Q: I live in a small two bedroom apartment unit that I own, and I'm planning on updating the flooring. Currently, the flooring consists of carpet in the bedrooms, living room and hallway to the closet, tiles in the bathroom and vinyl (I think) in the kitchen and laundry. The carpet in the living room is not in the greatest condition — there are stains (black spots) past the entrance which are very noticeable and embarrassing, and it's also flat, discolored and worn out past the kitchen. I have tried cleaning to no avail, so the carpet must go. The carpet in the bedroom is still ok:
Originally I was thinking of tiling the living room, kitchen and laundry with the same tiles to make the room look more spacious. However, this is looking less and less attractive, having spent the last couple of winters in the apartment with draft problems (this is another project altogether). I am now thinking of putting in floating floorboard in the living room and tiles in the kitchen in a similar pattern/colour to the current vinyl, as it seems to brighten up the place and hide dirt well.
I would like some input on the following:
• Will it look 'choppy' or 'not flowing' having two different types of flooring in a small space?
• What color combination floorboard and tiles would you choose?
• Should I tile or floorboard the hallway? Should I do this by extending the tile past the kitchen and in line with the hallway (L shape) OR extend the floorboard into the hallway (L shape) OR have hallway tile separated by floor board (3 separate rectangles)?
• Should I just install tiles all across as originally planned and install curtains to enclose the living room for winter? (Across the kitchen entrance, along window and doors, etc).
Any help would be appreciated!
Sent by Millie
Editor: Leave your suggestions for Millie in the comments — thanks!
• Got a question? Send us yours with pic attachments here (those with pics get answered first).
Things Fall Apart: Living Alone in a Space After a Breakup
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
10 Picnic-Ready Salads to Eat Outside
Recipe: Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Hey Millie -- I don't think having the flooring be different in different rooms is a big problem. I'd be careful about the tile -- unless you live in a tropical climate (Florida, Texas, even LA) tile throughout the house might seem odd. If you are considering selling your place anytime in the next 10 years, consider wood floors. People love wood floors, people love saying "hardwood floors" and people (buyers) sort of expect it.
If you do tile (and I am the daughter of the Tile King of Florida, so I know of what I speak) put a LOT of thought into the tile you choose. It's expensive, hard to change, and can easily look dated. Go for something neutral and time tested for maximum utility. I think the green tile you have in the photo is way to small and busy and while super cool this year, could look as bad as 70s avocado tiles look now (or did before they came back in style). Then you have the question: do you do a sandy or brown based floor tile, which hides dirt but limits the future color palette (ie you can't do a kelly green couch with a sand color floor... you'll need white for that to look kicky and fun).
I'd also choose a larger tile over a smaller tile -- ie at least 12 inches. Smaller tiles in small places (with the exception of really deliberate mosaics or penny tiles) can make a place look even smaller by making it feel like a dollhouse. Small tiles also introduce a lot of grout lines which can be very busy to look at.
That said: there's little I like better than a classic and quirky Victorian penny tile floor in a kitchen and laundry -- http://buckboardhill.typepad.com/.a/6a0147e110139e970b014e8ac6e154970d-pi
definitely use tile in the laundry room, and think about it for the kitchen. A cheap overall answer would be to rip out all the nasty carpet and install sisal (i'm still not sick of it and it's a great neutral) in all but the kitchen and laundry and bath. Area rugs will add color and can be cleaned and changed. (And doing this would be way cheaper than tiling the whole place. You can always rip out the sisal and tile in 5 years if you decide that's what you want to do) . I also love wood floors painted -- and you can do this cheaply by installing plywood rather than floorboards, then painting the shizz out of it -- white? Black? Grey? it can read either super rustic, super New England, or really hip and cool depending on the gloss and color.
pam h in dc
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com
Hi Millie,
I agree with pamh -- tiling the living room will look very odd unless you live in a hot climate. (Though, even when I lived in Texas I didn't like my tiled living room.) If you have a draft problem in the winter, cold tile underfoot will make the experience even worse.
I would install floating flooring in a beautiful medium-tone wood grain in both the living room and the hallway. As you can tell from experience, hallways tend to get mucky, so an easily-cleanable floor is paramount. Lighter is better when it comes to keeping wood floors looking neat. Dark wood looks nice, but it shows the dust something awful. Very light floors can look like the high school gym. Go for something amber-colored for a happy medium.
I'd choose a kitchen tile that will coordinate with your kitchen cabinets. I cannot recommend dark grout enough, as it won't show kitchen messes like light grout will.
Hope this helps! Good luck on your renos. :)
Like others said, unless you live in an area where tiled living rooms is common, I wouldn't do it. If I was a prospective home buyer I would not consider any home that had a tiled living room because it would cost me too much to rip it up and put down hardwood floors, which is what I recommend for you.
check your building regulations as well. There may be restrictions on what new flooring can be put in and requirements for noise dampening.
In small places, chopping up flooring materials make the rooms look smaller and "cheaper" in some way because the postage stamp areas of floor surface draws attention to wear. I'm not a fan of tile but a lot of my former French colleagues were and they used it throughout their houses. But you have to adapt your decor accordingly. I'd go with wood throughout the living room and dining wood. Get one in a medium tone with a zillion year guaranteed finish. You'll love it and so will the new buyers when you decide to sell.
Gather some samples from your local supplier or request samples online. Take them home to live with for a couple weeks. You'll be able to eliminate the dummies after looking at them every day.
I suggest medium dark or dark wood throughout. It will make the space seem more spacious and modern. The flow from room to room will feel more elegant and you can define different spaces with rugs, furniture and architectural divisions by painting.
The ONLY space you should consider having tile is in the kitchen and bath but its not necessary as long as you use a quality wood or bamboo flooring. Your washer should sit in a pan regardless just as a precautionary measure, In some areas its code.
I don't necessarily agree with those saying not to tile the living room. We tiled the whole first floor of the house with the same tile and most everyone who sees it thinks it's brilliant. Granted, we don't have super cold winters and our summers are quite hot and the house is new so not drafty. We went with a gray, kind of cloudy looking 18in tile that gives the floors a classic, almost marble or stone look. Granted, this wouldn't work in every space, we deliberately planned having much of it open and the interior is very modern and angular.
Upstairs we have hickory hardwood floors in the bedrooms and hall and 12x18 inch sandstone looking tile in the master bath/closet/laundry all in one suite. The transition can work really well if thought out.
My niece has tile throughout the bottom portion of her home and no, it does not look odd. It's actually a very clean look.
Also, I saw a unit in my condo complex that mimics my floorplan and they put carpet the livingroom and lamanet in the dining room which are one shared space. It does look odd; makes the rooms look much smaller and so mismatched. Whatever you decide, go with one look.
Dear Millie,
I am living also in small apartment (on the other side of the world) and I had also problems with floor. The best option for small space will be not using a lot of colors and shapes.
The simple solutions are the best… bright and no rifts.
Like you wrote when you add one more floorcovering probably will be to much “happen” in your living space:/ To much details make feeling a big mess - even if you clean everything all day (besides small tailings force to clean your floor with tiny brush on your knees<I hate it!>, especially in rifts – so: less is more;)).
I think that you should buy/do something in one part in natural light color. Your room will look bigger and fresher :):):) (practical, easy and quick to clean – you want there live not sweep, wash, brush…).
Wood floor makes space warmer, the best for living and dining room (like said Pham) and tiles protect your bath/laundry/kitchen before unwanted “flood” ( sometimes happened - it is worth to think about it).
Everything depended of you;) simply, bright and in one part;)
Hildaa
Tile is cold and everything that hits the floor smashes to pieces. Our house had a lot of tile. As soon as we could afford it we replaced the tile in our kitchen and dining room with wood. We left tile in place in the bathrooms (because it also went up the walls) and entry. Last year we put a floating prefinished wood floor in our bedroom. It is so easy to look after I wish we had done it years ago.
Have you looked at vinyl plank flooring? We have it in our open plan ranch, and I was not a believer when the flooring people first suggested it, but it's awesome. It looks like a nice wood laminate, is super easy to clean, can be used in every room, has a 20 yr warranty, and doesn't feel as cold underfoot as wood for some reason.
Wood floors. Wood floors. Did I mention wood floors? Whatever wood is common where you live... put that in, in a basic, classic finish. They are beautiful, durable, don't show dirt, comfortable underfoot, and last 50+ years with one or 2 refinishings. WOOD.
Hi everyone, wow thanks for your responses!
I did include a floor plan with my question but looks like it didn't make it in. To give you a bit more prespective, the living room is 3x6m and if you walk along the longer length of the living room you will arrive in the 2.5x2.5m kitchen. There is a door to the left of the kitchen to the laundry room and on the right (the other side of the kitchen wall) is the bathroom. The walkway is in front of the bathroom to go to the bedrooms.
I grew up in and lived half my life in an Asian country where floorings are predominantly tiles so am quiet used to their look and feel and don't find them strange in the living room at all :-) but since I am now living in a country with cold winters and the draft problem I will stay away from tiles in the living room.
@Pamh the green tiles are the current original tiles in my bathroom, the nasty carpet is my first priority atm :-)
@PJ I never thought about it that way before! Come to think of it majority of living rooms here have carpet or wood floor.
@Garimi that is an awesome idea, I might just do that! I did go to the store to see the choices available and had sensory overload as there were so many colours I liked. I got all confused and wanted them all lol.
@lyonstill that is exactly what I was worried about as the living room and kitchen is kind of open plan. I'm also worried about the tiles not matching the wood floor colour.
Ohhh and I will look into the alternatives also, I don't know much beyond tiles, carpets and wood lol.
what about cork? its soft on foot, warm and good sound insulation if you're in an apartment. i love it.
If you do use various textures in flooring to minimize the chance of making it look smaller make sure you use a neutral tone and that all the types of flooring are in that same shade of neutral to where it appears to be the same color but in a different texture. For instance. Using a beige or grey tone carpet and using a tile that looks to be the same color when held next to it, Same with linoleum or any other flooring product you decide on. Also I suggest using wood in the living room and tile in the kitchen & laundry room. Tile will be a major asset if there is a pile leak.