Fantastic Floors

A wall-to-wall rush mat or sisal floor covering conveys a rustic atmosphere while a floor covered with tile brings on a cool tropical feeling. Area rugs, on the other hand, isolate the space and accentuate the furniture around it.

A dramatic way to create special places within a room is to vary the levels of the floor. A simple platform at one end of the room will provide a focal point. If it is in the living room, the raised level can serve as a place for a game table and chairs, for a writing desk or for a conversation seating area. If the room is an open living-dining space, the elevated area can be designated for dining, thereby visually separating the rooms without physical barriers.

If space is tight and you cannot elevate an entire section, consider a platform, perhaps of various levels for art displays.

To make a room come alive with drama, varying the floor levels can help. When you walk into a room and have to take one or two steps down to actually be in the room , feelings of grandeur seem to conjure up. If stepping down is not feasible, how about stepping up? A bedroom, for example, can have drama if the bed is up on a level or two higher than the rest of the room. If space allows, make the platform wide enough for the night stands, too, so the whole ensemble seems to be floating on an island.

Mirrored ceilings can be another way to create drama and add illusionary levels. A mirrored dining room ceiling can open a small room up, giving height to an otherwise normal or claustrophobic ceiling level. If you have a tray ceiling, mirroring the flat part in the center can add height to the room.

When varying the floor levels in a room, please remember safety first. Though you want a visually smooth transition from one level to the other, at least change the floor finish.

For example, stepping down into a sunken living room: Use tile or marble on the upper levels and carpet in the sunken area. Another method is to border the step-down area with an accent color carpet. Stepping down seems to be more of a danger than stepping up, though it wouldn't hurt to be safe and add a colorful border around the areas that go up, too. That platform for the bed could have a different color border around it that will not only help avoid tripping, but also outlines the area, making an even more dramatic look in the room.

Do you want a real piece of art on your multi-leveled floors? Have the carpet inlaid with a design that cascades on the steps. Take the bedroom platform, for example. Have the wall-to-wall carpet one solid color. Take one corner of the platform and have complementary colored flowers drape down the steps.

(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, is president of Rosemary Sadez Friedmann Inc. in Naples, Fla.)