Top Floors Blog

When designing or renovating a room, one of the most impactful choices is often the flooring choice. Subtle tweaks to this element can dramatically change the overall aesthetic and spatial perception of the space. Let’s look at how choices in wood floor patterns, floor darkness/lightness, tiles sizes and carpet patterns can transform the look and feel of a room.

Hardwood and Wood look Floor Patterns

Hardwood floors instantly provide warmth and richness to a room. Beyond color choices in the wood, the direction of the floorboards themselves can shift the dimensions, making rooms appear wider or longer. Diagonal or chevron plank patterns tend to make small spaces appear larger and more dynamic. The lines draw the eye across the room. Herringbone floors also make spaces appear wider and the ceiling higher due to the elongated V shape. On the other hand, straight planks in the standard floorboard direction will have an elongating effect, expanding the look of the room from front to back. Experimenting with plank direction is an easy and impactful design tweak. This is a conversation that you can have with the sales professional or the installation team before they get started. 

Pro Tip: Ask to take home a box of your flooring before the installation so you can lay some boards out and see which direction feels better.

Light vs Dark Floors

The lighter or darker a floor, the more it impacts the feeling of space. Dark floors tend to feel more intimate, cozy and enclosed due to the anchoring effect of the deep tone. White oak or maple floors will brighten up a room, allowing more light to reflect and bounce around. The lighter floor fades more into the background, giving the illusion of a more expansive footprint. There’s more of a sense of airiness and height. Similarly for stone or tile, lighter marbles, travertines and porcelain tiles open up a room while darker finishes feel more grounded.

Large Tiles vs Small Tiles

Beyond wood floors, creative use of tile sizes and patterns can also influence spatial perceptions. Generally, smaller tile sizes make rooms appear larger by creating more grid-like lines for the eye to follow across the space. The grout lines break up the floor plane. Larger format tiles or slabs conversely will anchor a room and make ceilings feel lower, but can enhance that sleek and dramatic look. Combining large and small tiles in creative patterns interspersed with inlays of wood or other materials brings even more visual interest. Don’t be afraid to play with tile sizes and arrangements to expand or contract spaces.

Rugs and Carpets

In addition to permanent flooring choices, rugs and carpets lend flexibility to easily shift the dimensions and feel of a room. A solid colored broadloom carpet unified the floor plane, opening up ceilings. But linear patterns in a carpet or area rug can make rooms appear wider or longer. Thin stripes expand rooms sideways and feel more playful. Wider striped rugs elongate spaces. Chevron patterns also pull the eye, making spaces feel more expansive. Contrast stripes with the walls through lighter and darker tones. The Trompe l’oeil effect fools the eye into seeing more distance. Layer over hardwood or tile floors to reimagine spatial perceptions.

Visualize It!

With new augmented reality shopping tools you don’t have to imagine how these changes in direction and size will change the feel of your space. We have an amazing floor visualizer tool that you can use to try out different types of flooring and different layouts right in your own space. Take a look at this demo:

With all interior design decisions, so much depends on the needs of the space and personal preference. But being aware of how elemental choices in floors influence perception can help inform the desired look, dimension and feel of a newly designed or refreshed room. Let the joy of transforming rooms through creative finishes begin!