Need Flooring help please for an open plan kitchen/dining/living space

6 years ago

We really need some help please.
We are just about to embark on an extension to create an open plan kitchen/diner/living space, with bifolds and v-lux Windows.
We’ve chosen the kitchen and gone with a Neptune kitchen in white with a white quartz top, as shown In the photos below.
We want to keep the room quite classical and light and in keeping with the Victorian style of our house.
Our challenge is choosing a flooring, as we want low maintenance as we are time poor (and generally terrible at upkeep), with two very small children and cats.
We are going for UFH.
We previously looked at limestone flagstone tiles, which we could continue into be patio outside but worried it would look cold for a family room and be hard to maintain (spillages with little ones), we also considered porcelain tiles and now looking at Amtico/kardean wood effect (although costly and does it look like wood). As we love the look of wood flooring but wood or engineered wood might not wear well in a kitchen/with kids and I hear it’s not great with UFH.
Please could I have your thoughts on a good looking floor for this type of open plan space and one that will suit our low maintenance/high traffic need.
The extension is costing so much and we need to get it right. Here are some visuals of the kitchen (not the whole space).
Would love people’s views and recommendations? Many thanks!!

Featured Answer

Carolina

6 years ago

If you are going for an LVT floor, a herringbone or Hungarian point (chevron) would look beautiful. I'd go for a medium to light wood colour.

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Comments (21)

Tani H-S
6 years ago
I also second the LVT (luxury vinyl tiles or planks) as ideal for your room after asking the same question myself recently.
It seems to be the most durable option that's warm underfoot when the UFH isn't on, softer for kids and droppages and also requires little or not maintenance.

The herringbone would look stunning in an oak effect
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Carolina
6 years ago
If you scroll down on this thread, you’ll see pics of the LVT floor they went for.
https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/floor-for-kitchen-with-cashmere-units-and-oak-worktops-dsvw-vd~4939676
Lisa HE
6 years ago
We have a mostly white kitchen (plus a graphite island) with white quartz tops and eventually went for karndean wood effect planks with ufh. We were able to match the planks with an almost identical ceramic plank for our outside terrace. Originally I’d wanted large white porcelain (rejected as half our floor solid and half suspended) then moved to quickstep laminate in white - but a dog, cat and 2 kids eventually pushed me to the karndean wood effect. Have to say we love it. Thinking of extending to other rooms downstairs. Hopefully you can zoom into this pic.
miriram_lloyd
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks so much everyone! That’s so helpful!
I’ll look into the herringbone in oak.
I’d previously thought the Amtico LVT wooden planks in a light grey colour oak effect.. like the middle sample?
Jemma Todd
6 years ago
Hi we have amtico throughout our kitchen, hallway and bathrooms. It's been down 10 years and barely looks any different from the day it was laid. I would highly recommend luxury vinyl and think a warm wood tone would look lovely in your space.
Lisa HE
6 years ago
The grey is lovely - however once I’d dropped the dream of a white floor, we went a bit warmer with the Opus Ignea as we had the grey island as well as white units to consider. If you want a wood effect, be sure to use design strips to get that authentic plank look.
bruket
6 years ago
I have this last year had a house built, one level and open plan. I have the same porcelain tiles all over the house even on the terrace. Instead of wooden skirting boards I have strips of the same tiles. I have underfloor heating and it is wonderful to walk on. The tiles have a matt soft grey colour and I have a few colourful rugs to mark out different areas. It looks great, I chose tiles because I had it in my old house and I was very pleased with it there. One change I made was this time the grouting lines are very thin.
minnie101
6 years ago
I agree with Lisa the grey amtico is nice however with the white kitchen I think the room could look quite cold. I’d also look at a warm oak and use the design strips. What flooring do you have in the rest of downstairs?
Carolina
6 years ago
If at all possible, get samples together and look at them in the actual space when it's being built. I mean samples of the kitchen paint colour(s) and a couple of floor samples and hold them together. You'll be surprised how much difference the light in situ makes on colours.
miriram_lloyd
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks, that’s really useful and good points about it looking cold, I will look at more warmer wood colours.
Are there any specific warm oaks that you think would look good?
When you say design planks to make it more authentic would that be a pattern like herringbone and not just straight planks?
I thought the straight planks would still look authentic?
As although I think the herringbone patterns look lovely, I worry it could make the room look smaller/busier and we are really trying to open up the space and classical.
In the rest of downstairs we have some Victorian tiles in the hallway. And then the original wooden floor ways in the the spectate living room with rugs (although this is going to be carpeted due to it being very drafty and cold for the kids unfortunately).
Thanks again for all your help!!!
minnie101
6 years ago
The design strips, as shown, go between the planks to make it look more authentic. If you went for a herringbone laid from the long wall to the long wall it will make the room look wider and parquet is a very classical style. Normal planks are also classic though and it’s a cheaper option. Maybe decide on either option and people can advise on style? Most of my local shops stock Karndean rather than amtico and I have to say imo they vary hugely between how realistic they actually look.
minnie101
6 years ago
Without strips for comparison
Lisa HE
6 years ago
If you go to a main karndean stockist they’ll have a table you can lay out samples on with and without the design strips to see the difference. Not all stockists seem to be aware of them, strangely, just kept offering those contrast border panels which weren’t the look I was after. The design strips are thin strips of rubber that lay between the planks to replicate the look of real/engineered planks. They come in a variety of shades to suit the finish you want. They are an additional cost on top.
PRO
Floor Monster
6 years ago
Hi there,

When it comes to engineered wooden floors they have been designed to work in conjunction with under floor heating so there is no issue there. If you are looking to go for a wooden floor then we would recommend going for an engineered board with a brushed and lacquered finish.

The brushed texture will hide and scratches or scuffs that may occur, the lacquer on the board. Generally our boards come with 8 coats of Super Matte Lacquer. The lacquer will help protect the board from any spillages seeping into the board.

If you have an idea of the colour you would be looking to go for we would be more than happy to suggest some suitable products.

We also have some very realistic laminate Flooring by Kronoswiss. The Kronoswiss origins ranges comes in at 14mm thick. It is An AC5 Grade, each laminate is graded between AC1 - AC5. AC5 being the most durable. These boards have been designed to take heavy traffic. The origins range comes with the new Aqua stop technology, stopping spillages from seeping into the board for up to 72 hours. Giving reassurance if any spillages do happen.

Here are some of the boards from the Origins range.

This is the Kronoswiss Rock Oak

Kronoswiss Moon

Kronoswiss Sunset.

See full range here.

If you do have any further queries or suggest a colour of flooring we will try our best to point you in the right directions. You can either give us a call on 0141 8875 5698 or you can drop us an email at info@floormonster.co.uk

kind Regards,

Floor Monster Team
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I would avoid grey as it could look too cold. Herringbone patterns can make help to change the proportions of a room and make narrow spaces look wider if necessary.A mid tone whitewashed/bleached look may work.
gemm_thomas
6 years ago
Just to add to the recommendations for luxury vinyl. We'd have loved Karndean especially in a parquet style but fitting costs seemed to be around double that for planks. We went for Quickstep Livyn in a light warm oak which was quite a bit cheaper and are really happy with it.
PRO
Floor Monster
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
We also have a range of Laminate Herringbones which come in at 12mm. We would be more than to send samples of this range if it was something of interest. See full range here.
sarah67534
6 years ago
I´m also all about using warm toned floors in grey kitchens, it can really brighten up the space. We have an all-white kitchen and we had Gerflor Senso put in. It´s vinyl and looks really good, even with our dogs and kids, it´s holding up well! It´s also waterproof, which is a nice bonus. My husband got it in this shop called Bricoflor. https://www.bricoflor.co.uk/
PRO
Casa Colori
6 years ago
Hi Miriam, the kitchen you chose looks lovely. I personally would go for wooden like vinyl tile, possible light grey once to match your kitchen. Vinyl won't get damaged by water spills, kitchen utensil let alone children; nowadays there are so many amazing wooden like vinyl tiles. Another option could be victorian style tiles, however they might be damaged more easily than vinyl.

I hope it is of help
PRO
Woodpecker Flooring
6 years ago
Hi Miriram, beautiful kitchen! We think that if you'd like to keep it light and in-keeping with the Victorian feel then we'd definitely suggest a white/ashen parquet floor. This could look beautiful with your units and worktops. It's a lovely mix of traditional and contemporary style:

Goodrich Whitened Oak · More Info
Goodrich Whitened Oak

Or, an ashen colour to create more contrast:

Goodrich Feather Oak · More Info
Goodrich Feather Oak

These are engineered boards and they work well with underfloor heating, creating an even and comfortable warmth. Take a look at our advice on pairing the UFH with wood flooring here for more info.

If you're worried about the upkeep of a wood floor then take a look at our cleaning advice - the main thing to take care of is cleaning up spills quickly.

I hope that helps!

Best wishes,

Hannah | Woodpecker Flooring