With a plethora of wallpaper and textile designs trending at any one time, from geometrics and marble through to florals or botanicals, avoiding a clash with the more permanent décor features that you don’t want to upgrade regularly – such as flooring – is crucial. Furthermore, when selecting a new wood-style floor covering, you want to be sure it will stand up to the wear and tear of family life for years to come and purchase your dream product at a reasonable price.

 

 

#Prestige Herringbone Classic Natural Oak Laminate Flooring – currently £18.98 sq m

 

Let’s not break the bank

Real wood is beautiful and also feels lovely, but it comes at a cost – budget for around £40 to £50 a square metre. Plus, there is also a certain amount of upkeep required if you want it to remain pristine, as well as a higher installation cost to factor in. At the other end of the scale at around a fifth of the cost, you have laminate – at approximately £10 to £20 a square metre. It’s so much more hardwearing than it used to be and there are certainly some good quality products out there that are just as attractive as the popular Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) – a quick scroll of Factory Direct Flooring’s laminate flooring range illustrates the wide array of looks that can be had.

LVT – which also describes wood style planks as well as tiles – is a good option for mid-range budgets. It’s an extremely popular product, especially for DIY-ers because it just clicks together, even the seemingly complicated herringbone style flooring. At £20 to £30 a square metre it’s a cost-effective choice, especially considering some brands offer 10 year or more warranties and are 100% waterproof. With the traditional DIY period starting at Easter, there will be some great sales on. However, if you’re not quite ready to buy now, I’d always suggest doing your research early for fairly large home investments, such as flooring. Order samples – which should be free – make your choice, and be ready to purchase the product you want the next time there’s an offer on.   

 

Style longevity

Herringbone designs have dominated the flooring world in the last couple of years, with homeowners aspiring to a classic parquet or contemporary chevron design. The type of wooden flooring trend is here to stay, especially with new ‘patchwork’ trends emerging on plank layout and colour. Herringbone of course complements wallpapers with structured patterns, such as stripes or geometrics, emphasising the clean lines look, as well as rooms without any fuss. If bold print curtains or cushions, patterned rugs and intricate or illustrative wallpapers are likely to be in your interior design wish list in the coming years, you may want to opt for a wider wooden plank with minimal grain to help achieve balance and a spacious look, instead of a herringbone.    

 

Aqua Plank Loft Oak Click LVT Flooring – currently £20.94 sq m

 

Setting the tone

A mid-to-dark-toned oak is very adaptable to different colours, whether on a wall or in soft furnishings  – just look at this image of a ‘Loft Oak’ from Aqua Plank and then review the Pantone Colours of the Year since 2000, and I’m sure you can see there’s huge flexibility in the tone. This year’s olives, guacamoles, skies and surf colours particularly suit oaks I think, but equally the upcoming lavenders and mars-inspired red trends will pop against these types of flooring.

Harvest, natural and nectar oak tones also lend themselves to cottagecore florals, botanicals and all sorts of mural walls as well as the current biophilic design trend, earthy tones and super simple, light schemes – as you can see in the image. However, if your core style is monochrome and you change things up with small pops of colour or print, you might want to opt for a grey plank.

 

Light and bright  

You know your style best, and your home, so if you’re never going to enter the world of dark décor or you have a room with less than desirable natural light, choose a pale coloured flooring. Light and muted wood tones achieve a clean, contemporary and airy feel and walls look their best in cool tones against this kind of flooring style – with whites, greys, blush and warm neutrals being the ideal pairing partners. Again, wider planks also enhance the aesthetic. Soft furnishings, especially rugs and sofa cushions, can really take centre stage, whether you’re using contrasting block colour, pattern or layered shades. Remember rugs, cushions and other textiles can create interest with texture rather than pattern – think bouclé, berbers and shaggy.

Flooring can often be an overlooked element in décor, but with the choices, you can make sure your flooring looks good within the whole design for years, however you choose redecorate or restyle… and however frequently you choose to do it.

 

Choose wooden flooring that will survive is a feature post