Interior design is all about chasing that unique look. Finding a way to make the features of a home stand out and catch people off-guard. A great way to accomplish it is with a custom floor and luckily concrete provides a wealth of options. Hard floors like concrete have gained in popularity. They are easy to maintain, long-lasting, and can feature unique designs that carpet cannot. So for homeowners looking for unique floor design, here are the best options concrete can provide.
Paint
The simplest and fastest way to customize a concrete floor is with a splash of color. Concrete paints are specifically developed to liven any drab slab a home may have. The paint is an epoxy and ranges in strength and durability. It will give a floor a smooth appearance and require minimal upkeep. Painting concrete is also one of the cheapest routes to take. The project can even be DIY-ed. The wonderful thing about paint is that it comes in a wide variety of colors. Just take a look at a Davis concrete color chart to see how many. So from a style perspective, this allows homeowners to choose vivid and engaging schemes. One good coat and a forgettable floor can become an eye-catching display.
Staining
Concrete floors can be stained just like a hardwood floor. This is a bit more costly than a paint job as the process requires the floor to be sanded and sealed. The trade-off is that staining is permanent so the coat will not have to be re-applied. Staining also creates a unique pattern depending on the minerals within the slab. So every concrete floor that is stained is like a snowflake, there is no other floor like it.
Staining also comes in a wide variety of color options. So take another look at that Davis concrete color chart. But the appllication of color is only the first step. Mineral deposits cause patches and mottling to the stain. This creates a wholly natural design inspired by the floor itself. When the floor is finished it is polished to a high-shine and whatever design was created becomes pronounced. The process is unpredictable but can lead to some amazing surfaces.
Polish
Polished concrete is essentially a canvas that contractors can draw upon. As aformentioned it features a variety of color options. Paint is not one of them, however, so for a polished shine the choice is between dye and stain, The choice of color is just one aspect of the process,
Contractors who polish floors are more than just an installation crew. They are Artisans with a wide palette. They can introduce different materials into the floor. Materials that are either laid out on-top of the concrete and mixed into it. Once polish is applied it creates a wide variety of design affects. They can also use stencils and saw cuts to etch creative patterns into the surface of the floor. A polished floor can be truely customized to suit whatever appearence a homeowner wants.
Grinding
This one requires a little elbow grease but can have a nice payoff. Underneath the surface of any concrete slab is aggragate. This is the material that the concrete is actually made up of. Aggregate includes sand, gravel, slag, crushed stone, geosynthetic aggregates, and recycled concrete. If you grind away at the surface of a slab the aggregate it is made of become more pronounced. Once that underlying design is brought to the surface it is polished over. The end affect being a unique floor design.
Exposing aggregate is a lot like staining. A homeowner will not know what the natural design of the concrete will look like until it is revealed. The end result, however, will be wholly unique to that floor.
