At NHBB we know that when you are building your new luxury home in Perth, there are so many things to consider. But how do you pick the right flooring?

In this blog, we will discuss how to choose the right flooring for your needs when designing and building a luxury home. See some of our luxury home designs here. We look at several different types of materials that can be used in flooring including hardwood, engineered wood, bamboo, ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles, stone floors, carpet, polished concrete as well as some pros and cons associated with each type of material.

We will also discuss how to select the right flooring for each room.

Flooring is an important part of any home design because it’s what people see first when they walk into a room. It can also reflect the style and personality of those living in the space so it’s essential to choose carefully.

There are several different choices you have when choosing flooring in your new home, and it can be difficult to figure out the best option for you.

How do you select the right flooring?

When designing your new home, one of the most important decisions you will make is what type of flooring to choose. There are many different types of materials that can be used as flooring and each material offers a range of benefits and drawbacks that could affect how space works in your home.

So it's important to think about what will work best for the activities that you'll have in this room like if you want or need durable floors for high traffic areas or if you need soft surfaces for playing games with your kids. Colour, texture, finish, ease of cleaning, maintenance, soundproofing, and durability of the flooring material will go hand in hand with what you will be using the room for.

For open-plan designs, it makes sense for the flooring to be continuous throughout the space. However, it is worth considering the needs of each space and select the flooring type that works for all the functions of the open-plan spaces. Our talented designers can help you with flooring decisions for your home.

Here are a few things to think about when picking the flooring for the rooms and areas in your new home.

• Dining room

What activities do I plan on doing in this room? Will it be used for entertaining or just for family meals? Do you need durable and easy-to-clean floors or soft surfaces for playing games with your children?

• Family room

What leisure activities will take place in this room? Will it be more like a family room to watch TV, or a games room?

• Lounge room 

What will you be doing in here? Do you want hard surfaces for playing games with yourkids or soft surfaces to protect the area rugs and furniture from damage?

• Home Office

Besides working, what other activities will take place in this room? Are you a gamer? Do you need carpeting for soundproofing and better acoustics? Or do you want something more durable like hardwood floors? Learn more about why you even need this room in your home.

• Bedrooms  

As well as for sleeping, what activities do you plan on doing in this room? Do you want soft surfaces for playing with your kids, or hard surfaces because your whole family has allergies and soft carpets in the bedroom are a bad decision?

• Family and ensuite bathrooms

What activities do you and your family plan on enjoying in this room? Do you want a spa-like feel with soft surfaces or durable floors for high-traffic areas? To think more about how your bathroom needs to be, click here to read more about bathrooms.

• Kitchen 

What activities, as well as cooking, or baking, will take place in this room?  Do you need something more waterproof like tiles or stone, or will engineered wood be ok? Find out more about kitchen design here.

• Outdoor Alfresco area

Do you plan on using your alfresco area for outdoor entertaining? If so, how do you need to protect your floors from the sun and other elements (like rain)? How do you make the flow of space from indoor to outdoors feel seamless by selecting the right continuous flooring that works indoors and outdoors? Find about more about alfresco areas in our blog here.

The flooring of a luxury home should be flooring that's easy to take care of and flooring that will last for many years. Just remember the flooring should reflect the style of your floor plan; this will keep it looking contemporary and stylish.

Flooring types for luxury designed homes

There is a huge selection of flooring types. Here are a few of the most popular:

Hardwood, engineered wood and bamboo

One flooring option that you can consider when designing your floor is a hardwood floor. Hardwood flooring is typically very durable and long-lasting. They are also very good at retaining their natural beauty over time, and they will continue to look nice even with regular wear and tear. The downside to choosing a hardwood floor is that it may be more expensive than other flooring types such as carpet, porcelain tiles, or ceramic tiles.

Another flooring type that you might be interested in is engineered wood flooring. This type of flooring has a more authentic appearance than laminate flooring because it's made from real wood planks rather than sealed layers of wood strips or sheets. Engineered flooring is typically more expensive than flooring made from materials such as laminate flooring, but it's still cheaper than purchasing a hardwood floor.

If you're looking for flooring that is going to last for many years, bamboo flooring might be an excellent choice. Bamboo flooring is very durable and it is also known for being warm and comfortable to walk on. However, bamboo flooring is one of the more expensive flooring options available, and it may be challenging for you to keep your floor clean if you have pets or messy children.

As you're making flooring choices for your home, it's important that you consider all of the pros and cons associated with each flooring type. You also need to consider flooring that will complement the floor in your home and flooring that is going to be up to the task of handling wear and tear from everyday foot traffic.

One other consideration for hardwood, engineered wood or bamboo floors is the solar passive impact. These finishes act as an insulator for the concrete floor slab. In living areas that have strong northern aspect and sunlight exposure, this can mean cooler temperature in winter, when ideally you want the sun to heat up the slab and radiate the warmth during the colder nights.  Polished concrete, stone or tiles are better suited in this area if solar passive design is a consideration.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles

Ceramic and porcelain tiles are a popular type of flooring because they are durable, attractive, and can be installed in a variety of patterns.

They are both water-resistant and easily cleaned with cleaning products intended for tile floors.

Ceramic tiles can produce savings on heating and cooling bills because of their low thermal conductivity as well as the hardness that makes it difficult for dirt to stick to them.

There are many color options for ceramic and porcelain tiles which can be either purchased in masses or mixed to create your own unique pattern.

They have traditionally been used in kitchens or bathrooms but are now often found in areas of the home where they can be more easily cleaned such as mudrooms, laundry rooms, and even patios.

Porcelain tiles are more expensive to purchase and install than ceramic tiles but can be made to look very similar.

One of the most expensive flooring options is stone. This high-quality option adds a luxurious look and feel to your new home.

Marble

Marble is a beautiful stone, but it's also one of the most delicate of all stone types. Marble is soft and can scratch easily. These stones are generally polished to show off their luster and color, so any scratches not only show up more prominently but also reveal the honed surface underneath. Marble floors can be damaged by acidic cleaning products, heavy furniture, or sharp objects such as high heels or pet claws. One thing to remember about these stones is that they are often brittle and can break easily if dropped on a hard surface.

Granite

 Granite is a natural stone and the tiles offer a lot of benefits, such as being non-porous, scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, water-resistant, and heat resistant. Granite as a flooring material will provide you with a distinct sense of luxury.

Other stone flooring

Limestone, slate, and travertine are also options to be considered for your new home.

Polished concrete

Polished concrete is attractive to many because it can be coloured with stains, dyes, or just polished for a natural look. The cleaning process for this type of flooring is simple: the outside can simply be hosed down and cleaned with soap and water.

Carpets

Carpets come in all shapes and sizes as well as different colours. Carpets require continuous cleaning to keep them looking and smelling nice. Carpets are made of natural fibres or synthetic fibres.

Natural fibre carpets are usually made from wool, coir, cotton, or bamboo. In general, wool is the most common material used in making a carpet because its strong fibres resist shrinking with age. With proper cleaning maintenance and care, natural fibre carpets will last for many years without much wear. However, these types of carpets tend to cost more than synthetic fibre carpets and cleaning them is a bit more tricky than cleaning synthetics.

Natural fibre carpets are somewhat more eco-friendly because they can be recycled like other natural fibres.

So, how do you select the right flooring?

Selecting the right floor for your new luxury home needs to be considered carefully. It must cater to the needs of you and your family, and the needs of the functions that will occur in the different room types and areas.

What Tristan has to say: "This is such an important topic. Flooring can be a big issue if you get this wrong. Working with the builder towards the end of the project is so important. Try and use the builder’s tiler if you can. If you are going with timbers or engineered flooring, always try and know who the floor layer is, and the experience of that person. Make sure you cover the flooring correctly when installed. Double up if you have to, cardboard and plastic on top. I have seen so many floors damaged when moving in!

Have a go at different materials in the home, we have seen clients pull this off and it looks great.

Lastly have it fully priced before signing a building contract, this helps with cost control."

Need help with building your new luxury home? Book a discovery meeting today and click here.

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