Top interiors that feature bold statement carpets

Carpets can make a bold statement in a room, as well as add texture. Top architects and interior designers are using bold colour carpets in their designs.

The Arches Apartment in Barcelona, designed by the PMAA architecture studio, has white arches, walls and ceilings with sea green carpets providing contrast to the stark white features.

A Mexico City mansion is used by Masa gallery to exhibit artworks. It makes a bold design statement with bright red walls and a red and gold carpet. A New York apartment designed by Harry Nuriev and Tyler Billinger of Crosby Studios also makes a bold statement with a heavy pile purple carpet. Billinger said:

"We wanted a space that was not only elegant but also liveable – we wanted to create a cosy sanctuary, which is why we used a warm grey as the base colour and a vibrant purple as the supporting."

A London townhouse by Studio Hagen Hall has a sofa upholstered in orange velvet, with a bright peach carpet that also covers surfaces and a large round footstool.

A bright magenta carpet and a deep blue sofa feature in Casa Lana, Milan which was designed by Ettore Sottsass.

These bold designs show that carpets don’t have to be in neutral or muted shades. A bold coloured carpet can be the main feature of a room. If you love brightly-coloured décor, visit a carpet retailer in North Wales or Chester and ask to see their selection of carpets in bold shades.

What is the recommended thickness of engineered wood flooring?

Wooden floors are always a popular choice, but there are two wood options available. You can choose to have a solid wood floor or an engineered wood floor.

The former is what most people think of when they imagine wood flooring, as it is a purely natural product made up of wooden planks. It is the simpler choice for that reason, whereas engineered wood floors typically involve more issues that must be considered before they are fitted.

One of the most important of those is the thickness of the flooring. So what thickness is recommended if you are thinking about going for floors made out of engineered wood?

What is engineered wood flooring?

First off, let us look briefly at what engineered wood actually is. While a solid wood floor is simply made up of planks or one piece of wood, an engineered one sees boards, fibres or strands of wood bound together using either an adhesive or some other method of binding. It then has a veneer made of a wood such as oak put over the top of it. This veneer usually measures between 3ml and 6ml, depending on the overall floor thickness that you have chosen.

Engineered wooden floors look just as natural as solid ones, but also have a number of real practical advantages. The biggest is that the backing made of the pieces bound together offers greater stability and less movement due to the fact that it can cope better with temperature changes and moisture than a solid wood floor. That makes it a very effective choice for areas where weather conditions and temperatures are changeable – such as Chester in the North West.

How thick should it be?

Engineered wood floors vary considerably in thickness, but an average of around 13.5ml is what can be found in most homes or commercial premises. It is possible to get floors with thinner wooden boards that will be a cheaper option, but doing so will prove to be a false economy over the longer term. Opting for floors with very thin wood just means that the surface will wear down more quickly when it is sanded. That is something you will inevitably have to do at some points to keep the finish of the floor looking good.

Beyond this basic information, there are some key questions that come into play when considering the thickness of floor needed. The answers will determine what choice you make.

1. Will the floor experience heavy footfall?

This is probably the most important issue when choosing engineered wood flooring. A floor that is going to be walked over a great deal will also have to be sanded more often to keep it looking good. Therefore, both the boards and the veneer must be sufficiently thick to be able to handle more frequent sanding and refinishing without wearing away. Examples of rooms that attract heavy footfall are living rooms, kitchens and hallways.

Any thickness below 13.5 ml would certainly not be advisable for one or more of those rooms.

2. Does the room have under floor heating?

You may not realise it, but under floor heating is another important issue to consider when fitting engineered wood flooring. It will be pointless to have this if the floor does not let the heat penetrate through to the room above, so the thickness of the floor matters a lot. While it is possible to get engineered wood floors as thick as 21ml, that level of thickness will make it more difficult for the heat to get through and warm the room.

Again, a floor with thickness of around 13.5ml will make it much easier for the warmth from the heating to come through the floor into the main part of your room.

3. Is the subfloor in good condition?

The subfloor means the bare surface that your engineered wood flooring will be going on top of. When it comes to the recommended thickness, it can depend on whether this surface is in a good condition or not. If the subfloor is not very even or has other damage such as holes, it will be better to choose the thickest possible grade of engineered wood floor. That could mean 21ml.

On the other hand, if the subfloor is still fairly smooth and in a reasonable overall condition, that sort of thickness will not be necessary. In that sort of situation, a more standard engineered wood floor of around 13.5ml will be an effective covering for the subfloor.

Hopefully this has given you some idea of what exactly an engineered wood floor is and what the factors are that you need to weigh up when considering how thick you want it to be. Unless your subfloor is seriously damaged, the standard degree of thickness will provide a fine flooring solution.

Experts recommend the best flooring for home gyms

Design and architecture experts were asked about creating the ideal home gym and what type of flooring is best.

A well-designed home gym that looks good as well as being functional increases the chances of it being regularly used as a way of keeping members of the household fit. Most design experts agree that the ideal gym should have plenty of natural light and enough space for gym equipment. Add plants for a sense of being connected to nature and hang art on the walls.

Designer Kendall Wilkinson says:

“When it comes to flooring, absorbency is crucial for joint wellness and maintenance, especially for floor workouts like yoga or Pilates. If you have the space, zone a water/sweat-resistant vinyl flooring.”

Architect Rachael H. Grockowski from RHG Architecture+Design recommends softer floors for weightlifting and wood or vinyl for exercises like yoga and Pilates.

Stephen Brockman, a partner of Deborah Berke Partners, says that rubber mats or tiles help dampen noise from impact exercises.

Designer Wendy Word suggests marking the gym area in zones. Vinyl tiles can be laid in patterns that mark distinct areas with layered mats added to eliminate sound.

Many homes already have vinyl flooring in their Chester and North Wales homes, and these are suitable for converting into gyms. Soft carpets are not ideal so should be replaced with a hard floor. Professional gyms use specialist gym flooring materials, but these are not necessary for home gyms that don’t have a high number of users.

Interiors will feature bolder colours in 2023

Architecture and interior design magazine Dezeen asked twelve leading interior architects and designers for their forecasts for the design trends that will be popular in 2023. They said that interiors will feature bold and bright colours.

British interior designers Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe from 2LG Studio say that we are living in violent times and designs should reflect the dynamism of this period:

"When the world gets too weird to comprehend, the designs of the moment reflect that. Let's all get weird and express our wonderfulness."

Sanchit Arora, a New Delhi-based designer, sees a trend towards maximalism that started in 2022 and will continue to influence design trends in 2023. Maximalism is about bold designs with patterns and bright colours. Objects in a room stand out rather than blending in with other features of the space.

Architect Raúl Sánchez of Barcelona says:

"I think I am seeing, after a few years of mostly conservative approach to colour, a more fresh and daring use of colour.”

Interior designer Pallavi Dean says that there is a reaction against neutral colours and the embracing of rainbow shades. British designer Kelly Hoppen does not forecast the end of neutral colours but sees them complemented by bold prints.

Carpets in Chester and North Wales rooms will still be a popular choice of floor covering in 2023, but most consumers prefer neutral or subdued colours. If the predictions of the design experts are correct, more residents in the region will go for bolder coloured carpets.

Grey and beige are the top two carpet colours

A survey by home news and advice website House Digest asked 629 respondents what their favourite carpet colour is. The top two choices were grey and beige.

Just over a third (37%) of respondents said that they preferred grey carpets for their homes. One reason for this choice is that grey, unlike white or beige carpets, camouflages stains and dirt better, making them less visible. However, to preserve the life of a carpet, it’s still advisable to regularly clean it.

Grey carpets are available in a variety of shades from light to dark, with something to suit most décor styles.

Charcoal grey carpets make light coloured objects in a room stand out. Grey carpets go well in rooms where the carpet is surrounded by wood flooring.

The second choice in the survey was beige, with 27.34% of respondents naming it their favourite carpet colour. A deep pile beige carpet adds warmth and cosiness to a room. A woven pattern beige carpet goes well in a traditional style room. A light beige carpet makes a small space appear larger. Beige, like grey, is a neutral colour that complements most décor styles.

The third favourite colour of the survey respondents is dark brown, with nearly 15% choosing it. Though neutral colours are favoured by many, a significant minority of respondents (8.27%) love bright colours.

Carpets in North Wales and Chester are available in a wide range of colours. Whether neutral or brighter shades are preferred, there’s a carpet colour suitable for all tastes.