This is a question i get asked all the time. We sell miles of Wood Effect Porcelain Tiles for anything from a small cloakroom floor to huge living spaces. Like someone said Porcelain is Cold to touch where as the real thing, not as much. Most of the Builds we supply it to are installing Water underfloor heating throughout the areas its being fixed to so you avoid this problem. With the phenomenal technology being used to create these tiles they are now available in Lengths of up to 1700, they are looking more and more authentic. With hundreds of factories around the globe all giving it their best shot there really are some true stunners that not only fool the eye but the touch too. The positives of Porcelain really outweigh the negatives, no warping, no swelling, no staining or scratching. We once had a customer that replaced her traditional wood with porcelain because it was so much easy to look after and she didn't need to worry about her cleaner using the wrong product and staining it. Be careful with Amtico as they are not all UV protected and can fade. Take a look at our http://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/2107824/wood-effect-tiles-dolphin-wood for just a small insight into how Porcelain effect tiles can really transform any area of the home. Hope this helps.

Hi Lou. I remember seeing this one on houzz previously. It wasn't a bad price either https://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/industrial-grey-antique-oak-parquet-harley-street-london-scandinavian-kitchen-london-phvw-vp~24486693

Tracey, those are encaustics which tend to be 18-20mm in depth, your wood will most likely be engineered ply if you have underfloor heating and depths vary 12mm upward. If one or the other substrate needs to be built up to accommodate the other that is possible. Be aware there will be some movement between the two, more so if you are using long boards, less with parquet, so consider how best to deal with any movement or expansion between the two. There are plenty of products available for this. Make sure your encaustics are sealed correctly. You could also find the cleaning regimen of the two finishes may be very different. Lithoflin for encaustics - and oil/wax for an oiled floor, that's not a great combination, so perhaps an easy maintenance wood might be better in the long run.

Engineered wood flooring is fine over the top of under floor heating, you just have to buy the right stuff, here's an article on that subject:- Solid wood flooring company Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, as i think that tiles in the formal room would have been too much. Plus you've got the grout to keep clean and that's a lot of flooring. Maybe you could look into Karndean or other LVT products ( Luxury Vinyl Flooring ). No grout and you can have it look like tiles or wood.