The hunt for the perfect floor for your home remodeling project probably led to a LOT of incredibly creative home interior design ideas. As we fight to outlive the pandemic, many people have already found a new hobby turning their homes into their dream homes all by themselves. Sure, the idea sounds great, but choosing the next floor for your home isn’t as easy as deciding what to eat for dinner.
Flooring is a critical part of interior design. You’re here because you know that a slight mistake when mixing different floors could take an unexpected turn on your carefully chosen case goods, exotic furnishing, your upholstery, and increase the already high costs of a new floor.
This article answers some of the most commonly asked questions regarding DIY home flooring mixing, how much flooring is enough, and some of the most popular home flooring materials today. Read on and gather more insights on eye-catching mixed flooring ideas for your home.
Should Flooring Be Same Throughout the House?
Let me introduce you to a fundamental principle of interior design; harmony. Your chosen floors need to strike a visual balance with other elements inside your home if your end goal is perfect harmony between the floor’s appearance and different interior colors. And before we dive any deeper, it’s worth mentioning both uniform and mixed floors can greatly impact the overall look of your interior space.
Flooring can be the same throughout your house. It can also be different. There’s nothing wrong with mixing your unique flooring ideas to bring out the best of your home. The problem comes in when the DIYer forgets to mix and match different floors in harmony, and the result is rather disappointing.
All elements in your design should fit in with each other. They should complement each other’s unique attributes.
A typical bedroom can be carpeted from wall to wall. Living rooms can take up to three different kinds of floors while hallways feature a wood-based floor and so on. The opportunities are endless.
Takeaway: A uniform floor for your entire house is the easier and much friendlier option. Not only does it appeal to the eye, but it’s also a perfect match for modern-style architecture. Transitioning from different floor textures and colors can have a clashing effect. However, this isn’t to say that you can’t mix different floors. You can. But only do so if you know exactly what you’re doing.
What to Consider Before Mixing Different Types of Flooring
Before you can even think about mixing different types of floors, it would help if you checked the latest flooring material prices and installation costs. Floors don’t come cheap. Since they are a long-term investment, it wouldn’t hurt to invest in something of higher quality.
Next, it all boils down to your personal taste, and, more importantly, the room size and its everyday use. Here are other things to remember before mixing different kinds of floors in your home.
Factor in Your Home Decor
Do you have existing decor? Try to work with it, not against it. Your floor style should complement other items in your home, from the curtains on the wall, the shelves in the kitchen, the furniture, down to the walls themselves, and pretty much everything.
Bring in the aspect of color contrast for a complete look. For example, all your furniture could use a lighter shade of your favorite color while the floor takes on a slightly darker appearance. Place white furniture on your lighter texture & color wooden floor and witness how it can change your home.
Use a Color Wheel to Pick Colors That Match
No matter how good you are at matching your clothes for every occasion, striking the perfect color balance between all the floors in your home isn’t that easy. There’s just too much detail to consider from the carpets, the bedsheets, your furniture, and so much more.
A color wheel can help sort out the mess for two or more floors being matched. If you’re new to color theory, here’s a YouTube video to guide you on how to use a simplified color wheel for new, exciting home decoration ideas:
Consider Your Home’s Architectural Style
Different floor types blend in perfectly with traditional and modern architectural styles. Take a look at the medieval castles. They were built upon stone floors, which brought out a unique decorative style. Traditional homes across ancient China were mostly made out of wooden floors complementing the interior design.
Today, we see vinyl, ceramic tiles, natural stone and marble floors, carpet, hardwood laminate floors with crazy good patterns pop up every time our friendly neighbors open their doors. Although these are the most common flooring options available, it wouldn’t hurt to do a little background research on your current style.
Always consider your home’s architectural style before mixing up different kinds of floors. We recommend a style that suits all architectural designs.
For example, hardwood floors are everywhere. A hardwood floor is both resilient, waterproof, and aesthetically appealing to both traditional and contemporary homes. Natural stone should do the trick if you prefer something more down-to-earth.
You might also want to read: Hardwood vs. Laminate vs. Vinyl Flooring
Room Considerations: Room Size and Purpose
Your property could use a mixture of different flooring materials. Natural stones can lead the way into your house. A wooden floor picks it from here and runs into your kitchen and across the hallway. As you walk into the kitchen, you start noticing the creative hexagon tile transition leading the way.
The kind of floor in your living room might not be the same as in the bathroom. The driveway will most likely use a heavy-duty stone or concrete floor, while the porch features wooden planks. The living room could use a bright carpet, while bathrooms need bright ceramic tiles that are moisture-resistant and easy to clean.
Lastly, try not to transition from one floor to another in the middle of an open space. It’ll only end up looking unnatural. Instead, ease into a new floor at the boundary between two rooms (where two rooms meet).
How Many Different Floors Should Be in a House?
There’s absolutely no problem with having many kinds of floors in your house. More than enough DIYers have put the theory to the test, and the results have been nothing short of iconic. Your floor remodeling project could have all the different kinds of flooring materials. But how many floors are considered more than enough?
There should be a maximum of three different floors in a house. In fact, some experts recommend that the fewer the floors, the better your home will look. For example, you can have a wooden floor in your bedroom, a carpet in your living space, and tiles in your kitchen. But not more than that.
We call this “The Rule of Three.” You should only see a maximum of three floors or less wherever you stand in your house. Others call it “The Rule of Two”, implying that there should be a maximum of two floors.
The bottom line is; try not to have too many floors in a small house, which could distort the visual appeal. Instead, use a single flooring for a small home. You can use two or three different types of floors if you have a larger home.
How Many Types of Flooring Is Too Much?
Remember our mixing and matching? Of course, you’ve done all it takes to add a little personal touch in your hardwood floors running across the entire living room and vinyl patterns for the rest of your house, but you can’t figure out how much flooring is too much?
More than three types of flooring are considered too much. But this depends on the size of the room or house. Having more than two floors is considered too much for a smaller house, but three types of floors are enough for larger houses. Having more can make the property look mismatched.
That said, remember to consider the types of flooring you’re using. For example, if you’re matching an engineered floor with ceramic tiles and fluffy white carpets, refrain from using different tile and carpet colors. Don’t add any other types of carpets either, as this could tear down your efforts. Be consistent with one style to maintain a uniform continuity.
What Is the Most Popular Flooring in Homes Today?
A few years back, a survey proved that floors do really matter to many people around the country. According to the survey, more than half of the respondents wanted a durable, low-cost, and low-maintenance floor for their homes, while others were interested in aesthetic designs.
The most popular flooring in homes today is wooden floors. Other popular options are carpets, vinyl, laminate, and ceramic floors. When it comes to popular options by room, many people prefer wood in the kitchen and bedroom, while carpets have found a suitable spot in bedrooms and basements.
It all boils down to the needs of the rooms and personal preference. Bathrooms, for example, can’t use normal carpets that can retain moisture and dampness. Putting up a carpet in your bathroom would expose your home to mold and water damage. On the other hand, polished marble can be quite slippery and far too risky for dark basements.
Mixed Flooring Ideas
A few years back, people would mix whatever floors they wanted; hardwood in the living room, laminate in the kitchen, vinyl floors in the bedroom, ceramic tiles in the basement, and so on. Fast forward to 2022 and simple wins the race. Complicated mixtures are a thing of the past and are way far from what we now consider beautiful.
Here are the latest mixed flooring ideas in 2022:
Creative Tile and Wood Flooring Ideas
Everybody loves tiles and wood. They’re a perfect match that never disappoints as long as you get the colors right.
The transition from your tile to a hardwood floor can start from anywhere, but experts recommend starting from the borderline between two rooms. A normal transition with ordinary ceramic tiles is your best shot, but feel free to explore your creativity with tile inlays. Tile inlays can bring a simple or complex design if arranged in a simple straight-edge or a complex layout engraved in your pre-existing hardwood floor.
Hexagon tiles also happen to be another common solution. First of all, you’ll have to create a layout for your new floor and map it out on your old wooden floor using a marker pen. Cut out the shapes on the wooden floor as precisely as you can, and install your tiles.
Here’s an interesting YouTube video if you wish to take on the project by yourself:
Place a transition metal strip at your desired transition point, say, between the kitchen and the living room for darker wood and tiles. Don’t forget to get an expert installer if the need arises.
Seamless Stone to Wood Transition for Doorway Entry
Can’t stop thinking about bringing the outdoors indoors? Using natural stone as your flooring material can whip up your room into shape and tag along several advantages from natural beauty, value addition to your property, easy maintenance, warmth, and so much more.
Granite, limestone, sandstone, and marble are some of the most popular stone flooring materials, and they, too, blend in perfectly with wooden floors. Install your natural stone tiles from the entryway up about a few feet into the hallway. Next, lay down your hardwood planks. Since both stone and wood are natural materials, their natural tones should complement each other.
Tip: Natural stones have different properties, colors, and textures. Take a moment to study the stones and their different shades. Identify one that closely matches your hardwood floor.
Wood to Stone Tile Transition on Your Bathroom Floor
Wooden floors are great, but there’s just one problem. They can’t withstand moisture for a long time like stones and ceramic tiles do. All the splashing will simply have to be dried off quickly or to avoid damage, or better yet, have to install a new moisture-resistant floor. But what if you want to keep your natural hardwood floor but still want to splash water without worry?
Wood to stone tile transitions aren’t something new. Run your hardwood floor around your bathroom and gradually zero in on the splash zone with stone tiles. If that doesn’t seem to work, let your wooden floor lead the way to your bathroom entrance. Next, cover the entire bathroom with stone tiles starting from the bathroom door.
The transition from stone tiles to wood is incomplete without a transition piece and some construction adhesive to bring it all together. Transition pieces also allow for easy transition from a slightly elevated floor to another.
A T-moulding can also help as it allows expansion from both ends of the connected floors. Grouting comes at the end of your mixing project, so you want to get a grout color that truly blends in with both floors at the transition point.
Ceramic Tiles to Carpets for Your Bedrooms
Ceramic tiles have built their name around the kitchen and bathrooms. They’re easy to clean and maintain, low-cost compared to hardwood and natural stone options. Though not common, ceramic tiles can also be used for bedroom spaces. The only problem is that they’re far too slippery and cold for your bare feet.
Most people love warm, cozy bedrooms laced with warm carpets right beneath the feet. Since there isn’t any spillage expected in bedrooms, high-quality carpets can survive years in your bedroom. Adding a mixture of tiles and carpets brings durability, comfort, and little maintenance.
So, how do you add a nice, warm carpet to your tiled bedroom? Here are the simple steps:
- Measure your bed dimensions and get a smaller carpet that covers the area under your bed and extends 2-3 feet from the sides of the bed. If you want something that fits the entire bedroom space, simply measure the room dimensions and get a slightly bigger carpet.
- For an elevated transition into a different room, pull the edge of your carpet to the edge of the first tile.
- Cut away the excess material and ensure that the carpet falls in line with the edge of the tiles.
- Next, use a tuck transition strip and tuck away the edge of the carpet.
Tip: Making a transition from one floor to another isn’t always guaranteed. A little imagination can do the trick, though some people end up disappointed at the result. Just remember to complement your household items and not put too much contrast.
Final Thoughts
Mixing different types of flooring in your home is an excellent way to add a personal touch and create visual interest for both family and visitors. Not only does it raise the value of your property should you sell it someday, but it also presents a lucrative opportunity to bring your ideas to life.
