Leather Flooring
Leather is actually the famous classic material that covers your furniture. However, this luxurious material can also be used perfectly, as floor. In fact, going barefoot on it is a special, unique pleasure. The characteristic smell, smooth and soft surface gives every home comfort.
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The leather that is used for flooring is more robust than the one used for furniture because it is made of buffalo skin, which is one of the best quality kind of leather. However, over time, scratches cannot be avoided, but this just makes the leather floor to have even more charm and beauty. It happens just like with the old furniture. Over time, the color becomes darker, but as the years pass, the leather floor becomes more beautiful and valuable. This makes the leather floors become a long-term investment.
Leather floors can be purchased in a wide variety of colors, including blue, green, red or natural shades. Thickness and shape vary widely, but this offers the opportunity to experience as much as possible.
The day after they are applied, the floor can support any furniture piece without problems, no matter how heavy it may be. However, before this you should buff them with special wax and make sure the edges are well sealed so that moisture cannot enter between the leather and the substrate.
Maintenance: You should care for leather floors just like for the wood ones. You need to vacuum or sweep them regularly and when you need you should wipe them with high quality products, which do not attack the material. Depending on the climate and the temperature in the house, the floor is treated with beeswax or carnauba (wax Brazilian extracted from palm leaves) after a half a year. .
Avoid heels, they may leave deep footprints
Price: Leather is certainly an expensive material. To avoid that prices do not rise more and more, the manufacturers “dress” the wooden floors in a thin leather layer. However, a m2 (10.7 sq ft) can cost 150 Euros (195 $), but the price may increase depending on the producing company, and the size of tiles. The golden rule is: the more tiles are larger the price is lower and more convenient. An Italian company manufactures triangular leather tiles, priced at 500 – 700 Euros/m2 (650 – 900 $/m2).
Producers in Germany proceed differently than those in England and Italy (the “mother” countries of these kinds of floors). They use a strong leather of 4.5mm thickness, already processed and prepared. So, the client has a very easy task. He needs only to apply a special adhesive, add the leather tiles and can furnish the room in one day.
Rubber Flooring
Rubber floors are environmentally friendly, especially if you compare them to similar materials such as PVC.
However there is a small defect in terms of appearance: Most rubber flooring made today consist of synthetic rubber SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber), so a chemical product that is not just environmentally friendly.
Unfortunately, there are very few manufacturers that come on the market with just natural products such as natural rubber. To produce natural rubber is used latex, which is extracted from the milky juice of rubber trees. All the adhesives are water-based adhesives.
Natural rubber floors are as durable as synthetic ones. They are also waterproof and easy to clean and care. Rubber is not slippery and also when someone steps on it does not let “escape” any sound. Recycling natural products is much simpler, can be repeated and protect better the environment then synthetic materials.
The only disadvantage of natural rubber floors is the heating. Usually you cannot install heating under the floor, because they are not compatible. Another disadvantage could be that when a piece of furniture is placed in the same place for a long time and is very heavy, the floor may remain with traces.
Living Room Flooring Types | How To Build A House (howtobuildahouseblog.com)