Flooring makes the biggest difference to the overall look of a room than perhaps any other choice, as it takes up so much room and affects so many of the senses beyond just sight.
Flooring affects the atmosphere in the room, not only in terms of colour but also sound and texture, which is why the choice of flooring and ensuring it is maintained and restored carefully matters so much.
However, the beauty of flooring is that there are so many options to create truly unique and unusual designs using materials you may not have expected would be useful for the purpose, even if it may take extra work both to create and to restore later.
Meat And Marble
In 1997, artist Wim Delvoye created flooring that looked at first glance like it was made of marble or stone, but on closer inspection turned out to be various cuts of meat, from salami to pepperoni.
In reality, this was an optical illusion, with printed squares of different meat textures stuck onto an aluminium surface, but the look was so convincing that it caused considerable controversy at the time.
Beer Barrels
Hardwood is a desirable option for many people due to its beautiful look and robust sturdiness, but one of the issues that hold people back from using it is the cost of high-quality hardwood.
However, reclaimed wood is a very good option, and one of the most plentiful ways of getting it is from distilleries, which need to use hardwood as part of the job but can only use them a few times before the distinctive flavour tones are used up.
Alternative, wooden pallets could also be used to provide a similar result.
Coins
Coin floors take a lot of work to make, given that you need to glue them, grout around them and use a clear sealant, but the result is striking and typically one-of-a-kind.