STI: Floor show

April 4, 2009

home & garden

Floor show

Stone and terracotta tiles have their flaws but nothing beats them for looks and comfort

By sophie kho 

 

I am considering changing my patio's ceramic tiles to natural stone or terracotta ones. Are they hard to keep clean?

 

Natural stone and terracotta are expensive, porous and hard to match as they have a lot of colour variation. Hairline cracks are a given in natural stone - whether marble, limestone, sandstone or granite - and both absorb oil, water and stains. They are also affected by mildew.

 

But nothing beats stone and terracotta for looks and comfort. They also weather beautifully to a handsome patina. If you are willing to accept their flaws, you can make your flooring less porous by coating it with matte polyurethane. Insist on a high-grade, invisible coating.

 

For terracotta, get the coating painted on before laying the tiles. The tiles have been known to be damaged by cement dust, allowing dirt stains to get inside the pores and cracks, which are impossible to remove.

 

My house has a high ceiling at the centre due to a sloping A-frame roof. However, it is not high enough to create another floor. What can I do with it?

 

Designing a mezzanine is tricky. Most double-height ceilings, when halved, tend to yield two rather low-ceilinged and claustrophobic rooms. So the key thing worth noting about this design is the clever way the mezzanine pulls away from the sides of the room, so the whole bulky ceiling appears to float.

 

Plus, sunlight from the tall windows near the ceiling is not blocked and filters in gently. The curtains also do not end up being awkwardly short as they are allowed to fall from the full height of the tall windows.

 

I am extending my foyer and car porch, but that might make my semi-detached home's front half very dark. How can I preserve light flow into the centre of the house?

 

Depending on the width of your property, you might have to do creative cut-outs or angling of the car porch roof. If your plot of land is wide, extend no more than half the width of the property, ideally the section facing the side garden.

 

Park + Associates, the architects of this terrace house, created a light well next to a party wall. Then, they filled in the space with an entryway and skinny landscaped pond. Another savvy idea to adopt: built-in lighting.

 

Sophie Kho is the editor of Home & Decor, published by SPH Magazines.