Flooring holds infinite possibilities for enhancing your home’s decor. Here are six great materials—from intricate wood inlays to colorful tiles and intriguing carpets—that lend themselves to original design ideas from subtle to dramatic. Start by considering the style of your rooms. Then tap into your inner artist.

Concrete: Colored, Patterned, Contemporary
It’s not just industrial gray stuff anymore. For your porch or patio, you can have concrete stamped and colored to convincingly imitate brick, paving stone, fieldstone or marble. It can also be scored in patterns, such as big diamonds or chevrons. With subtle or rich colors added for patina, concrete can be both handsome and practical in a playroom, office or contemporary great room.

Carpeting: Soft, Soundless, Textured
Where you’re after comfort and a sense of luxury, carpet delivers. Given the countless colors, patterns and textures that are now available, there’s no limit to the assets of carpet, wherever you put it. (Plus, there’s something for every pocketbook!)

Your carpet can visually change the size of a room—a dark color pulls a big room inward; a light color opens up a small space. If your wood floors are lovely, leave them exposed around the room’s edges, and lay a patterned carpet or one with its own border. Consider layering, too: Add a colorful area rug over subdued carpeting to emphasize, say, a seating area or just to double up on a cozy feeling. And don’t forget all your carpeting options as a quick fix for covering old floors!

Wood: Elegant, Warm, Traditional
It used to be that one needed a skilled craftsman to create inlaid designs in different woods. Not anymore! You can order them up pre-made in all sorts of patterns.

Want to make a statement in the entryway? Try a stunning central medallion of wood-block inlay in a gorgeous compass pattern, for example. Inlay borders, such as Greek key or simple geometrics, can define areas and add contrast—around a kitchen island, a hearth or the whole living room. It can be a wonderful look for a wide hallway. Also, consider color—you can bleach wood nearly white, stain it dark ebony or create a shade in between.

Here are more options for beautiful flooring.

Natural Tiles: Cool, Colorful, Enduring
Baked ceramic tiles in earthy shades and glazes are particularly prized in hot climes for their cool look and feel—they’re perfect in a family room or sunroom. Border or crisscross the floor with tiles of a complementary color or create a pattern by combining small tiles with larger ones. Tiles of various natural stones, such as limestone or marble, can be laid in similarly distinctive ways.

Mosaic tiles, small squares of stone or glass, have been true artists’ favorites since ancient days. Give a bathroom a splash of drama with a mosaic design across the whole floor, or create a mosaic “mat” for the tub or shower stall with blue and green. Individual mosaic chips lend themselves to creating special images, such as flowers, fish or waves. For intriguing light effects, you can combine solid colors with opalescent or metallic glass tiles. Or get your stones—including real beach pebbles—pre-set in square tiles.

Man-Made Tiles: Economic, Plentiful, Evocative
Vinyl, laminate and linoleum tiles come in many colors and textures to be set in patterns of your choice, including checks, borders and abstract designs. Invent a fun floor for a child’s room; a marble-like floor or faux parquet for an entry.

Paint: Quick, Affordable, Artistic
Paint can turn an ordinary wood floor extraordinary for a song. Consider having every third or fourth floorboard painted, or a border all around the room. Or paint the whole floor in a black-and-ivory checkerboard pattern. Add a stencil design to a floor painted in a single color—yet another way of creating art underfoot!

Consult with a pro to make sure your dream design is properly installed. We recommend the variety of choices and expert craftsmanship from one of our trusted flooring partners near you.

[Main image: tangopango via flickr]