If your house looks like every other house on the block, you may be feeling the need to change things up a bit with a remodel. While things like kitchen hardware and new furniture can give your home a new accent, a new and unique floor can change the complete look of your home. Read on to find out how you can use the install of a new floor to give your home a unique feel.

Industrial Look

The industrial look is all about mimicking a warehouse, foundry, or other unfinished, unrefined industrial complex. Often seen in city lofts, this look utilizes materials like metal, cinder block, brick, and chain to give the home a raw feeling that really sets it apart from the crowd. To set an industrial tone in your home, look to install concrete floors in your remodel. Beyond the great industrial look of concrete, it also offers the following benefits: 

• Concrete floors are versatile and can be done with various finishes and mixed with colors, stains, and dyes to give your home a truly unique look. Finishes include polished, smooth, and troweled, and the concrete can even be stamped to make it look like tile or planks, while still maintaining a raw, unfinished feeling.
• Concrete floors can easily be mopped and scrubbed with water and cleaners, making them a great choice for rooms that require frequent cleaning like bathrooms, kitchens, and mud rooms. This also makes concrete a good option for pet owners.
• Concrete uses renewable materials, is recyclable, and retains heat and cold which will help cut down on utility costs and energy consumption.

To add to the look, you can also install concrete or metal countertops, stainless steel appliances (both large and small), furniture with exposed metal legs and tubing, and exposed brick walls and duct work. 

Modern/Bauhaus Look

The modern, or Bauhaus, look revolves around clean lines, symmetry, and function over form. This look is associated with the 1920's and 1930's and uses distinct contrast of colors like black and white, and classic red, yellow, and blue. A great base for your modern-look remodel is rubber flooring. While it may seem a little odd, rubber flooring fits in perfectly with the function-over-form feel of a modern home and offers unique upsides:

• Rubber floors are usually installed as tiles, meaning that you can use clean lines, colors, and symmetry to create a Bauhaus feel.
• Rubber is a slip-resistant material and you can purchase tiles with extra texturing for specific spots in your home. This means that you can create a virtually slip-free environment in areas near entryways, bathtubs, showers, and sinks seamlessly. Rubber also naturally absorbs shock, meaning it will take more of the impact if there is an accidental fall and is more comfortable to be on your feet for a long time over other, harder flooring materials.

To complete your modern remodel, install white or black appliances (or both), add furniture with straight lines and hard corners, and use fabrics with symmetrical, clean patterns.

Twist on a Traditional Look

If the above-mentioned are a little too extreme for your tastes, you can still make your home stand out by changing up your floors with an otherwise traditional look. Consider using cork flooring to preserve warm wood tones while still giving your traditional-looking home a facelift. Here are some of the benefits of switching to cork:

• Cork does a great job of absorbing noise. This makes it an especially good option for apartments, condos, duplexes, and upstairs rooms.
• Despite its porous appearance, cork naturally fights microorganism growth and bacteria, making it an especially good material for those with allergies.
• Because cork has an asymmetrical and random patterning, a nick or scratch on the surface will usually just blend in.

The best thing about using cork as an alternative floor is that it should still blend in nicely with your traditional decor, meaning you should save money by keeping most of your accessories and appliances.

If you're looking to set your home apart with a new look, consider replacing your floor with something different to set the tone for a truly unique home atmosphere. Check out a flooring company like Carpet Depot Inc for more information.

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