(Natural Materials)

You want to go for new flooring for your new house and your Interior designer has suggested you many options.

This Blog is to help you to choose your flooring material, natural materials or artificial flooring materials will the options you have, first let us look into natural flooring materials. We will look into the best Four options.

1.Granite

Granite is a hard stone and is very good choice. It is a dense stone; hence it is not porous and is scratch resistant. Granite is formed due to slow cooling of lava and it come in more than 200 colors. It does not let bacteria thrive because of its impenetrable grain structure. It can be cleaned very easily through simple mopping. Once polished it may not lose the polish for a very long time. It is the most scratch resistant stone. Stains can be cleaned very easily. It is heat resistant. Granite is good material for flooring as it looks beautiful, majestic and creates a feeling of grandeur. It can enhance the aesthetics of your home. The downside of it is that it may prove to be costly because it needs the floor beneath it to be perfect. The labor costs will be high. It may not be suitable for houses without air conditioning in hot climates or central heating in cold climate due to its insulating properties; it retains its temperature for a long time. Its benefits outweigh its limitations. You can use it in flooring, wall cladding , staircases, Bathrooms etc.

2.Marble flooring

Marble is used since thousands of years for flooring and sculpture. It is the most beautiful and elegant material from nature to adore great structures of ancient and even modern times. Taj Mahal the wonder of the world and the most aesthetic building is made up in marble.

Marble is an excellent choice for flooring and is used widely all over the world. Marble is available in many colors and all have distinct grains, this property makes it more attractive. It is durable and when polished it looks very elegant. It has moderate scratch resistance too. Nonetheless it loses its polish in few years and has to be polished again to get back the sheen. On the down side marble slabs may crack if handled improperly and also marble may get permanent stains if some sort of deep colorant falls on it, in cold climates it may retain its cold temperature and will make it difficult to walk barefoot. It is costly too, it needs special craftsmen to lay it properly for matching the grains.

However if you can afford it then it can be the best material for your flooring and even your kitchen platforms etc. It comes in tiles as well as large boulders than can be cut slim and grains matched. The beauty of marble is unmatched by any natural stone.

3.Limestone

Limestone is most widely available stones on our planet. It is ideal if you want a cost effective durable material. It is a sedimentary rock formed by materials settling over a long period of time perhaps hundreds of thousands of years.  It is available in light shades in many colors. It is strong and can sustain polish for a decent period of time. IT has a very good appearance as it can match with many shades of your furniture and color of walls. You alternatively buy furniture after choosing the stone and it stands out. It is better than artificially manufactured flooring material. It is a reasonably priced good flooring option for your home. It can last a life time of you keep polishing it regularly. It is strong too.

4.Wooden Flooring

Wooden flooring one of the best options if you want value and aethics to your home. Mostly all wooden flooring is made of harwood like Red Oak, White Oak, Maple, American Cherry, Birch etc. Wooden flooring gives a good appearance and will last for a life time, needing regular wax polishing. It increases the value of your home as it gives a rich look. Natural grains of wood patterned together create a great effect.

Nonetheless, it is expensive and water seepage may cause the wood to rot and become a house of Bacteria. Water if left for more time without mopping on such flooring may seep through the joints and cause a whole area to rot, meaning huge losses in removing and flooring again. Ideally this type of flooring is good for bedrooms and living areas. Special care must be taken that the walls and roof of the house never allow water to seep in.

There are lots of materials in the market to maintain this flooring and thus it may be maintained well.

Pros and cons are there for every material and ultimately this type of flooring proves to be good looking and has a great feel under the bare foot.

We have come to the end of this blog , the next blog is going to be  “Choosing flooring for you new Interiors Part 2 (Manufactured materials)”

Watch this space for more Blogs, you will find interesting Blogs for Interior design here.