Floored for choice

If you are jaded with conventional carpet, combine beauty with practicality to take the right step in alternative flooring.

A natural weave - Coir, sisal, jute and seagrass come in a range of colours, weave patterns and even printed finishes. You might be surprised how rough some of these materials are on tender bare feet, so have a touch test if you regularly kick off your shoes at home or want to put a prickly, but hard wearing coir upstairs. Check with your supplier for the ease of maintenance too as some open weaves can become dusty. Some natural floor coverings are unsuitable for stairs as they can become polished and slippy with use. Compares in price to a good wool carpet from 30Euro a square yard and up.

Out on the tiles - Hardwearing, versatile and very Now, tile flooring ranges from 25Euro per square yard for a good ceramic tile to the floor-is-the-limit for imported natural stones such as marble. Matched to underfloor heating, tile floors provide the warm, elegant radiator-free interiors of the executive style homes featured in many interiors magazines. Choose your tile floor carefully, with an eye to both safety and maintenance. A glazed tile on a wet bathroom floor can be lethal, and many natural stones tiles and require dainty treatment to maintain their good looks. If you have a conventional heating system, ceramic tile or stone throughout leisure areas can be visually and physically cold demanding the addition of some rugs for children to sprawl on. Superb choice if you have anyone in the family with a respiratory problem such as asthma as it is virtually impossible to hide dirt and dust on a tile floor. The installation of tile flooring is best left to the professionals. In a new build, seriously consider underfloor heating to turn your acres of tile into toe-warming economical storage heaters.

Vinyl for the record - If you thing vinyl is an old fashioned cheap or cheesy choice, think again. Vinyl is back in high style and can be as costly as 120Euro a square yard! Flexible and therefore reasonably easy to fit, vinyl is warmer than tile flooring while being equally tough, smooth and hygienic. More expensive makes feature a layered construction, which give a cushioned spring to the step and add to their durability. Gloriously 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. Carpet is not a practical or hygienic choice for the bathroom or kitchen, but there are very specific carpet style linoleums such as Flotex (01-4568422), that suit these situations

Treading the boards - You certainly get what you pay for in solid wood flooring, so buy the best you can afford. Hardwood planks or parquet are a superb choice but cost in many cases at least twice the price of their softwood equivalents at around 45Euro per square yard unfitted. Wood flooring needs careful acclimation before installation and requires regular maintenance. Wood floors must be adequately protected from damp and soft timbers can be easily gouged by heels, chair legs and animal claws. Solid wood floors are not ideal for high moisture areas such as bathrooms where they are quite likely to warp. Wood is irresistible to the eye, warm to the touch and suits underfloor heating. Consider the benefits of laminate products from 15Euro a square yard. Laminates are highly convincing, cheaper and easier to install than solid wood flooring, with a suggested life of over ten years. ‘Click’ flooring that slips into place without even nails is easily within the range of any DIY enthusiast with a free weekend. Check out www.floorwise.ie for the Grand Prix range of laminates. As all wooden floors have to kept clean to look at their best they are perfect for dust allergy sufferers.

What a corker! Cork is not as popular as it used to be, but remains a beautiful, mellow, natural material with a highly attractive mottled appearance. It is reasonably hardwearing, is easy to install, and if you really grow to love it’s grainy landscape you can even run it up the wall! Most cork comes in packets of tiles or in panels and it is put down in exactly the same manner as vinyl. You will have to ensure the sub-floor is level, and if in doubt install a hardboard surface to take the tiles and ensure they will not shift and lift in the future. Preparation is everything and no floor will look good if not properly installed and adequately maintained.