Thread: need your opinion... please

Hi all,

I would like, actually I need your opinion on terrazzo (spell check needed).

We're in the process of doing / selecting I should say all floor finishings and a buddy of mine here who's pretty good, but not my architect is suggesting we use terrazzo for the bedrooms, rather than solid merbau. He thinks it'll look better, be cooler and be more balinese. Our place is "tropical modern" in design and the areas in question total about 180m2. I've never been a huge terrazzo fan but the more I see different varieties, the more I like it. Cost aside, I'd like to ask what your views are on terrazzo being used in a bedroom for a villa.

Many thanks in advance,

Ct

Depends on the colour and patterns that would go with the design of your tropical modern house. Is it the ground floor? Personally, I would use terrazzo on the ground floor as it is low-maintenance and they keep the room cool. Merbau flooring is more like a parquet, isn't it? Thus for my preference to use it on the upper floor if I were to have the options.
The Milan Airport (Malpensa) use terrazzo floor but with the patterns that come with it, I personally don't like it.
However, imho big rooms go better with opaque floor or furnitures especially in hot climate countries. Terrazzo can be shiny by just walking on it frequently.

hi milan, thanks for your opinion - i had to use the dictionary to get what you meant :oops: i've got no design vocab so words like "parquet" stumped me.. but i looked them up and i think i've figured out what you mean..

ok, so just to clarify, one of the bedrooms is in a detached pavilion (guest-house) on the first floor.. 2 of the bedrooms (and an entertainment room which is also in question) are on the second floor and the master room is on the third floor..

the merbau floor we're considering is solid plank merbau, not parquet.. something like this:

Originally Posted by milan

imho big rooms go better with opaque floor or furnitures especially in hot climate countries. Terrazzo can be shiny by just walking on it frequently.

so are you saying that you don't shiny floors in big rooms? what about shiny floors in bedrooms?

cheers,

ct

Well, parquet is wood flooring but can come in various decorative patterns, tones, qualities, etc. Merbau is also wood flooring as your photo shows. IMHO, I prefer to use them on the upper floor especially the bedrooms as it gives warmth and the feeling of cozyness. And terrazzo to me fits better on the ground floor as it gives that sense of solid foundation but this is personal.
What I meant by big space goes better with opaque surfaces in its interior surroundings be it furniture, floor, etc., is that it gives a certain feeling of informality and does not need to enlarge the room even more, especially in the tropical country as it is fine and cool. But if you wish for the walls, furnitures, floors be shiny or reflective then the room will give out to a more formal, bigger in size than it already is and the feeling of heat.
However, you could also mix the two. So, it's all up to you and your wife's personal preference.
Today though, one can break the rules and mix and match from what one would call traditional designs in interior with modern or contemporary style of decorating. As long as it's pleasing to the eyes in terms of proportions, style, functionality, color co-ordinations; you can do well by adhering to these lines of guidance.
This is just my personal take. I'm sure there are members here who could offer better advice.

I know a number of expats, who as Milan suggests, used terrazzo on their first floor and are very happy with it for those same reasons she mentioned…low maintenance and its cooling effects. As we didn’t use it with either of our houses, we don’t have any first hand experience with it.

Thanks Jimbo / Markit.

Actually Jimbo, terrazzo works out cheaper than merbau because of the subfloor required for solid wood.

Markit, the points you mentioned regarding the effect of sunlight are very valid points I hadn't given any thought to this time round. I don't know why I hadn't, it was something we carefully considered when installing our wood floors in Canada, so thanks for pointing that out.

I spoke to our architect today, and he really prefers to my surprise, the idea of terrazzo. He said he knew I wasn't big on it and that's why he hadn't suggested it.

Well, some very good food for thought..

Thanks again,

Ct

Yup, Markit is right as to also consider the sunlight as the colour of the wood in no time would change.

My house in Jkt uses ceramic tiles too. Looks just as good.

Personal preference for me would be tiled floor, whether it be terazzo or the larger tiles. The one thing I wanted for our house was a non-slip tile, the number of times in Indonesia I have walked across a beautiful shiny floor only to end up doing a very good ice skating impersonation. A friend of mine had the most spectacular bruise on her rear end where she slipped on shiny tiled stairs after someone had walked through with wet feet, whilst the bruise provided much mirth for some time, she could have easily broken her neck. So my recommendation would be to definitely stay away from slippery tiles - I would expect the smaller terazzo tiles would provide good grip.