One of the most common questions we’re asked by homeowners is “How do I know which way to lay my floor?” While with true hardwood floors, it’s common practice to lay the planks perpendicular to the floor joists for added stability, you are not required to do so with luxury vinyl. Although you won’t actually be the one laying down and installing your floor, one of the benefits of choosing Karndean Designflooring is that you have complete control over the look of your floor because our planks and tiles come individually and are multi-directional (meaning you don’t have to lay it in a particular way).
Consider the Foot Path
First, think about the way people walk through the room where the floor will be installed. The way that reflects the most common foot traffic pattern of the room is the way we recommend laying your floor. Many homeowners worry that if they lay their floor any way other than straight, it will dramatically increase the cost, but in most cases, this isn’t true because your installer can reuse pieces. In the example below, laying the den floor on an angle not only follows the flow from the kitchen into the den and from the den into the living room.
Lay on an Angle to Connect Areas of an Open Floor Layout
Because open floor layouts are so common in newer houses, you may be running the same floor through multiple areas of your home. In this case, we recommend laying your floor on an angle so that the space feels more open and inviting and creates a flow for foot traffic through the various areas. As we mentioned in our previous Tips from the Table, you can frame focal areas in each of the spaces using our strips or borders.
Create the Illusion of Extra Space
Perhaps you want to make your space feel longer - lay your floor lengthwise to elongate the space. If you want your space to feel wider, lay your floor on an angle, in a herringbone or in a chevron pattern.
What About Tile?
These same principles apply to the layout of tiles as well. We would consider a “straight lay” of a tile to be a brick pattern, which you could lay with or without our design strips to give the appearance that the tile is grouted.
When to Add Pattern
As we just mentioned, you can use some patterns to create the illusion that a room is wider than it is or create a transition-free area rug. Other than that, choosing whether you want to use a pattern is completely up to you! For additional ideas, take a look at our pattern guide below, then try some of them for yourself on our Floorstyle digital tool.
Don't forget to share your creative layouts with us on social media!