Interior Advice

Finding flooring

with Avril Heard-Woollcombe
​- Karibu Interior Design

When undertaking a building or renovation project, flooring is an important consideration, both financially, and as the starting point for your interior colour scheme. As a general rule, Avril says to start from the floor and then move upwards.

being one of the most sustainable, environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and durable fibres in the world. If your budget does not allow you to upgrade your carpet selection to a denser pile, consider using a thicker underlay which will give your carpet a more luxurious feel underfoot.

Consider your lifestyle

Tiles

Thought needs to be considered as to how the space will be used, who will be in the space and the aspect (north or south facing). Consider how much exposure to sunlight the area has, the access to outdoors, the subfloor type and condition, and whether or not
there is existing underfloor heating. Depending on your lifestyle factors, you may need flooring that is more durable than others.

Ceramic, porcelain, marble, granite, and other
natural stones. Extremely hard-wearing but unforgivingly hard and can be cold, so require underfloor heating or to be situated in a sunny area. Great for use in wet areas such as bathrooms and showers, plus can be used as splash backs and feature walls in kitchens and bathrooms.

Look at your options

What’s in style?

There are a number of options on the market for achieving a beautiful wood or wood-look floor.
Sheet vinyl is the most cost-effective, minimal maintenance floor covering for bathrooms, kitchens and laundries. Vinyl planks/tiles are hard-wearing and great for use in high-traffic areas, such as the kitchen, dining, living, hallways and bathrooms. Vinyl planks have the advantage over sheet vinyl, that if one is damaged it can be easily replaced without having to replace the total floor area.
Laminate flooring has the beauty of looking and
even feeling like real timber, but without the
maintenance and it’s a fraction of the cost. The
top layer is a photographic image of wood with an
overlay of a durable protective product. Generally
harder wearing than vinyl planks but be aware of
waterproof ratings and guarantees.

The flooring trend is moving away from the cooler dark charcoal, black and grey shades of carpets and planks, to more natural warmer tones. Very dark flooring shows just as much dirt and debris as light flooring. The use of mid-earthy tones will reduce vacuuming and warm up the space.
There is a move to the use of hard flooring
throughout the high traffic and living spaces which
creates a seamless flow and leads you into the main
hub. Carpet is often now only in the bedrooms and
the formal lounge for warmth and comfort. Rugs are
also a popular choice for creating areas and adding
texture, colour and warmth.
Visit your local showroom to look at the vast array
of flooring options and always ask to see the largest
samples available. Work with a knowledgeable
designer or flooring representative to get the correct
product and look you are after.

Carpet

Synthetic carpet has the advantage of being more fade resistant than wool carpet, which is important with our strong NZ UV, plus it is highly stain- resistant and cost-effective. On the other hand, wool carpets are making a huge resurgence, with wool