Inside My Design Process - Floors

Doesn't look very pretty but this, my friends is what I hope to be the end of a 3-day process of deciding what floor material goes where and what layout would look best in this government building I'm currently working on. 

Truthfully, a lot goes into this process.  So I thought it might be helpful for my readers if I break it down a bit further in hopes of helping you see your spaces with a more critical eye.

Visit the image gallery and see these tips applied to finished projects.   Click the Link HERE

 WHERE TO BEGIN

• Map out your furniture groupings and activity locations.  You want to create clear paths of travel providing access to the most critical points in your building.  This would be entries, exits (especially emergency exits) and points of communication (i.e. info desks, circulation, etc.)

• Create soft flooring areas for reading spaces, computers, study rooms, history and genealogy spaces, offices,  conference rooms, and meeting rooms.

• Use resilient flooring materials like LVT (luxury vinyl tile) for those paths of travel you've identified.  Use this material for work rooms and break rooms too.  

• VCT, which you will all know as that square shiny flooring you've seen in older buildings all your lives that needs to be sealed and waxed should be used sparingly if at all.  LVT goes a long way to take the place of this material and it typically looks much nicer so why use it in the more common areas?  I use this flooring for storage rooms and even janitor closets.  That having been said, there are some much more attractive looking VCT floor options these days so if you need to use this over the LVT to save some money, there is absolutely no shame in doing so!

• I've noticed that staircases seem to operate best with some type of rubber flooring.  This will stand up to your heavy foot traffic and looks really nice if you use the right products.  One product we used on a spiral staircase is something called Mondo Flooring and it has the appearance of stained concrete but with the durability of the rubber product.  We polished the look off with a stainless steel nosing to add a sense of crisp prestige and to help with ADA concepts.

• Stick to ceramic or porcelain tile for your restrooms.  Don't use anything else.  Make sure you cover your 4'-0" wet walls at the very least.  But I recommend carrying that floor tile up the walls at least 5'-0"

SO HERE'S MY PROCESS:

Once your spaces are sorted out and you know where everything goes, choose an area and work on the design layout.  You might just put down one style of carpet or you may decide to throw caution to the wind and use some patterns to add interest.  With carpet, this can be achieved by adding pops of solid color tiles to your overall main carpet style or by choosing two or three different carpet design styles in one collection to mix and match throughout your soft areas.  

See these tips in action here!

For example, I might put down the main carpet in the area for smaller children and add the pops of color to indicate to parents and children that this is their space.

For the adolescents, I might use the same color of a different carpet pattern in that collection that has more texture to it to show them where their space is.

Adults might get a third pattern with some LVT blended into the walkways to break up the monotony of the space and create clear paths.

You can add curves to follow ceiling details or even box shapes to mimic the soffits above an information desk for added interest.

Make sure you place your LVT in all your walkways and tile your restrooms.  And don't forget workspaces with plenty of LVT for cleanability, ease of motion for rolling carts and padding beneath feet (you can add padding to some LVT options).

And for conference rooms and offices, place your simplest patterned carpet so you don't create spaces that feel too busy.  But feel free to add a nice border to your conference room to give it a more official appearance.

You can find plenty of images where I've put this in place if you visit my website.  Click HERE to go directly to some of my Library photos.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stick to your common sense on how YOUR spaces are best used and follow your instincts.