Mind Your Step – Use the Right Type of Flooring to Stand Out with your Retail Design

You walk into a store. You consciously or subconsciously recognize the store’s retail design. However, the first interaction with any store is not only visual but also physical. And this first physical contact with a retail space is its flooring. Therefore, a retail space demands a unique floor that is durable as well as easy to maintain. While flooring tends to get too little attention, it can be a crucial detail that makes or breaks a retail store design.

Separating areas without barriers

“Galeries Lafayette department store by Plajer & Franz studio, Istanbul – Turkey”

Image Source: RETAIL DESIGN BLOG

Flooring can be a creative way to separate the product display area from the traffic flow area without creating any barriers. Referring to the example of La Fayette department store in Istanbul it seems like one is magnetically drawn from the aisle to the product display area.

“V Grass Nanjing Deji Plaza by PMDL Architecture + Design, Nanjing – China”

Image Source: RETAIL DESIGN BLOG

V Grass Nanjing Deji Plaza in Nanjing uses two different flooring materials to separate areas. Not only does this create contrast in color but also creates the feeling of an exclusive atmosphere. Additionally, the softness of the carpet tends to have a very relaxing effect on people.

Creating contrast with pattern and material

“Excelsior restaurant by Yellow Office architecture, Craiova – Romania”

Image Source: RETAIL DESIGN BLOG

The example of this restaurant in Romania shows how flooring can turn a nice design into an outstanding design. There exist various ways to create contrast not only with color and material but also with shape and pattern.

“Diesel store renewal, Tokyo – Japan”

Image Source: RETAIL DESIGN BLOG

Diesel recently renewed its flagship store in Tokyo. The new design integrates contemporary elements as well as antique furniture. Of particular note is the combination of concrete flooring with wooden ceilings. This contrast creates an atmosphere that is both rustic and modern.

Functionality of flooring

With the vast variety of colors, patterns and materials, it is easy to get distracted and forget about the practical aspects that the right flooring should fullfill. For example, the previous example of concrete flooring has several issues that need to be taken into consideration. Concrete flooring does not only tend to have a cold appearance, in fact it is cold and might affect heating bills in the winter. A soft carpet may not increase heating cost; however, carpets tend to be quickly worn down and get dirty easily. The maintainance of carpets can be costly and time-consuming. Wooden flooring brings similar maintainance issues with it. Therefore, it is no big suprise that we see all of the mentioned materials less frequently in retail spaces. A solid and more practical flooring solution for example is luxury vinyl or ceramic tiles like we can see in the first three images of the article.

Summing up, flooring in retail design matters. Its design as well as its functionality is a crucial factor that will influence a customer’s feeling in a store design.