Shaping spaces: How does different flooring affect a room?

Sometimes, we’re spoilt for choice: Choosing flooring can be difficult, especially considering how many different colours and materials are available. Is wooden flooring the right choice, or would design flooring be better? And what colour should it be? The MEISTER catalogue, which includes everything from rustic oak to lively walnut to concrete, shows just how wide the range of options is. 

There are two questions that make it easier to take the first step, which is to choose between light or dark flooring: 
 

1. How big is the room in question?
2. What style of interior decor are you planning, or what sort of atmosphere do you want to create?

As a general rule, light flooring makes rooms look bigger than dark flooring does. If the room in question is small and you want it to look bigger, you should opt for lighter flooring. In larger rooms, the more relevant question is what sort of atmosphere you want to create.

Light flooring will make the space feel brighter, especially if the room is painted in corresponding colours. But not all light shades are the same. While light wood colours are timeless, white floors lend rooms a particularly clean look. They are often used in combination with interior design trends such as Scandinavian or shabby chic. Colourful furniture and accessories, possibly in a retro look, can warm up a cool or sterile space.

Dark wood-look flooring creates a warm ambience and can make even large rooms look cosy. It can create a beautiful contrast when combined with light walls and accessories, or an authentic feel when paired with rustic furniture. Dark grey or black flooring makes a real statement: It is synonymous with luxury and elegance.

Tip: Very dark flooring should only be laid in particularly bright rooms and should be brightened up with light designer accents to make sure it doesn’t weigh down the atmosphere of the space.

Wooden flooring has incredible character. No one tree is like another, so each wood floor is unique, as well. The grain, variety of hues and structure of each plank are naturally different. However, the surface finish and treatment can influence the appearance of any wood flooring. In light of this, wooden flooring is divided into different gradings, such as ‘harmonious’ or ‘lively’. This has an effect on the appearance of a room, as does the laying pattern. If, for example, parquet flooring graded as ‘country’, which is characterised by irregular knots and cracks, is laid in a herringbone pattern, it can create a very vivid atmosphere in a room. The space will look much calmer if wood flooring graded as ‘ambience’ is laid in a ‘straight pattern’, or in parallel. 

The joints also have an effect on the overall feel of a room: If they are most obvious along the length of the plank, they make the room appear longer. Visible joints on all sides of the plank create a rustic look. And if they are invisible, the room generally looks more elegant. This effect is particularly obvious in concrete-look design flooring. If this flooring is laid so that the joints are invisible, it creates an attractive, consistent surface with a modern, luxurious flair.