Well-chosen colors of various coatings make up the lion's share of the final design that a room or entire apartment will receive. Light color creates a noble atmosphere in any room and makes the room fresher. If the interior has a light floor and the same wallpaper, it becomes easier to highlight other design solutions (furniture, ceiling, doors or decorative items). In this context, it is appropriate to talk about how to use the correct light tone of surfaces, as well as how to combine white and its shades.
The popularity of light shades is due to people's desire for openness and joy that a light palette offers
Choosing wall color
Options for combining the colors of floors and walls have already been presented a little higher. Let's consider the issue in more detail. When combining a white floor with the color of the walls, remember the following:
- Light floors and walls give a feeling of spaciousness. But too much light - and the room lost any outline. It did not turn into a spacious room, but became a shapeless, huge, even cold room. When combining light with light, the shade of one of the elements should be different. For example, the floor is milky, the walls are white. Or the walls are peach-colored - the floor is light brown, two shades darker than the walls.
- A light floor, dark side walls and a light back wall (viewed from the door) will bring the feeling of a tunnel. If the room is too square, then creating a tunnel effect is acceptable. If the room is rectangular (most rooms in city apartments have a rectangular shape), then any furniture will be “lost” in the room.
- A light floor and a dark back wall will steal the depth. The room will seem smaller, warmer, even in feel. It is unacceptable to use a room with a total area of less than 18 m2.
An excess of white color - we repeat - instead of feelings of purity and calmness, it will bring a feeling of coldness and detachment. It is necessary to “dilute” the light floor with additional elements, details of a different color scheme. A combination of a dark floor with light walls will look more harmonious.
Light shades of the floor harmonize perfectly with dark and bright colors. Depending on the type of room, wishes, and lifestyle of the owners, the walls can be painted in any color. The rules for distributing color in a room remain unchanged.
When choosing a color for the walls in a design with a light floor, you should stick to a uniform color. The brightness and richness of the design should be added with decor or pieces of furniture. For a room with a light floor, a variety of furniture options are suitable - classic, modern, hi-tech.
Dark floor or light?
Before making a final decision, it is important to remember the impact light has on the final perception of a room. If wooden floor elements are located perpendicular to the direction of light, they appear lighter, and if parallel, they appear darker. It is better to place the floor elements parallel to the direction of light, also because the joints between the elements are less noticeable in this case. Also, do not forget that the shade of floor elements may look slightly different than in reality under artificial lighting. A floor is an investment that will last for many years, and the quality of the material from which it is made is of decisive importance.
Choosing colors for doors and skirting boards
Doors and baseboards are irreplaceable elements of the overall style of the room. The first thing to note is that the doors must match the style of the floor. For example, the floor is wooden and a plastic door is installed. This combination is unacceptable. The wrong choice of material and color can destroy any harmony.
The basic rule of designers is that the floor, door and baseboard should be the same color. The presence of a dark-colored floor in the room leaves no choice; the door and baseboard are automatically matched to it.
The light floor gives free rein to your imagination. Doors in dark shades and those as light as the floor itself are perfect for a light-colored floor. Dark doors can add clarity to the interior of a light room, while a dark baseboard will highlight geometric shapes.
Dark doors against a light floor can add visible space. For rooms with an area of 2 * 3 m2, dark doors will turn into an absurd bulky structure.
If there are two doors to a room, located next to each other, then they should be the same color, while light doors may get lost against the background of a light floor and walls. If these doors hide the bathroom and toilet, then this is exactly the effect you want.
When choosing the color of the baseboard, you can rely solely on personal preferences. The plinth can be white, black and colored. The main thing is that in the overall design the plinth does not “harm” the eye. The color and shape of the baseboard matches the door frames perfectly. Designers recommend using the same material for the platband and baseboard.
Wallpaper for a dark living room: how to choose the finish for a small room
What wallpaper is suitable for a small, dark living room? A good idea for the main room of the house is to combine several light shades. The lightest color of wallpaper should be glued to the most unlit wall. You should also not forget about the decorative elements; a few lively, bright accents will add mood and positivity to the interior. To make a dark room lighter and more vibrant, when choosing wallpaper you need to pay attention to the texture of the material.
For a dark small living room, it is better to choose the following types of wallpaper:
- Vinyl;
- Textile;
- For painting;
- Paper;
- Non-woven.
You should avoid matte wallpaper with deep texture. But it is better to prefer a glossy material that will reflect the rays, thereby adding sunlight to the small room. If you have thoughts about finishing with a material with a relief coating, then you need to urgently throw them out of your head, since such wallpaper will absorb the already poor lighting of the room.
Selecting curtains
When choosing curtains for a room with a light floor, it is necessary to maintain a feeling of harmony, cleanliness, and space. The choice of fabric color should be in harmony with the overall design of the room. The fabric material is airy, transparent, light. Chiffon, satin or organza are perfect. The type of fastening does not matter.
Lighting
For an interior with light flooring, lighting plays a big role. The white tint of the floor adds light to the room, but only with sufficient natural light.
When using one chandelier, the floor will appear white - directly under the lamp, and dark - in the corners of the room.
To avoid a visible transition, it is recommended to supplement the interior with lighting in the corners. You can consider lighting options directly for pieces of furniture - sconces, floor lamps, hanging lamps.
In an interior with a light and dark floor, halogen lighting around the perimeter of the room looks great.
Art
In our opinion, it is artistic parquet that stands out most advantageously among other natural coverings. It is made from rare hardwood. When laying a parquet board, a real picture is formed that can add a sophisticated touch to any interior.
There are two main types of artistic parquet: picturesque and geometric . The first type of coating forms an unusual picture with many branches. In the case of a geometric pattern, the pattern is duplicated throughout the base of the floor covering. Geometric parquet is somewhat reminiscent of classic mosaic.
The beauty and chic of artistic parquet
Most often, artistic parquet is used to zone a room or, conversely, to combine floor coverings from different rooms into one. There are such varieties of artistic parquet boards and types of elements as:
- Mosaic . This is a repeating pattern, which is most often complemented by rosettes.
- Sockets . Such a complex pattern is laid out in the center of the room.
- Curbs . Designed in the form of geometric shapes or complex patterns (flowers, butterflies).
Incredibly beautiful drawings will not leave anyone indifferent
Selecting flooring material
There are not many options for choosing flooring:
- natural wood (parquet);
- laminate;
- linoleum;
- ceramic tile.
Perhaps some readers of the article would classify carpet as a floor covering, but this is not so. Carpet or carpet is an external decorative protective covering; the basis will still be the materials from the listed list.
The floor covering rarely changes, so it must be strong from the very beginning. It is unacceptable to use flooring materials that do not match the type of room.
The color of the floor should match the design, light flooring should match the colors of the walls, dark floor should match the doors and baseboards.
Natural wood
To produce flooring materials in light shades, oak, maple, ash, birch, and hornbeam are used.
Any of these materials has a big advantage - naturalness and environmental friendliness. But there are also disadvantages:
- Artificial lightening. Natural wood, when processed into parquet, is lightened in factories in large batches. When released, the color turns out to be monochromatic, especially if the manufacturer cares about its image. But how natural wood will behave under the influence of light, moisture and other external factors can only be guessed at. In some places, if exposed to direct sunlight, stains and discoloration may appear.
- Stylistic affiliation. Natural wood flooring is used for minimalist and sometimes modern interiors. In a modern high-tech style, the naturalness of wood will become an absurd design mistake.
Laminate
Laminate is a universal floor covering for any room. The modern market allows you to choose laminate flooring in a wide variety of shades, even white.
With the right choice of characteristics, laminate can be used in the kitchen, living room, hallway, even in the bathroom. For places where moisture accumulates, care must be taken to ensure that the laminate has moisture-resistant qualities.
The only disadvantage of laminate as a covering for light-colored floors is the method of its installation. If the laminate is laid across the line of light, the joints will be too visible. For a dark shade of laminate, the problem is also important. The laminate must be laid along the line of light.
Linoleum
The most common type of floor covering, linoleum, gained its popularity back in the last century. This material is practical for use in any room, washes well, and fits comfortably when laying.
In construction stores you can choose linoleum in different colors, including light shades that imitate wood or laminate.
Light-colored linoleum flooring is difficult to distinguish from a well-laid laminate.
Linoleum is sold in cut pieces of standard width - from 1.5 m to 4 m. If the room is wider, the covering has to be glued together. This is done using a special technology, preferably by professional layers, but the seam at the joint is noticeable in any case. Over time, it can come unglued, water from cleaning gets into the gap, and the overall unattractive appearance of the floor becomes visible.
Another disadvantage of linoleum can be considered that it belongs to the household, semi-commercial, commercial class. The higher the class, the greater the wear resistance of the material (the ability to withstand the weight of furniture, resistance to pressure from heels, etc.) The higher the durability, the higher the price.
Ceramic tile
The most durable flooring material is ceramic tiles. The variety of colors, shapes, and sizes of this material is simply amazing in quantity.
Tiles come in different qualities and, accordingly, different prices.
When choosing tiles in light shades, you need to pay attention to the pattern or pattern, if it is present on the surface. It should be combined with the overall pattern of the interior. For example, when laying tiles in the kitchen, the same pattern of ceramic chips on the floor and countertop will look advantageous.
Do not forget that ceramic tiles on the floor are cold and slippery material. Before choosing this material, you should consider additional insulation (warm floor or carpet - it doesn’t matter).
When choosing colors for walls and floors, it is necessary to maintain stylistic harmony. The use of a light floor is acceptable in different design styles; the only difference is in the materials for the floor. For modernism with bright colors, classics with pastels, rococo with antiquity - a light floor is ideal.
Porcelain tiles
A relatively new material for flooring, it is made from chips of natural stone, sand and clay at very high heating temperatures and pressure. Under such conditions, complete fusion of the components occurs and their transformation into a homogeneous mass. Porcelain tiles have the form of tiles with different linear dimensions and thickness. The laying technology is no different from the technology of laying ceramic tiles, except in cases where the slabs are large in size and weight. The surface can be polished slippery or only ground with a high coefficient of friction.
Porcelain tiles in the hallway
Advantages of caramogranite flooring
- High values of mechanical strength. According to these indicators, it is much superior to ceramic tiles.
- Low water absorption. Porcelain tiles are not afraid of prolonged direct contact with water.
- Chemical inertness. In winter, cities often use harsh chemicals to combat ice. These reagents end up with shoes on the floor in the hallway. Some types of floor coverings can be damaged under their influence; porcelain tiles are not afraid of such negative influence.
- Easy to care for. Hallway floors are easy to keep clean.
- Decorative characteristics. Everything here is up to individual taste; objectively, the appearance of porcelain stoneware tiles is no better or worse than floors made from other materials.
For the hallway it is advisable to use unpolished porcelain tiles
Of course, porcelain stoneware has a long service life and increased resistance to static and dynamic forces.
Disadvantages of caramogranite flooring
- Heavy weight. For a small hallway, this drawback does not play a critical role, but it must be taken into account when preparing the base.
- The highest thermal conductivity values. The floor is cold to the touch, but this disadvantage also has its advantage. Heated porcelain stoneware floors have the highest efficiency, non-productive energy losses are minimal, and the floor surface in the hallway heats up quickly.
Ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles for the hallway
As for the price, according to this parameter the material can be classified as medium. Although this is a relative classification. The price of different types of porcelain stoneware, as well as other materials for flooring, differs significantly.
