Kit Davey, Interior Designer
18 Years in business - Over 2,600 homes transformed!
Tips From Kit - November 2001
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Inexpensive Solutions for Covering Your Hardwood Floor
By Kit Davey
You're in luck if you pull up your green shag carpeting and uncover hardwood floors. But what do you do with those naked floors?
If your floor is in good shape, you may want to leave it uncovered. If you do so, it's important to put stick-on felt pads on the feet of your chairs and place small, washable throw rugs at high traffic areas (under the kitchen sink, the front door, etc.) to increase the life of your floor.
If your newly revealed floor is in bad shape, you don't necessarily have to re-carpet or refinish the hardwood. There are several less expensive options:
- Paint over the flooring in a solid color, a checkerboard pattern, alternating stripes, a compass rose or a pattern of your own design. A reliable paint supplier can recommend the appropriate preparation and types of paint suited to this application.
- Install tile only in the high-traffic areas showing damage, leaving the remainder of the hardwood intact.
- Hire a hardwood repair specialist to spot-replace and re-stain warped, burnt or gauged areas.
The Area Rug
There are several advantages to using large area rugs on your hardwood flooring:
- The room will feel warmer and look more "pulled together" when anchored by a rug.
- Rugs help absorb the increased noise and echoes generated in a room with hardwood flooring.
- A well chosen floor covering enhances your color scheme and the decor of the room.
- Your floors will be protected from scratches and wear.
The first step in selecting the appropriate rug is to determine where you want to put it and the size you'll need. Make sure you have the furniture arranged in a configuration you can live with for a long time. Lay newspapers down on the floor and begin covering the area needing the carpet. Start small and keep laying down paper until you find what looks like the best coverage. Your furnishings do not all have to fit on the carpet; it is perfectly acceptable to have the front legs of your couch or chairs on the carpet and the back legs off the carpet. Establish minimum and maximum acceptable sizes and jot this down. (Most rugs come in standard sizes but there are variations, so it helps to know the range of sizes that could work in the room).
The rug should enhance the room's decor by echoing its color scheme and style and should be an integral part of the overall design, not the focal point. Stand in the room needing the rug and make note of its one, two or three predominant colors. Then determine the room's overall style or period (French country, modern, early American, etc.).
Decide on a solid vs. a patterned rug. Solid colored rugs calm the eye, but show spots and lint or pet fur more easily. A patterned rug adds visual interest and hides soil well, but finding one to match your existing furnishings may be difficult. If you have patterned furnishings, and want a patterned rug, make sure the colors are harmonious, and that the rug’s overall pattern is either much larger or much smaller in scale than your furniture. If the patterns are too similar in scale they may "fight" with each other. Take a photo of the room needing a rug with you when you shop to help you visualize your new rug in the space.
Next, determine your budget. For example: When I was looking for my perfect living room rug (with an 8' x 10' minimum and a 9' x 12' maximum), I wanted to spend less than $750 , but was prepared to pay up to $1000. After a two month search, I ended up with a close-to-perfect-rug for $625, delivered. I could have settled for a $350 alternative, but felt the additional $375 was a worthwhile investment.
A Range of Sources
Once you know your budget, your colors and your style, you're ready to hunt down the rug of your dreams.
Inexpensive sources:
- Recycle your old wall-to-wall carpeting. Lay out the carpeting on your driveway and determine what section of the rug could be reused. Use masking tape to outline the area you want cut and trimmed. Take the carpet to a carpet company willing to do the lacing and ---voila---a "new" area rug for the cost of the stitching!
- Try garage or estate sales. Flea markets offer new, imported and antique carpets for great prices ($5 to $600). Try the De Anza College and Foothill College Flea Markets.
- Furniture consignment shops sometimes carry high-quality used carpets at a fraction of the new cost.
- Purchase a remnant from any carpet outlet.
For reasonably priced new area rugs:
Check your phone book for the nearest Costco, Cost Plus, Pier One or Macy’s Furniture Center.
Catalog companies:
Home Decorator's Catalog: 1-800-245-2217
Spiegel Catalog:
1-800-345-4500
Pottery Barn:
1-800-922-5507
(c) 2001
Kit Davey is a Redwood City-based interior designer specializing in redecorating using what you already have. You can reach her by calling (650)367-7370 or by writing her at KitDavey@aol.com. Visit her website at www.AFreshLook.net.
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