These floors were made for walking
Vinyl is not the cheap, second choice and can be a high style performer as costly as €120 per metre². Flexible and reasonably easy to fit, it’s warm to the touch while being tough, smooth and hygienic.
The latest high-end vinyl is a multi-layered product with a high scuff and stain resistance. Its layered construction adds a cushioned spring to the step and increases durability as the vinyl is not driven straight down into the slab when in use.
Easy to clean with just a mop, a good quality vinyl is perfect for bathrooms and kitchens and other high traffic areas that require tough waterproof flooring.
Marmoleum is a ‘natural’ lino, comprised of linseed oil, rosins, wood and cork flour — all-natural ingredients that require relatively little energy to harvest.
Trending: If you choose a vinyl to work as a wood or stone pretender, expect a widely random pattern in ‘naturally’ occurring inclusions, and colour variation that won’t immodestly give it away. Parador is one of the names to look for in perfecting these production techniques.
Like solid and laminate wood, cool naturally inspired colours like washed oak are key trends and grey is riding high in abstract floors.
Don’t dismiss bold abstracts from market leaders such as Amtico, in inky dark linen-style weaves and industrial inspired concrete textures.
You certainly get what you pay for in solid wood flooring, so buy the best you can afford. Hardwood planks and parquet cost in many cases at least twice the price of their engineered and softwood equivalents at around €60 per square yard unfitted.
Wood flooring needs careful acclimation before installation, allowing for movement, and regular maintenance.
Soft timbers can be easily gouged by heels, chair legs and animal claws and wood is not ideal for high moisture areas such as bathrooms where it’s likely to warp and lift.
Engineered wood flooring, (with a solid layer of wood over a core of high performance stable materials), is at a lower price point in general.
Trending: Soft white, silver and hazy greys are everywhere. In wide planks of 210-240mm woods and engineered floors these have a pleasing ‘limed’ look raising the characteristics of the grain without being overly ‘weathered.’
A good example would be Sandycove Oak from Trunk Flooring with its dusty nautical finish. If you love your darks and have the budget, look for walnut or maple in a hand-pared floor — highly unusual with its sleek, riven texture.
Maple is an often neglected hardwood, and was the talk of the London Design Festival for colour and performance.
Laminates (with a synthetic upper face aping wood, tile or stone) come in boards and panels that are cheap and easy to install with a suggested life of over ten years.
The top brands, including Pergo, trumpet a 25-year guarantee. Used simply for just plank designs, laminate can now deliver tiles, parquet and more. ‘Click’ flooring that slips into place without nailing, such as Quickstep, is easily within the range of any DIY enthusiast with a free weekend. Laminate is perfect for dust allergy sufferers when kept well vacuumed. A dedicated underlay will deliver a better feel underfoot.
Don’t confuse laminate with waterproof flooring. It may be water resistant, but the high density fibreboard (HDF) at its core is not suited to bathroom pooling. Fully waterproof flooring should have a plastic PVC core.
Trending: Authenticity including wormholes, nail holes, hand-scraping and deep ‘gouges’ in laminate wood styles will either inspire or annoy and it seem strange to offer reclaimed flooring styles in the most unnatural of our smooth flooring choices. ‘Saw-cuts’ that ape the imperfect shiver of the edge cutting the timber are everywhere in wood floors and now available in laminate flooring.
Hardwearing, versatile and easy to care for, tile flooring ranges from as little as €13 per metre for ceramic to hundreds of euro for imported natural stones such as marble.
Variation in sizes, borders, grout colours and feature inserts can tailor a truly bespoke finish. Installation costs per metre can outstrip the cost of the product — and that’s important to note. Tiling throughout leisure areas can be visually cool but.
This is a superb choice if you have anyone in the family with a respiratory problem as it is virtually impossible to hide dirt and dust on a tile floor.
In a new build or extension, seriously consider underfloor heating to turn your acres of tile into warming economical storage heaters.
Trending: Oversized tiles in ceramic and porcelain, favoured by hotels and spas, are currently very popular, together with very plain porcelain tiling in steely grey. Match walls and floors for ultimate calm in the bathroom. In natural stone, large limestone slab styles are key. Black and white and even a return to period encaustic tile is also seeing an upswing, a character choice for kitchens and halls.
