British weather often gets a bad rap for being dull, grey and generally a whole lot wetter than we would like.

However, despite this negative stereotype, British summertime can actually be surprisingly hot – particularly in the summer.

In fact, the climate of British summertime has rivalled that of the continent in recent years, with UK temperatures reaching as high as 35.5 degrees Celsius in 2018.

In order to escape the heat and keep your property cool and comfortable inside, here are a few handy tips to help make your interior design feel as cool as it looks, even when the sun is blazing outside.

The science behind cool flooring

From a scientific perspective, the temperature of your flooring largely comes down to the conductivity of the material.

Materials that are good conductors can transfer heat faster, giving the perception that the surface is colder.

On the other hand, poor conductors will take time to transfer heat, giving a warmer sensation underfoot.

As such, flooring that’s an excellent conductor of heat – such as tiles – will naturally feel cooler in the summer than a material that is a poor conductor of heat.

Indoor tiles for summer comfort

Carpet is a poor conductor and retains heat, which can make you feel uncomfortably warm during the summertime. The hot air in the room gets trapped in the carpet fibres, acting as an insulator and retaining the heat in the surface.

Luckily, the same can’t be said for indoor porcelain tiles. Porcelain tiles are traditionally very conductive, making them considerably cooler to walk on than carpet due to their structural makeup.

One of the biggest perks of tile flooring is that it’s also great for keeping you cooler when the heat of summer is at its scorching peak. For a cool interior design, ditch the carpet in favour of the vastly more conductive and considerably cooler tile option.

Porcelain tiles in your home

Indoor tiles are commonly used in bathrooms and kitchens within the homestead; however, it’s increasingly common for them to be found in living rooms and hallways, as well as anywhere else in the house.

For a cool, tactful tile with cooling, tactile style, look no further than porcelain tiles from PrimaPorcelain.

For more information on our vast range of indoor porcelain tiles and outdoor porcelain pavers, why not drop us a line? Call now on 029 2080 3756 to find out more or hit the button below to get in touch online.

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Thanks to the rise and rise of Scandinavian inspired decor in recent years, the monochrome trend has yet to decrease in popularity. Although black/dark grey flooring may seem quite daunting and severe at first, it really can provide a perfect platform to create your monochrome home, working from the ground up. When paired with the right decor, it can create an absolutely stunning contrast, creating a dynamic and modern design without making your house look dark and dreary. 

To give you a few ideas of how to make dark flooring work for you, we've highlighted some inspiration below from our own range, and other homeware stores we love! 

 

All White Everything

 The obvious choice for brightening up a room with dark flooring is to fill it with bright walls and tons of white homeware pieces, in order to create a striking contrast. There's plenty of modern, white furniture on the market at the moment, in sleek shapes and unusual designs, so you should have no trouble finding the perfect pieces to fit your space.

 

The quirky branch style bookcase is from Dwell, and this cool, rounded coffee table is from Lakeland.

 

To achieve a stunning contrast with a natural finish, opt for a black tiles such as those in our Stoneware Slate range.

Grey Tones

If you're worried that stark black and white could be too bold for you, that doesn't mean that you can't  find ways to tone down the look to make it work for you. By combining a black and white base with lots of grey tones in your furnishings and accessories, you can easily soften the look by bringing in more tones. This way you can stick to the colour palette without making it too restrictive or uniform (unless uniformity is what you're after).

We love this 50's style 3 seater sofa from Swoon Editions

This minimal two tone vase is from Dunelm, and this shabby chic mirror is from Hand Crafted Mirrors (Not on the High Street)

Mixed Materials

To add more colour and dimension to your space without being too flashy and distracting from the overall impact, you can simply add a mix of materials to your space, as is demonstrated below in this image of our Monza tiles.

 

To offset our Monza tiles, the designer has used used a mix of metallic and wooden materials with hints of colour, against plain white walls.

 

This shabby wood effect wallpaper from Wallpaper from the 70's, works brilliantly in a monochrome space, playing on the industrial trend at the same time.

 

This wooden clock from Calvers and Suvdal  is a great example of minimal, Scandinavian style, while this copper lamp from Heal's also plays on the metallic/industrial trend, while adding subtle warmth to a cool-toned space.

2015 will soon be over, and so it's time to look forward to the coming year and make some predictions for the trends that will be dominating the world of home design in 2016. Whether you're looking to revamp your home in the new year, or incorporate some subtle changes to give tired decoration a shake up, this list should give you some ideas for adding some on-trend additions to your home.

Natural Materials 

Mixed Metals 

Brining Nature Indoors

Our porcelain paving products are designed to help our customers get the best from their homes, offering a range of stunning colours and textures to add a new dimension to any room. At Christmas, we realize that many of you want your homes to have that extra special something, in order to create the ultimate vibe of festive homeliness. Whether you're trying to channel the cosiness of a fireside Victorian Christmas, or the rustic meets modern aesthetic of Scandinavian chic, we have some great ideas that will help you make the most of your living space this holiday season.

1. Beautiful, Fluffy Rugs

2. Minimal Christmas Trees 

We love this beautiful grey twig, light-up tree and these adorable oak designs, both from Notonthehighstreet. We think that either of them would perfectly compliment our bright Italian Limestone Ivory tiles, as well as the lovely muted grey of our Italian Limestone Mushroom paving.

3. Golden, Glamorous Candles 
Candles add instant warmth and Christmas cheer to any room, but some of the ones on sale right now are just too beautiful and luxurious to burn! Whether or not you end up lighting them, Christmas candles are an excellent way to transform any space into a welcoming, winter wonderland.

 

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