The Pros & Cons Of The Most Popular Materials

Many different materials are used in interior design. One of the primary jobs that you will face when you are designing a home is which materials to use, and how to ensure that you are using them properly. But with so many available options, it can be hard to know which is best for each job in hand.

In this post, we are going to go through the most popular materials used in home design one by one, and discuss their various upside and downsides. By coming to an understanding of this, you will find it easier to choose your materials in future – whether you are laying a new floor, building a worktop for your renovated kitchen, or putting up blinds and curtains.

Quartz

One of the most commonly used materials in interior design is quartz. This is used primarily for worktops, although there is a growing trend where it is being used in various other ways throughout the home and in commercial settings too. Quartz is, in essence, just something known as engineered stone, and it is currently trending as an alternative to ordinary granite because of a number of reasons.

One of the main reasons it is being used instead of granite is because it is stronger than ordinary granite, which means it is more durable. You can also expect quartz to be fairly scratch-resistant, which is obviously a big part of why it is used as countertops so often. It is also resistant to stains, owing to its nonporous nature, and is known to effectively stop the growth of bacteria in its tracks – so it is also a healthy choice for the kitchen.

However, there is one major flaw that, for many people, make it one of the least-desirable options for countertops, which is that it is not very heat-resistant at all. You can’t put a hot pan on the surface without damaging the quartz itself, so that would be something to be aware of if you had it in your kitchen. On the whole, however, it is a pretty good choice, and there is a reason it is so popular in kitchens.

Hardwood

Looking now at flooring, and one of the most popular types of material used here is hardwood. There is no doubt about it: hardwood is incredibly attractive, makes for a wonderful aesthetic in pretty much any modern home, and it also lasts a lifetime. If you are trying to make your flooring look contemporary, this is one of the best and easiest ways to do just that, and you are rarely going to be disappointed with an entirely hardwood-floored house.

On the downside, it is not unheard of for hardwood to have trouble with termites. With the right termite control, you can generally keep this under wraps and stop it from damaging the wood, but you do need to take care and look out for the major signs of an infestation. It is also possible to stain hardwood to a point where you can’t get it back to normal again – and you need to make sure that you are avoiding scratching it as best as you can too.

All in all, hardwood is one of the best flooring options out there, and it’s unlikely to go away any time soon. You will, however, need to have a fairly large budget if you are going to go for real hardwood over laminate or some other alternative, so for that reason it might not be for everyone.

Laminate

Speaking of laminate: why is it that so many people choose this as their go-to flooring type? One of the main reasons is because it gives you many of the aesthetic benefits of real wood, but at a much lower price, meaning that it is much more accessible for the average person or household. Laminate is also easy to install, and very often it’s just a case of fitting it together like a puzzle. This means that anyone can use it, even without prior experience and without having to hire someone to come and do it for them.

On the downside, if you are not careful about which colour and brand you choose, it can often look a little ‘off’, like there is something just not quite right about it. It can sometimes feel like a poor man’s hardwood, and that is not really ideal. It also stains quite easily, and scratches are easy to make on the surface – and all but impossible to get out. Laminate in general is a handy option to consider, though not the first choice for everyone.

Clay

There are a few places around the home where you might use clay. One of the most obvious examples is on the roof, and clay roof tiles are very popular indeed. The terracotta tiles that we all know and love are something of a classic in most parts of the world, and they do look the part in a number of ways. If you are going for aesthetic beauty on your roof, clay tiles are definitely going to be one that you need to think about.

What’s more, they can easily be moulded into all manner of shapes, making them perfect for any roofing project you might have on the go. They will also last for upwards of forty years, making them an impressively long-lasting and therefore cost-efficient option. On the downside, however, clay tiles can sometimes be very heavy. There are occasions when a building has to be adapted in some way or another in order to be able to accommodate the additional weight of the tiles. That can add on more time to the construction project, and more stress.

In general, clay tiles are probably your go-to choice when you are building or replacing a roof.

As you can see, there are a lot of ups and downs when you are choosing materials for different parts of the home. But you should always ensure that you are carefully weighing up your options.

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