Today, our home is more than just a place where we lay our heads to get some sleep. It’s also our office, our pets’ playground, and — for many of us — a house to raise children in. We’re spending more time at home, and that means rooms’ purposes are blurring together: the kitchen table may also be a workstation and the laundry room doubles as feeding space for your beloved dog. When it comes to finding floors for multifunctional spaces, there are a few ideas to consider to help you delineate flow, maintain tidiness, and make the most of your rooms.
Consider Cleanliness
While choosing floors for multifunctional spaces, prioritizing cleanliness may as well be synonymous with prioritizing longevity. You want to get the most out of your floors and give them the longest lifespans possible, and that means making sure they are set up for success. You wouldn’t put hardwood in a bathroom, right? (The wood would absorb moisture, buckle, and come out of its grooves over time.)
So when some rooms are going to be shared spaces — like a mudroom doubling as the doggy area — you want to ensure they can be easily cleaned. In this example, tile works very well in a mudroom; it is a very easy flooring option to polish. And if it’s where your dog naps, eats and plays, it can afford to be scuffed up a bit because such surfaces are simpler to mop up and keep clean.
Consider Purpose
What is each room for? Today, that may be a trickier question to answer as living rooms sometimes double as home offices. But if you can consider the function and purpose of each room, you can also create a clear delineation within these hybrid spaces.
Maybe a bedroom has a corner that is dedicated to your desk, bookshelf, and computer work. If you are redesigning a space, you may have the majority of your bedroom flooring be, perhaps, hardwood, but a corner may be carpeted to separate spaces in a distinct, visual way.
Consider Aesthetics
While longevity and functionality are of course key to choosing floors for multifunctional spaces, we also know that aesthetic choices are perhaps the most fun element of any design process. Age of children, kinds of pets, number of hybrid spaces, and more will all dictate your flooring decisions.
Your home is made up of disjointed rooms, each with their own flavor, that, when looked at together, coalesce to create a symbiotic whole. As such, you can have rooms each with their own flooring style to evoke a mood and purpose. A closet could have tile or hardwood, a bedroom might have carpeting or vinyl, a sunroom porcelain or laminate. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer in general; instead, there are only the best choices for your particular home. It can be a lot to consider, but that’s the fun!
Well-aware of how many rooms today function as multipurpose spaces, Home Depot offers flooring options that serve versatile needs and last for years. Browse our options, customized to your needs, and set up a free consultation today. ACS looks forward to installing your dream flooring and providing you the maximum flexibility in your multifunctional spaces!