Are you struggling to design a strangely shaped room? Perhaps all you need is a simple flooring technique to change the entire character and flow of the space. The following tips will help you rethink your floor design for 6 of the most challenging rooms.

1. Confusing traffic patterns. Are your guests locked into the layout of your space? Do you have difficulty finding your way from the front door to the living room? Simply leave a trail of breadcrumbs by installing stair tread inserts in your flooring. In formal areas, this technique works well with tile. In less formal areas, like a finished basement, rug inserts can be used to create a trampoline path.

2. Hidden niches. Often an alcove or alcove can disappear alongside the great main room. To tie the two rooms together, use a contrasting floor border around the perimeter of both rooms. But keep in mind the scale of the rooms: for smaller spaces, it’s best to use a narrow border.

3. Kitchens in L. An L-shaped kitchen creates a design dilemma similar to the disappearing alcove or alcove. Again, it’s helpful to use a contrasting floor border to tie the two spaces together. If you have a work island, be sure to use the same border around the island to highlight it as a design feature and bring order to the room.

4. Narrow rooms. It is possible to visually stretch a narrow room by installing horizontal stripes on the floor. The larger the room, the more colors you can use for your stripes, and the more dramatic you can be in your color choices. But if the room is shorter, it is best to stick with narrow stripes and a color palette of two light colors.

5. Rectangular rooms. A large rectangular room can be visually overwhelming. You can tone down this look by dividing the room into two or more areas, each defined by its own floor covering inserts. These inserts function as an area rug surrounded by deep borders. You can keep two inserts of the same size to divide the room into two areas, or for very large rooms, install a large insert in the center two-thirds of the room and flank it with smaller inserts.

6. Square rooms. The word “square” has come to mean serious and heavy, and it is no different in room design. A square room can often lack dynamic energy. You can counter this effect by drawing an X from corner to corner to create four triangles on the ground. You can then install a ground color on two of the opposing triangles and a second ground color on the remaining two triangles. This can be a fun effect in a playroom or a child’s bedroom, but it can also be used in more sophisticated settings by keeping the colors muted and with less contrast.

By using your imagination and creativity in your floor covering design, you can turn an awkward space into an amazing space with very little additional investment of time or money.