O T P R I N T S

on F L O O R S

OVER the weeks we have looked at the many different aspects of designing comfortable and pleasing spaces in the home. Choosing floor coverings and finishes is another dilemma that many people face when creating their home environment. There are many different types of floor finishes that are available now. Such as in-situ mosaic, terrazzo tiles, ceramic tiles, homogenous tiles, marble, granite, wood laminates and carpets. So deciding on the type of floor finish becomes very difficult.

To understand and make sense of our environment we use all our five senses. But the visual and tactile senses become the most important when experiencing a space. Flooring registers tactile sensations more than any other surface in the room because we step on it. So its importance to the look and feeling of your rooms should be considered. The floor finish under our feet will give us different feelings depending on the type of material we use, i.e. mosaic, tiles, carpet or wood. For example tiles on floors have a reputation for leaving the feet cold and the room feeling "hard". In some areas, baths and kitchens, you might want a surface that is easily cleaned and relatively smooth to the surface. But in bedrooms rugs can be use to compensate when patches of "warmth" are required. Tiles can also be used in combination with other types of floor covering.

Colour and Pattern on Floors

Our perceptions of space are influenced by our perceptions of colour. Therefore the impact of colour on space when selecting a floor coloring becomes very important. For example, oranges and reds on the floor tend to "shrink" a large room, while greens, blues and lilacs, which recede, will make a room appear "more spacious". The area under our feet tends to feel comfortable in the light greens, light browns, and gray tones of the earth. Light coloured flooring will reflect light falling on its surface and help make a room seem brighter than dark textured flooring. One important consideration when choosing flooring is to think of the relation of the flooring to adjoining rooms. Make sure that the transition in the types of flooring between rooms is not too abrupt.

Patterns affect how you see the proportion of a space. Continuous linear floor patterns will dominate the space. Directional pattern can affect the apparent proportion of a floor, making a space feel wider or longer. Complex patterns in materials using several colours, diagonals and criss-cross lines are very busy for the eye. These types of patterns can liven up a large space but can be overwhelming for a small room.

It is also important to remember that in big spaces, large patterns are more suitable while in smaller spaces, small size prints can create the right harmony and balance. In applying colour and patterns to the floor, conventional design strategy suggests that the scale of the patterns match those found elsewhere in the room. This is true whether the pattern has been painted onto the floor or is found in carpeting or other types of floor covering.

For further details/information on this article or previous articles, contact Architect Rumana Malik email: afmalik@bangla.net.