Flooring Transitions
Flooring is one of the most important materials purchased for an interior. Not only does it need to look good, it needs to function and well! Different rooms have different requirements and what may work in the kitchen for example, will not work in the bathroom. The biggest factors are water and the amount of use.
Does a family of four use the bathroom or only one person who mostly bathes as opposed to showers?
These are important questions and should be considered thoughtfully before any purchasing is done. Once the practicalities have been determined material choices need to be selected and the options can be overwhelming. Once the tile, wood etc has been selected, there needs to be a way to change from one material to another. For example if you decide, due to water use, that tile is the best material for your bathroom, but you want to use wood in the hall, how do you get from one material to the other. This shift or change in material entails using a transition strip. Typically, tile and carpet installers use metal strips while wood flooring installers use wood strips for this purpose. However typical is not always the most interesting and flooring transitions are a great opportunity to do something creative.
When transitioning from one hard surface material to another, decorative tiles are a great ways to add a unique design feature. Seek out a tile that would function well. You can use a combination of colors or do a pattern, do a single or double row. Because there are not a lot of tiles involved you may be able to select material that is otherwise cost prohibitive as you don’t need to use to many tiles for this project. Also look for discontinued tiles with limited quantities, some great deals to be found! Work through the details with your installer previous to any purchasing as the conditions of the sub floor and other factors will need to be considered any may limit the thickness of the tile you need to select. Have fun!
