Redoing flooring can be expensive work and available materials can be costly or not so environmentally friendly.
Upscaling a floor with natural or recycled items can give your interior a green facelift. The following do-it-yourself flooring projects provide motivation to spruce up a boring surface.
The Phoenix Commotion showcases several creative do it yourself project inspirations and tips, including imaginative recycled floor applications.
For example, Papier-Mâché floors can be created in endless designs with a continual supply of paper materials to incorporate. The featured floors used grocery sacks, labels and even sheet music to decorate surfaces.
Also, if you happen to have a lot of wine corks laying around, or friends who would be happy to help you collect them, consider saving them up to be laid into a floor. This neat design idea takes the little corks and assembles them into ornamental flooring that looks surprisingly high end. Properly placed corks make good flooring due to their fairly sturdy quality and shock absorbent value. Not to mention, they can be laid in attention grabbing patterns and may also come with a story or two.
Repurposing broken and recycled tiles into flooring material is a home project that requires basic materials and leaves a bit of room for play. New tiles are pricey, but fragments can be reused to develop a unique floor design. Tile shards, pieces and bits can be placed in mosaics with specific or varied arrangements and then set in place with nonhazardous grout or adhesives.
Some commercial flooring is also venturing to the greener side. There are more choices becoming available for many flooring options, including recycled laminate flooring. Materials such as paper and wood fibers can be salvaged and turned into durable laminates in various assortments. Check with the manufacturer with any questions about the recycled content in flooring to ensure it meets your expectations.
As for upkeep, there are natural cleaning solutions as opposed to chemicals that will keep your floors preserved and in clean condition.
Wood floors can utilize natural oils to protect and condition them. Jojoba, linseed and Tung oils are effective choices. Be certain oils are pure and do not include solvents for the safest floor treatment. Vinyl floors and most tiles can be cleaned with a mixture of vinegar or baking soda and water. Make sure to spot test for compatibility first and use a soft cloth to apply.
Reusing materials instead of buying new construction pieces reduces landfill waste and helps cut down costs, something all home dwellers can appreciate.
Using natural products when available and integrating recycled materials into a flooring project puts an interesting spin on your indoor ground space without adding to your ecological footprint.
Image: Phoenix Commotion
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