A home with well-defined spaces just seems to feel right. In the day and age of the ever-popular open space concept home this can prove a bit tricky! There are many common strategies that we successfully use to achieve spatial definition, such as architectural features, painted feature walls, area rugs and furniture placement but let’s talk about using flooring alone to create interest, focal areas and maybe even illusion!

For many people, choosing the flooring in their home project is almost an afterthought, a minor decision that isn’t very interesting or even that important in the grand scheme of things. Well I am here to convince you that it is one of the most important choices in creating an overall look in your home! It really is the canvas for your space, so start to get excited because there are some beautiful choices out there!

Flooring has such an incredible amount of power and influence over the end result of your home, that we must start to give it the time and respect that it deserves. Think about the evolution in the appearance of grandma’s house when she replaced the light beige tile look linoleum with the little flowers in the center, to that new warm grey brown barn board vinyl plank. Suddenly, her 1950’s home gave off a modern day feel. Visualize the change in the look and feel of the room that has that 1070’s dirty lime shag replaced by a beautiful Shaw Linenweave carpet… it refreshes the room just in a snap! That seems like an easy update, but nowadays our homes are generally built or have been renovated and many “rooms” are one large space. How do we deal with the challenge of choosing flooring in a way to help us define areas within this large room??

Before we even consider adding furniture, areas rugs or painting feature walls, think about creative installation of flooring to define spaces within a larger area. Maintaining flow within a large open concept home is so important so you DO NOT want to pick multiple different types or colors of flooring and patch them together within one open space. However, using the same flooring in a different laying technique… now that I like!

Choosing a few places in your home to feature cool floor laying technique or pattern is a great option. Take an entryway and feature it with a herringbone pattern, or maybe define the center of your living room with a diamond pattern in the same flooring you’ve used throughout the larger space. This makes for a subtle change with a dramatic and classy result. Talk to your flooring specialist about unique options.

Another great flooring trick I love to use to help change the appearance of the size or shape of a room. Laying flooring horizontally in a long narrow room will cause the room to appear wider and help square it off. You can also do some diagonally laid flooring to push the walls out and create the illusion of a shaped room you were hoping for.

There are lots of other great ways to create interest and warmth in your home if you can open up your mind to the possibilities. The design features your flooring can accomplish are as wide open as you let your mind be!