Resilient Floors: Planning & Design

The illustrations below give you an idea of how the same type of material can be effectively used in rooms with very different functions—in each instance, creating a particular ambient effect. When using resilient materials in any room, there are a number of planning and design issues to keep in mind.

These issues differ depending on whether you’re considering sheet goods or tile units. Sheet goods are available in a limited number of widths. If your room is larger than the sheet’s width, you’ll have to seam two pieces together, and these seam placements will affect both the look and performance of your finish floor. Be cause the continuity of sheet flooring is a special feature worth retaining, you can minimize the visibility of seams by placing them in secondary areas of the room. The seam will be essentially invisible if you plan to run it along an existing line in the surface pattern.

(top) Kitchens are generally heavily-trafficked, high-activity areas where soil and spills are a common occurrence. Where practicality and easy maintenance are important considerations, resilient materials are an excellent choice. Because there is such a wide range of colors, patterns, and surface textures to choose from, almost any design theme can be carried out. (bottom) Resilient materials are reputed for their no-nonsense practicality. However, because they are man-made materials, they can also be fabricated to emulate more expensive natural materials in a very satisfactory way. Where a beautiful visual effect is the primary design goal, and practicality runs a close second, carefully chosen resilient materials can lend a striking elegance and refinement to any room.

Tile units present different design possibilities. Tiles can be laid out in a square-grid format oriented square to the room, or laid out on a diagonal grid. The pattern can include special .borders. create a checker-board effect, or even show a random design. The section on layout will help you make planning decisions for resilient tiles.

For both sheet and tile floors, pattern (and its scale), surface texture, and color will play a combined role in the final look of the room. F and scale work together to make a space feel expansive, calm, lively, busy, or cramped. Large floor areas can accommodate a larger-scaled pattern without overwhelming the room. But small rooms, like bathrooms, need a simple pattern of smaller scale if the floor is to create a pleasant visual effect.

Texture is often an inherent part of the pattern. An embossed texture in the pattern itself highlights and punctuates the pattern more than a smooth surface. The shapes that make up the pattern also affect the overall feeling of design Curved shapes activate each other in a swirl of motion; angular shapes oppose and hold each other in place; geometric shapes reside with each other to form an integrated field. Whenever you are selecting patterns, bear these principles in mind so that you will choose those that are in harmony with your overall design goals.

(top) Inexpensive and easy-to-install materials, such as 12-inch-square white resilient tiles, can give any room a warm and pleasant graciousness. Particularly when bedrooms serve several functions, resilient materials may be a worthwhile choice—as much from an aesthetic standpoint as from a practical one. (bottom) Bathroom cabinetry and fixtures are often clean-lined, slick-surfaced, cool- feeling elements, which could suggest a high-tech approach to the design scheme. Resilient flooring materials can effectively create it. Many resilient materials are highly resistant to water, making them an especially appropriate choice for bathroom spaces.

Prev.: Planning & Design

Next: Selection Chart

top of page   Home   All Articles in this Guide