The best trends and fashions always come back around. This is certainly happening with carpets this season – vintage prints, patterns and bright colours have made a comeback, and are once again proving popular with numerous consumers. That’s not to say that you have to adorn your home with the brash, swirly carpets of the 70s – this is a more refined, modern take on vintage styles. Here is a brief guide to making 2015’s carpet trends work for you.

You can use vintage carpets to accessorise a smaller area of your home. Buy a vintage second-hand rug as a focal point for a room, or use a larger area of carpet to create a bigger rug. This style will work especially well with hardwood flooring, especially if they’ve got a natural finish.

Patterns have certainly made a comeback, but smaller and more subtle than before. In fact, you may want to make use of texture more so than actual patterns. Textured loop carpets and ribbed carpets are stylish, durable and help to hide hoover marks. If you do want to try out some patterns, you could choose subtle geometric designs like diamonds or squares. Stripes are also popular – you could use these in smaller areas and coordinate other areas of the room to match, such as in a hallway or on the stairs.

In terms of colours, pastels are highly fashionable. Pinks and blues are particularly prominent. You could choose an all-over pastel shade, or select pastel shades for your patterned carpets or rugs to create a high fashion look.

Slate flooring can add sophistication, charm and timelessness to your property, and that’s why it doesn’t come cheap. It’s a kind of flooring that you don’t just buy out of necessity, you buy it as an investment.

It can increase the value of your property, and there are many benefits of slate tiles:

• They’re long-lasting
• They easy to clean and maintain
• They come in different shades
• They have character and unique natural textures
• They work well with marble
• They add value

The only drawbacks with slate tiles is that they can be cold in the winter and hot in the summer, so they’re not always friendly to your feet. This type of flooring isn’t chosen for comfort though, and you can always put on a pair of slippers. Not many materials compete with slate when it comes to flooring, and you certainly won’t regret installing it in your kitchen, conservatory, bathroom or hallway.

It’s crucial to choose the right flooring for a sports club like a gym or a dance hall, because incorrect flooring could cause injuries and discomfort during exercise. To keep your visitors happy, consider studded rubber tiled flooring, it’s not too firm, it’s very grippy and comfortable to run or walk on.

There are different colours you can choose between depending on your gym equipment, wall colours and branding. You’re also unable to see that the flooring is made up of rubber tiles because of how seamlessly they slot together, and lines are not clearly visible.

With excellent slip resistance, this attractive rubber flooring isn’t too expensive, and you’ll often find it in school gyms, changing rooms and leisure centres, yet it can also work well in kitchens, garages and storage areas. Make sure you choose the right surface for your gym or sports club, because the decision is likely to be more important than you think!

A runner rug can add style, comfort and warmth to your hallway, and you can decide between fur rugs, Aztec patterned rugs, chequered rugs and runners with print designs.

Hallways can often look quite bland, even if you have very nice decorative flooring, but cold tiles or solid oak aren’t the most welcoming of materials, and a comfortable rug can add to the look of the room whilst providing comfort too.

No matter where you shop, rugs vary significantly in price, but you do get what you pay for, so quality materials do tend to be a lot more expensive. That’s not to say that a cheaper rug can’t add style to you home – it all comes down to preference. Some rugs will wear easier than other, and if you may want to choose a strong material while non-slip grip sheet can be cut to size and placed below the rug.

Choosing oak wood flooring adds character, warmth and elegance to your home. Most people will think of carpeting as the first thing when considering their flooring options. However, they barely think about how easily stained carpets become, showing signs of wear and tear while yet aging quickly. Opting for hardwood flooring allows for luster and easy maintenance over many years to come.

Whether installed in the whole home or just in a single room, oak flooring is able to provide a warm and appealing appearance which improves the overall value of the home. In fact, it proves to be a versatile flooring choice since it blends easily with almost all decors. Here are some benefits:

Durability

The durability of an oak floor is unmatched. It is harder than redwood, providing unmatched shock absorption through the dense fibers. It also has the ability to resist any wear and tear. Oak is popularly known to repel fungi and insects naturally. This helps in keeping your home protected from any unwanted pests. Most oak hardwood floors are naturally resistant to moisture, especially the white oak floors, making it the most suitable choice for bathrooms and kitchens.

Oak has been used for centuries in the building industry. Extreme credibility has been established on wood flooring due to its durability. Actually, it is very possible to purchase 200-year old oak that hasn’t lost its appeal at all.

Ease of installation

Oak flooring works preferably well for nailing, machining, gluing and screwing. Its installation will thus require very few special accommodations which will in turn lower the installation prices incurred. Its natural absorption rate favors easy coloring enabling you to tailor the floor as per your specific aesthetic desires and needs. (more…)