From the Floors Up

How to Add Character While Using Neutrals 

By Leave a Comment

Neutral color themes in homes are always a great choice. They are traditional and timeless designs that work in any environment. However, neutral colors are not typically found on a color wheel. They agree with almost any color without giving influence to a warm- or cool-tone atmosphere. That being said, colors are wonderful for adding character to a room. So without adding color, is it possible to achieve a full-of-character space? Of course, it is! Neutral colors can still have powerful impacts. Understanding other elements in your design theme can allow you to indulge in the neutral color palette and still create a very versatile and lively atmosphere.

Texture

While color can add a dramatic effect to your space, texture is another great tool to consider. Think of a room that was completely white from the floors and walls to the furniture and décor. What makes this room “pop” is the textures. A marble countertop has an entirely different texture than stucco walls or a plush carpet. Putting together different elements of texture like smooth, rough, fine, or coarse can make a room have more appeal. It does so by allowing each texture to stand out against one another.

Hard Contrast

When you are designing with all neutral colors, you are using colors like beiges, browns, blacks, whites, and grays. To create more depth to your design, allow for hard contrast. Black and white are very opposing colors. Having a white marble countertop with black cabinets can create a very hard contrast. These hard contrasts help create depth in your design. This depth is a great way to allow neutral colors to have an even more powerful influence in your home.

Metals and Woods

Neutral colors are commonly called “earthy tones.” Without incorporating warm- or cool-tones, you can still mix in woods and metals to your design. These materials will also add more character to your room since wood is full of character with its grainy texture and design and metal can also add a sheen or shine to your design.

These subtle but powerful tools will create your neutral-themed design and make it truly awe-inspiring. Neutral themed designs are perfect for any home, especially a home going into the real estate market. While not everyone may want a room with painted pink or lime green walls, generally speaking, neutral colors are accepted by everyone. A home can always feel the move-in ready with these tips and tricks.

Top Flooring Trends for 2020

By Leave a Comment

With the new year, new trends are making their way into the market. Throughout time, many flooring trends come and go. We have seen plenty of them in the last decade as technological advancements in flooring have changed the market. Since buying flooring is not something that you do every year, it is easy to get outdated information on what are the latest trends in the industry. Lucky for you, we are here to help keep your head in the game. Here are some of the most trending floors as we make our way into 2020:

Waterproof Flooring

Flooring advancements in technology have really answered the demand for waterproof flooring. Many different flooring options come with their own sets of pros and cons; however, a considerable drawback for many flooring options is not being able to withstand wet environments. That being said, we are seeing flooring like vinyl planks and even carpet coming as waterproof options. This feature can allow you a significant variance of flooring selections in your home in 2020.

High Variation Hardwood

A newer trend in the flooring industry is a high variation of colors and sizes in planks in hardwood. Hardwood is already desirable for its wide variety in character. Now, homeowners and businesses are allowing hardwood to be even more expressive with high variations of colors and sized planks being mixed together in a single room installation.

Greige Flooring

We saw grey rule the market for some time over the last decade. It came in as the neutral color choice that pushed out beige tones as the highest demand choice. However, now we are witnessing an exciting turn in tides. Greige is the mixed color of grey and beige together. It is becoming quite popular in the flooring industry, showing both interest in the colors beige and grey.

Encaustic Cement Tile

Encaustic tiles are typical handmade tiles with colorful patterns on designs. They are becoming very trending in bathrooms and kitchens lately. These designs can be incredibly unique and help create a stunning design pattern in any home.

These are just a few of the great flooring trends that we see staying around for some time. What are some flooring trends that interest you? Let us know your thoughts below in the comment section!

Interior Design Styles Trending Around the World | Part Five

By Leave a Comment

As this series comes to a close, we can see how diverse the world of interior design and trends are. Exploring all the countries and their trends can help you find the right style for your own home. Today, we are going to take a look at the final five countries. Let’s get started!

Ukraine – Dark Contemporary

Located in eastern Europe, much of Ukraine’s influences come from surrounding areas like Russia and Romania. Many homes have taken a liking to the darker, more deep-toned contemporary style. This look can help give a sophisticated and mature look to a home’s design.

Venezuela – Stripes

Stripes are trending significantly in most of the current design trends. In fact, Venezuela’s homes and businesses will incorporate stripe patterns in very unique places, including walls, ceilings, and décor. These stripes can help uniform the design theme and make the designs look and feel more balanced.

Wales – Modern Farmhouse

Wales is closely linked to the United Kingdom. While Rustic design has been common for some time, we see a change in the significance of this design. Now, the most common style being put in homes is Modern Farmhouse. With slight Modern edges, we see the small change from the normal Farmhouse and Rustic layouts to a more Modern Farmhouse design.

Yemen – Middle Eastern

Yemen is a strongly influenced Middle Eastern country. Their homes are inspired by Arabic design. While not everyone can invest in designing their homes, the wealthy will add gold accents and deep, rich, colorful patterns to establish wealth in their design. The less fortunate enjoy filling their homes will colorful, handmade textiles to brighten the color palette of their concrete-constructed homes.

Zimbabwe – Sophisticated with a Splash of Color

Zimbabwe is the second poorest country in the world, currently. The few people that have the privilege to dabble in designing their homes love to add color. It is not unusual to see the wealthy households flourished with colors and windows.

Were you surprised by some of the common design styles in the world today? Which design trends are your favorites? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and make sure to subscribe.

Interior Design Styles Trending Around the World | Part Four

By Leave a Comment

Every culture and country has a unique perspective on interior design. While some countries share similar preferences, many trends come and go at different times. Variables such as wealth, locations, social influences, and events can all contribute to these design trends. Today, we are going to further explore the world of design and the interesting trends each country has.

Portugal – Personalization

Portugal has gone through many changes in design styles and trends. They all seem to come and go. Now, Portuguese, more than ever, are using their interior to express themselves. Interior design is an outlet and a way to put your own personal touch into your home. Currently, the country is very influenced by tailoring their own homes to personalize them to the individual.

Qatar – Luxury and Ornate

When it comes to beautiful and intricate design, Qatar does not hold back. Their trending design is lavished with luxurious and ornate details. From fine art, intricate wallpapers, the highest quality flooring, and pristine furniture, they make sure to leave no stone unturned.

Russia – Mid-Century Modern

Mid-Century Modern is a style that came about in the early 1930s and lasted until 1965. It brought forth a cleaner cut and open layout style of living. With a neutral color palette and less obstructive atmosphere, functionality was key. Russia is continuing to add this styling into many of their homes. With functionality at its core, it will never truly be outdated.

South Africa – Patterns and Prints

South African trends continue to keep elaborate prints and colors. Patterns are a large part of South African culture. It is no surprise that we see the trends of many textiles in the home, including these designs. Curtains, rugs, and blankets will all have African-style prints and patterns to give pride to the culture.

Thailand – Indoor/Outdoor Living

Thailand’s culture is at one with nature. Much of their current interior design influences indoor/outdoor living. Most homes have easy access to outside of the home, with elements of nature being brought inside the house. Woods, plants, water, and stone can all be found in many of Thailand’s trending styles.

Interior design trends fluctuate throughout the world. We are privileged to see many trends within our own culture. There are still some more countries to explore, make sure to check out the last part of the series to see the latest trends around the world.

Interior Design Styles Trending Around the World | Part Three

By Leave a Comment

We commonly look at the trends in interior design happening around us; however, the world has a considerable influence on where design is heading. Here is a look at some of the biggest trends happening around the world today in other countries:

Kyrgyzstan – Simple Yet Cozy

Kyrgyzstan is a small country in East Asia. Many global trends have little to no effect on Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan puts comfortability, functionality, and coziness at the forefront of its design. You will notice much of the designs are simple. They prefer to put light and airy colors into the design.

Luxembourg – Scandinavian

Luxembourg is a very wealthy country. Being European, you can see a lot of Scandinavian roots coming to fruition in their design. It incorporates modern, sleek lines with a contribution to natural elements that makes a dapper and elegant interior.

Mexico – Patterned Textiles

Mexican culture takes pride in its many elaborate and cultural patterns. You still see patterns being very influential today in Mexico. Even with a modernized influence, patterns continue to flood their designs. You can see patterns in all sorts of textiles from pillows, curtains, blankets, rugs, and more. They also handmake and manufacture many of their own textiles for their designs, making them feel even more authentic to their culture.

Netherlands – Art Deco

The Netherlands is currently exploring a path similar to Art Deco. With many geometrical patterns and strong, unique features, the Netherlands’ design is very unique! It is not uncommon to see their design explore new and contemporary approaches to Art Deco. From Contemporary art to unusually-shaped light fixtures, this design theme takes a whimsical approach in a very unique fashion. Yet they still keep it grounded with a neutral color palette.

Oman – Lavished and Extravagant

Oman design is very intricate and highly lavished. With extravagant detail and tile work, these homes keep beauty at the forefront. These designs will put exaggerated detail in the ceilings, lightings, walls, and everything in between there. One step into an Oman home and you will quickly recognize the beauty they have to offer.

Did some of these countries’ current design trends surprise you? There are still many other countries to explore! Make sure to check out the rest of the series to see some more of the trending designs around the world.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

Recent Comments

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive new post notifications via email.