Floors
Painted concrete floors are a great low-cost option. Painting will protect the concrete slab from moisture while giving it a seamless, clean look. Easy to clean, allergy-free and super hardwearing, the occasional chip can be fixed with a couple of brush strokes. And when you feel like a change of scenery, just repaint the floor in a different shade!
As concrete is suitable for both interior and exterior spaces, it can be used to create a seamless indoor-outdoor look. This floor is natural concrete with no additive, and a fine aggregate. “It is almost burnished by the helicopter finish after it has been poured and while it is still wet,” says Shelley Indyk of Indyk Architects.
Rubber Another crossover from the commercial world, rubber is rapidly gaining popularity as a domestic floor covering. Manufacturing technologies are constantly evolving and rubber flooring is now available in myriad colours, texture finishes and profiles. It’s hard-wearing, easy to clean, and suitable for use in every room of the house. Gardiner Architects EmailSave Why it’s a great choice: Durable, practical and with good non-slip properties, rubber works well in high-traffic areas. Its biggest selling point is comfort: it’s soft and forgiving underfoot, which is ideal when standing for long periods. This kitchen features Flex rubber floor tiles, selected by Gardiner Architects to enhance both comfort and safety for their clients, who entertain often. Rubber also has good thermal insulation properties, so it will never feel too cold to walk on. And it’s whisper-quiet, making it an attractive choice for apartment living
Cairns-based builders Kenick Constructions created a bit of a wow factor for a display home with epoxy resin from Sexy Floors in ‘Aluminium’. The translucent, glass-like finish and light-reflective properties enliven the whole room. “We used Sexy Floors as it was a more cost-effective alternative than polished concrete,” says Kenick’s marketing manager Rachel Whymark. “It provides a stunning, seamless, high-gloss finish floor which is easy to clean and looks simply amazing. Plus, as a builder specialising in sustainable building practices, we are always on the lookout for products that align with our values. Sexy Floors won the HIA’s Product of the Year a few years ago and is a VOC-free coating.”
1. Lay cost-effective engineered wood A solid wood floor looks classy, but it can be expensive. A great alternative is engineered wood. These floorboards are constructed from layers of wood with a core layer of a substrate, such as plywood. The top layer is made of a hardwood and is usually around 2-6 millimetres thick. As a result, once the floor is laid, the effect is no different to a solid-wood board. The reduced amount of hardwood material per board means engineered boards tend to be better value than their solid equivalents. The boards are also more stable than solid wood: they’re more resilient to temperature and humidity changes, and have the benefit of being compatible with underfloor heating
Painted floor
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