Always Under Foot
by Elaine Simcoe

     You walk on it everyday... most of the time you don't even notice it. But, when it's really outstanding, it can be the basis of a beautiful room! Right, it's your flooring and today, there are some really interesting materials out there and a wide variety of custom-look ideas you can incorporate into traditional floor coverings to bring them into the 21st century with style.

Some retailers solely do custom carpeting and
the end result is truly 'art for the floor'!

     And what style we're seeing in carpeting from the days of light green wall-to-wall! Most of the materials have been 'delustered' - they don't have that shine anymore. The new fibres are soft, warm and inviting underfoot - they look more like cotton or wool with thicker, chunkier yarns and deeper piles. The colour selection is huge and seems to follow paint palettes in that there are many small gradations of colour making it easier to match or subtly blend with your walls. The colour spectrum runs the whole gamut from light lights to really intense and vibrant colours and the ability to customize seems limitless. Adding a border or a pattern to a carpet changes the whole look yet doesn't add a lot to the cost. Some retailers solely do custom carpeting and the end result is truly 'art for the floor'! Intricate designs can be cut into carpeting mixing different colours, textures and fibres. Design it yourself, work with them or find a stock art rug that you love and just take it home.

     Equally interesting is what you can now do to or with hardwood floors. Good hardwoods are beautiful on their own, but one professional we spoke to works the same art-like wonders in wood as our carpet people. There is a wonderful variety of naturally coloured exotic hardwoods that lend themselves to great design - black bean wood, wang wood, purple heart, to mention just a few that will give you that real 'WOW' factor! Shapes and borders of every kind can be incorporated into the flooring as it is being laid. Paints and varnishes can also be used to incorporate designs and if done properly will last for years. When you're tired of it, sand it down and start all over again. The only drawback to solid hardwood is that being a natural product it will react to heat and humidity. If it's too dry for too long, you run the risk of shrinking and cracking; too humid, it may expand and warp. So today, there's something called engineered hardwood. It's still all natural wood but in its manufacturing process, the wood is layered in opposing directions so that you get a very rigid finished product. Its construction is designed to counteract the effects of a climate such as ours - very dry winters, very hot humid summers. It comes in many different finishes, colours and stains and is relatively easy to install - it could be a do-it-yourself project. There are also glueless laminates that simply click together so they, too, are easy to do yourself. They come in almost any finish you could think of and are almost more beautiful than natural wood because they only manufacture perfect boards - you won't find any with the natural blemishes of real wood.

     Cork is a really an incredible surface and like hardwood can last indefinitely, but unlike hardwood, carpet and vinyl, it is virtually waterproof and virtually indestructible! It is almost invaluable as a floor covering in a rec room not only for its waterproof quality but because it can be directly glued to concrete, is only 1/8" thick so you don't lose any headspace, has a good insulation value so it's nice to bare feet and can be easily repaired if it becomes cut in some way - say from your child's favourite race car! It's also great for kitchens and bathrooms for the same reasons. It can be finished to look like anything you want - granite, marble, ceramic, wood - and you can even finish it after it's down so you can theme any room. Apply a high-grade renewable urethane finish and you're good for years to come. If any wearing occurs, just sand it down a bit and apply a new coat of urethane. If you're reasonably handy, with some good instruction, you can install it yourself.Last but not least is vinyl flooring and some of it has come a long way too. There's a new one out called 'Perma Stone' that has more of the look and feel of ceramic tile than any other vinyl. The look is fabulous without the drawbacks of ceramic tile - hard, cold and costly to install.

     So much out there to look at and buy, such a range of budgets, tastes and abilities. The only way to make a good decision is to do the research - hope we've helped a bit!

SOURCE LIST:
Erhard-Streu 919 McLeod 204-667-4890 Heidi Streu
Dancing Rose Rugs 600 Clifton St. N 204-488-1498 Diane Kovnats
Artistic Hardwood Design and Consulting 516 Camden 204-775-0097 Ernest Froese
Bill Knight Flooring and Carpets Ltd. 895 Century St. 204-783-9600 Bill Knight
Heartland Wood & Cork Floor Co. Ltd. 1499 Dublin 204-784-8300 Craig Werntz
The Area Rug Store 1516 St. James St. 204-772-7767 Harry Ross
Curtis Carpets 1280 Pembina Hwy. 204-452-8100 Tim Pariseau