The Best Floor Covering

When it comes to floor coverings there aren't too many options - tile, carpet, real wood or laminate.

Any of these can be shown to good effect with the addition of a rug.

Your decision will make a big difference to the overall look and feel of your vacation home so it is well worth spending a bit of time considering your options before making a decision.
Who could ignore this vibrant orange rug? It's very color is bold enough to make a statement without resorting to a busy pattern.

You need to find a balance between what you like and what makes sense financially if your property is also to show a profit. Whatever you choose is likely to be expensive and you don't want to end up paying twice because you made the wrong choice or found that something doesn't stand up to wear and tear as well as you had hoped.

This beautiful stripey rug would make a perfect floor covering and bring a cosy warmth to a city apartment in a cooler climate or would look lovely by the fire in a ski chalet. It's colouring would probably not work as well in a sunny area like Florida where you would probably want to be bringing a feeling of gentle coolness rather than heat.

With pool home owners in the Orlando area, Carpet vs. Tile is always a big debate and we sought the advice of other vacation property owners when making decisions about floor coverings for our own holiday home near DisneyWorld.

If you opt for tile, you may like to add color and warmth with the addition of colorful co-ordinating rugs which will go a long way towards adding a more finished look to your vacation property and also give the impression that you haven't just stopped the furnishings at a bare minimum but have gone the extra mile.

Don't under-estimate how important it is to over deliver to your renters when you are advertising your property for a top-dollar rental price. Rugs are seen as non-essential so show an owner who has provided items in the poroperty that are purely decorative.

This lovely rug in relaxing, gentle shades would be more suited to sunny climes and is certainly a color combination I would be happy to use in something like an apartment or pool home in Spain or Portugal.

Rugs are also particularly useful if you have 'inherited' a bit of a hotch-potch of furnishings in a room and are trying to find something that brings all the colors together to make it look like a deliberate color scheme rather than an accident!

One part of the house where the decision is most important is in your entrance hallway - right inside the front door. The first impression a visitor gets needs to be weighed up against a practical option for this very high traffic area of your home.