Flooring & rugs

Flooring & Rugs

You shouldn't really notice your flooring. Keep it as consistent as you can across the house, and try and keep as true to the house as possible. Don't 'Disney' your house with exotic floors. Coconut and sisal matting is a staple: it's cheap and good-looking.

Have as little different flooring as possible. Let it run from room to room. If you want a rug that takes up all the floor leave about 18 inches (45 cm) around the edge of the room.

Engineered wood bathroom floors work well and take underfloor heating effectively. Buy old rugs rather than bespoke. Bespoke adds huge pressure to the item. If you like the painted chequerboard effect, make each diamond 45cm squared.

"When there's a lot of wood flooring in a house, I like to paint chequerboard floors in some of the smaller rooms. It breaks up the monotony of the wood without totally painting over the oak floor."

Planning Flooring

A flooring list describing where each material goes will be needed by your builder. Be sure to provide samples of each material to ensure they are level. For rooms to flow smoothly, especially in small spaces, your eye should travel in a straight line, so leave little room for changing and chopping.

I colour the plans in order to show who is assigned what and how everything will work. This is a very clear way to convey how everything is going to work. The colours also make it easy to see if there is a lot going on and if there is not enough. Consider including the grout colour and thickness if applicable on this schedule.

Flooring & North Farm

Coir matting was used everywhere else in my house, aside from the bedrooms. The old-fashioned herringbone pattern is a big favourite of mine, and as an added bonus, it is very affordable. This honey colour adds warmth to the room, and it is great for laying rugs on, which isn't the case with all carpets. I used Lapicida 'Highland Castle' porcelain tiles for the kitchen and boot room. Compared to stone, they are cheaper and work very efficiently with underfloor heating. I used solid oak boards from Freeman Attwood for the hallway.

Flooring & Rita's London Flat

Popham Design tiles are used in the laundry room and kitchen.

Rugs

A rug on wooden floors pulls a room together; furniture on bare floors appears unanchored.

I would recommend Ben Rahal in Marrakesh for buying Berber rugs. Francesca Gentilli sells colourful vintage Moroccan designs in London. Joshua Lumley has a good selection of old Berber rugs and fabulous Oushak rugs in Kent, but if you want something more modern, Tim Page can make custom rugs in your desired size and colour. Robert Kime has wonderful selection of antique rugs.

My other rug go-tos are Guinevere to find new and old flatweaves, Howe and rob for vintage Swedish flatweaves. For new rugs, take a look at Robert Stephenson, Melissa Wyndham and Sinclair Till.

Carpets

I'm not fond of cut-pile carpets. However, there are occasions where they can work; for example in a strong colour on a staircase (stair runners are a must). I recommend opting for a flat weave carpet from companies such as Tim Page. Natural woven carpeting is beautiful but can be high-maintenance, for example, medieval matting needs to be watered frequently to ensure it doesn't dry out and crack. For those interested in art felt carpeting take a look at Hainsworth who has beautiful Merino wool runners. Long corridors can be transformed by patterned carpets into modern, vibrant spaces.