Our Best Interior Design Tips for Beautiful & Practical Floors from Gunter & Co: Part 2
Part 2 of our floor guide by London Interior Design expert Irene Gunter
PART 1: The Design Detail
I’m going to share some of our thoughts and ideas on the design details that we always think about when combining different types of flooring and how to ensure that the whole scheme looks good and performs beautifully.
Each room has to have a floor scheme that works as an individual concept, as well as linking with the rest of that floor level – which in turn has to work as a whole throughout the whole home. That’s a lot of linking and streamlining to think about when you have living room flooring ideas alongside carpet design for stairs whilst also mulling over carpet ideas for bedrooms too. It’s a case of considering every single aspect individually but also how every single detail contributes to the finished project.
One detail that is practically a ‘must have’ for all of our living room schemes, in particular, is the inclusion of floor sockets – where electrical sockets are recessed into the floor (usually timber, or in the timber surround of a carpeted floor). The recess has a lift-up lid with a notch in it for the cable. We can design bespoke floor boxes to match unusual colours or finishes as most off-the-shelf products end up ruining the aesthetic with unwanted metal trims.
When installing a fireplace it always looks very smart (and helps with trip hazards!) to recess the fireplace hearth flush into the floor as shown in our Kensington project.
In bathrooms, we usually opt for two details to complement the luxurious nature of the finishes used. The first detail is recessing the shower enclosure channels into the floor for a more seamless installation. Alongside the flush shower waste detail (as shown in our Chelsea Residence project).
When it comes to carpet ideas for bedrooms we often feel that some of the American suppliers have the very best choices, however ironically (despite the sizes of their homes) the carpets are often a little too small to fully cover a bedroom floor without joints. Few patterned carpets join seamlessly and that’s why we’ve come up with a way of not only overcoming this challenge but creating something extra special with the carpet installation. Using a plain border around a patterned inset carpet panel doesn’t only avoid the challenge of worrying about visible seams but also highlights the entire flooring design and adds an element of elegance and sophistication, double tick!
Another flooring detail to be taken into account is whether the home has underfloor heating. Most types of underfloor heating (also referred to as UFH) are suited for use with wood, stone, ceramic, porcelain etc, as well as carpet. It's really important that the installers and owners are aware of the maximum temperature settings to be used – which can vary depending upon the type of UFH used. (It’s usually ‘wet’ systems in all habitable rooms, and ‘dry’ electric mat systems in bathrooms so these can stay on a little longer when the rest of the house doesn’t require heating anymore to stay warm underfoot). When it comes to carpet, always double check the tog rating is compatible with UFH as some carpets may be too dense to allow the heat to penetrate. And don’t make the mistake of suddenly turning your UFH off when you go on holiday in the wintertime as this can cause issues where the wooden floors react badly to a sudden drop in temperature.
Some homes need to have floor grilles set into the floor, to allow heat from the central heating system to rise. Again, we often design and commission bespoke decorative grilles to blend in with the floor surface – for example we may suggest a bronzed powder-coated finish grille to blend in with a dark wood floor. And don’t forget, the rest of the light switches and power sockets will all be chosen to blend in or contrast as required.
Often for ground or lower-ground floors the kitchen will lead directly onto the terrace – perhaps to a large outdoor entertaining area or maybe a smaller space with a little table and chairs for morning coffee or afternoon tea in the sunshine. It’s vital that the threshold is as flush as possible to avoid having to step up and over a door frame. If we’re working with an architect early on in the project we would always mention the ‘flush threshold’ requirement for a smooth transition between indoors and outdoors – especially where an expanse of folding-sliding doors is involved.
Close to the front (and back) doors we often allow for flush fitted mat wells, to avoid doormats endlessly floating around a space and never quite staying in their place. By not sticking them down with glue and simply recessing them in their ‘bed’, these can easily be replaced over time.
An important aspect of the outdoors-indoors transition for kitchens and kitchen-living-family rooms is the blend of materials and whether there should be a match or a contrast. Several large-format porcelain slabs, especially the plainer ones, are available in different thicknesses – for indoor and outdoor use, and with different slip ratings. We always go out of our way to find a nice selection which doesn’t feel too ‘outdoorsy’ for the internal spaces, yet is a hard-working outdoor tile. The golden rule is of course, never to risk using indoor tiles in an outdoor setting. Manufacturers can supply information on slip ratings and so on – we’re very often on the phone to a technical department to quiz them on the details! Make sure you know the depth of each floor covering specified too – that’s vital information that the contractors and installation teams must have to enable the seamless, flush-fitting flow from one room to another.
So there you have it – we’ve shared some secrets to successful flooring choices from an installation and design point of view.