How we choose the flooring for our home
Choosing the flooring for your home is a big, big, big decision. It’s so important because once it’s down it can be hard to change if you’re not a fan.
As part of our house renovation we have changed pretty much all the flooring across the entire house with the exception of the loft, stairs and the landing, but that will soon change. Hopefully. There are plans in the making.
The downstairs of the house is where most of the changes have happened not only to the flooring, but to the entire layout and style of the property. Those of you who have been following me for a while will know that last year we extended the existing kitchen and dining room to create a big kitchen extension, and we have also renovated most of the house since we moved in just over two years ago.
Flooring has played a huge role in the renovation. In the new kitchen extension I opted for a light oak engineered chevron wood floor to create impact, wow factor and style, and also because I wanted something to soften the black kitchen. The engineered chevron wood boards are laid on screed containing the underfloor heating pipes, placed on top of insulation and a concrete slab base. If you’re looking for a supplier of concrete for your home renovation, Ridge Concrete can help with this. I must say that the concrete pour for the slab base was one of the more exciting parts of the build, particularly for the kids, with a big concrete pipe coming into the house from a concrete pump and lorry on the road.
In the hallway I opted for tiles rather than wood. The reason for this was that I wanted impact (and monochrome). I also wanted something that would be easy to clean from the dirty buggy wheels and scooters coming into the house. Lastly I wanted something that was a modern take on a traditional tiled Edwardian floor. For synergy we have the same tiles flowing in to the downstairs toilet and on the fireplace hearth in the living room.
Last up is the living room. I initially would have liked a wood chevron floor here matching the kitchen, but sadly budget didn’t quite allow for this. Instead we opted for the same wood, but as long boards, helping to draw your eye into the room.
When choosing flooring for your home there are a couple of things to think about…..
Practicality
All flooring will be subject to general wear and tear, but some are more susceptible to damage more than others. We have a few child battering marks on the kitchen floor, which is normal, it is wood after all. Most you can’t see unless you are looking at it really closely. To avoid this, there are plenty of other options including tiles, laminate, LVT or concrete, which also may be subject to general wear and tear. One of the reasons we went with wood rather than tiles, was to soften the space, but I do find the room fairly echo-y still, and this could be a lot worse with tiles. When it comes to practicality there’s plenty to think about, and I would advise that you shop around and order samples before making your final decision.
Style
There are literally hundreds of styles of flooring that you can choose from, and you may end up choosing style over practicality depending on the style and look that you are trying to achieve for your home. To help ease the style selection process for yourself use Instagram and Pinterest for ideas and inspiration, and to help consolidate what styles you like best. Then go and see the type of flooring, get samples, so you can actually see the style and quality for yourself. At the same time think about whether it is going work in the room that you are creating and your home overall.
Budget
Last up is budget which could hugely influence the style of flooring that you choose. Flooring is expensive so set aside a budget for this, or consider all the options that can fit into your budget. For example you can choose LVT Herringbone floors which may work out more cost effective. To give you a guide we spent just under 10% of our build budget on flooring which allowed for the purchase of the floor, the adhesives, the oil, the tiles and to have the flooring installed. So it’s really important that you consider your budget for flooring, it’s a huge part of a room and can’t just be an after thought or a rushed decision. One of my most frequently asked questions is about our kitchen flooring, it’s a big feature of our kitchen, and I’m really pleased that we choose a chevron floor in here to add impact and some quirkyness to the space.
So those are some of my tips for choosing a floor for your home. I hope you found it useful and I would love to hear what you chose if you’re in the middle of a renovation.
Claire x
This is a collaborative post with Ridge Concrete.