By Julie Miller 
H&MM Associate Editor 

While carpet may be the most common floorcovering in hotels, other options, including ceramic tile, marble, hardwood and even concrete, offer a completely different array of design choices. The variations go beyond color and pattern, encompassing additional features in texture and mixed-media applications. 

Owners footing the bill for floorcovering will instinctively ask if these attractive materials can do more than just look good. In many cases, experts say, they'll discover that these other flooring options last longer than carpet, require little maintenance and provide the appropriate slip-resistance as mandated by the Americans With Disabilities Act. Most importantly, the materials are made to be cost-effective. 

Vision Design of Dallas serves primarily one-of-a-kind properties, completing new builds and renovations, and each of its clients uses an original floorcovering design, said Dan Nelson, president. Marbles are popular because they convey a sense of upscale beauty, but stones and hardwoods have been incorporated into some designs as well. 

Designers brought in hardwood floors in small areas of The Mansion on Turtle Creek project in Dallas. "We used them in the suites," Nelson said. "We don't use them much in public areas because of the maintenance factor." 

Hardwood floors require occasional refinishing that may call for buffing and waxing. Additionally, where the hardwood meets another material, such as the marble tiles used in the suite's bathroom, maintenance workers have to be especially diligent so as not to damage the complementary flooring while refinishing the hardwood. 

A hardwood floor in a guest-room or suite would naturally call for area rugs, which adds an additional cost but provides a more residential feel, Nelson said. Interior designer and building - product consultant Janet Carter said the hardwoods of today are much friendlier than they've been in the past. Products are most often treated at the manufacturing site with a polyurethane finish, which is not hard to keep up, she said. Prior to the 1970s, hardwood floors did not have this technology. Polyurethane finishes are impregnated into the wood and baked on for a more permanent finish. 

The updated hardwoods don't have the same appearance that hardwoods did 40 years ago, but they have much easier upkeep, Carter said. 

More widely used than the hardwood materials, tile usage has increased recently. Ceramic tile has changed significantly from the large white squares of the 1950s, and today it's manufactured in a variety of sizes from 2 feet-square to small, decorative chips for mosaics. Likewise, shapes aren't limited to squares any longer, and new textures are showing up in current styles. Years ago, the bigger the square was, the better, Carter said. Modern installations and renovations now have more pattern and design in the way the tile is laid. 

"For a while, everything was very monolithic looking," she said. "Today, you see areas being segmented off maybe with a combination of materials such as carpet set in wood, which is tricky. We're finally getting to the point where the real quality craftsman can create something unique and outstanding." 

Baby Boomers lead the trends now, she said. They are making decisions in design that show evidence of personalized style. Subtle flooring has not been phased out, but perhaps a custom texture will be added to an otherwise ordinary floor to make it more exciting. 

Textures expand the tile product line beyond just the shape and color offerings. Thanks to technology, texture variations can create a custom look without the higher expense that may be incurred with custom shapes and colors. Carter said the past 10 years have brought about advancements that resulted in cost- effective custom designs. 

The hard-surface floorings such as the hardwoods and tiles can last 20 years or more with proper maintenance. Marble flooring can last forever, according to Nelson. "You'll want to change it from a design perspective before you'll wear it out," he said. 

Manufacturers are responding to the needs of designers and architects with new innovations and reinventions of their products. Ardex Engineered Cements, Pittsburgh, initiated an evolution of its cement product, Ardex. The cement was originally designed for industrial applications to repair damaged floors because it contains self-leveling properties. Now, the company has upgraded the product to include color so it can be used as a design element as well. 

Rather than ripping up an unlevel or damaged flooring surface, then repouring new concrete and refinishing the floor, Ardex can be poured over the damaged surface in a layer as thin as one-quarter inch to accommodate the repair, said Jesse David, manager, national accounts for the company. This solution eliminates the labor of tearing up the old floor and saves time and money. Since the concrete serves as the finished surface, no additional coverings are needed. 

Ardex concrete topping can be used in new builds as well. David said architects and designers are taking another look at cement, which they formerly regarded as "unfun" industrial flooring. He said his clients are tired of being limited in their designs, but the addition of coloring to the cement offers new options. 

"You can get very intricate and fun with your design and be fairly on the high side of the [price] scale with this product," David said. "But if you compare, it actually works out to be more cost - effective than traditional flooring products." 

The colored cement can be poured around other design elements in the floor to create the mixed-media look as well. Medallions or metal strips can be set into the floor, then the concrete would be poured around them. The resulting surface is smooth, but it meets all slip-resistance requirements of the ADA, David said. 

The good news is hard surface floorcovering-hardwood, marble, tile and cement- has high durability and low maintenance, Carter said. But the bad news is sometimes end-users just have to bite the bullet and replace the flooring to update a design even before the flooring has worn out.