This picture may look familiar if you've seen our recent house tour (Kyle's Jamaica Plain Gem, 1 Year Later). (Familiar but not identical...we've already made some tweaks to this hallway spot!) Many months ago, we had some extra Flor tiles and decided to use them...
To create a simple floor runner in our small back hallway, the intersection between the kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and two bedrooms. Since we decided to lay down only a one-tile wide runner, we opted to put the runner off center. Had we centered the runner, the proportions would have made the runner look much too small for the width of the space. We like the result; it feels like more of an askew graphic element on the floor than a runner per se. It's pretty adorable watching Arlo, our dog, intentionally staying on the runner when he wanders through the hallway, never deviating from the off-center path.
We used Flor's Fedora tiles in Chartreuse for this runner, which is one of their cheapest styles. This is a simple, affordable way to introduce color in a surprising spot.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
That looks really nice! Are you finding that the tiles stay in place, or do you need to reattach them from time to time?
view ricestein's profile
I always wondered what the point of hallway runners were. All they seem to do is create a moat for dust bunnies.
view Comicgeek's profile
great idea and it looks so nice. I love that your dog stays on the path.
view LoriSF's profile
It's still too narrow, and now it is off-kilter as well.
view pvett's profile
"I always wondered what the point of hallway runners were."
Runners are what you walk on when you can't find your slippers in the middle of the night and you need to find the bathroom or comfort a crying child.
view bepsf's profile
The color is nice but I think it might feel odd to stay on the rug while you walk down the hall. The tile is a little less than 20" wide. Also, the placement of that wheeled cart makes you step off the runner at that point anyways...not sure if this works.
view hessilou's profile
how did you glue the tiles onto the wooden floor?
Anita, Austria
view Anita Dawoodi @ 1richtungsblog.com's profile
I used FLOR as a runner also, but by cutting tiles in half I was able to make it fill the space a lot better:
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/8573/p1010537.jpg
view dollarvines's profile
dollarvines....LOVE the design!
I never thought of using the carpet tiles as runners. What a great idea! Wood floors are wonderful, but a little softness goes a long way to save your back and leg muscles.
view baileyb's profile
single tiles are are rather narrow for a runner, but only because of the trip-and-fall hazard
it looks nice, but i'm clumsy
love the dog story
view sunan's profile
Hall runners are what give little furry creatures traction when they are running around on hardwood floors where their furry clawed feet cannot otherwise gain purchase. Of course! ;^) (My house rabbits would never leave the carpeted area of the house without one.)
view SherryBinNH's profile
"Hall runners are what give little furry creatures traction when they are running around on hardwood floors where their furry clawed feet cannot otherwise gain purchase."
Hahaha -
Reminds me of a goofy Cocker Spaniel we had when I was growing up: The doorbell would ring and he'd go tearing towards the door, then jump on the end of the runner and "surf" the rug on the slick tile floor until he and the runner slammed into the door in a huge pile of dog and folded rug, making it impossible to open the door...
view bepsf's profile
Can you use FLOR ontop of carpet?
view Nevis's profile
I have a FLOR runner made of one whole and one half tile across. They have heavier duty adhesive dots that work well for keeping the tiles together.
I would recommend a lint-hiding FLOR tile for a hallway. Ours is espresso brown and every little bit of dust and lint shows.
Runners protect the finish on the floor in a high-traffic area.
view spanky's profile