Advice 2 min read

How to Choose the Right Floor for Your Home

Five questions, answered in order, and the choice narrows itself. A practical route through the decision rather than a catalogue.

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On this page

Answer these in order
The five questions
What each construction is good at
Then order samples
Look it up before you decide

Answer these in order

Most people start with colour and work backwards, then discover halfway through that the floor they fell for cannot go in the room. Reversing the order removes almost all of the frustration.

The room sets the constraints. Within those constraints, taste decides. That is the whole method.

Good to know: Colour is the easiest thing to change your mind about and the last thing that should narrow the field.

The five questions

Each one removes options, and by the fifth you have a shortlist rather than a catalogue.

Is there underfloor heating?

If yes, solid wood is out. Engineered wood, LVT and tiles are all suitable. This single answer removes more options than any other.

How much water does the room see?

Bathrooms point to porcelain, or to rigid vinyl where its maker approves the room; a wet room with a floor drain points to porcelain. Kitchens are fine with LVT or engineered wood if spills are wiped.

How hard is the traffic?

Hallways and family homes reward a matt textured finish and a busier grain, which disguise daily marks.

What is the subfloor?

Concrete favours engineered or LVT. Timber joists open the door to solid wood. It also decides your fitting method.

Now choose the look

Width, tone, grade and finish. By this point the constraints have done the hard work.

What each construction is good at

A short summary to check your answer against.

Engineered wood

Real oak, stable, suitable for underfloor heating, repairable. The default choice in most modern homes.

Solid wood

The traditional floor for timber subfloors in period properties. Not suitable over underfloor heating.

LVT

Handles water, warm and quiet underfoot, suitable for underfloor heating. Kitchens, bathrooms and busy hallways.

Tiles

The most water resistant and the best heat conductor. Cold without underfloor heating.

Laminate

A printed surface. Does a real job on a tighter budget in a dry room.

Then order samples

No screen shows you oak. Colour, sheen and texture all change with the light in your own room, and this is the step that prevents an expensive change of mind.

Shortlist about three

Enough to compare, few enough to decide between.

Look in daylight and lamplight

A tone that works at noon can be completely different at seven in the evening.

Put it against your skirting

And against the door frames and the kitchen units. Those are what it has to live with.

Leave it down for a week

Samples are 1.99 pounds each, up to 10 per order and 2 per product. The right one usually announces itself.

Look it up before you decide

The three reference pages behind this guide: every floor type in the range with its construction and where it belongs, the standards and trade guidance the numbers on this site come from, and the glossary for the terms on a product page.