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Flooring Design Dilemma

What wood flooring for the living room in a Victorian terraced house?

4 years ago

Please help me make a decision on flooring.

I have a through living room of a very modest size (quite narrow) and am seeking help in choosing between parquet flooring or plank flooring. The latter would involve reinstating existing pine floorboards over plywood (to cut drafts) and adding some reclaimed boards where necessary. All then sanded and finished. Hopefully the effect would be pleasingly simple but there would be gaps between the boards and I'm not so keen on a very knotty pine floor look. However the parquet might just look a bit over the top in a smallish room...The other main design feature to note is the recently installed Crittall-style doors in black.

Any help would be very gratefully received including on colour choices.

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Comments (9)

minnie101
4 years ago
Do you have pictures at all?

i would probably go for parquet personally, a chevron or herringbone will make the room feel wider. Either would go with crittall though. We had our bedroom floorboards restored earlier this year and whilst it's fine for a bedroom, I might hesitate over such a soft wood floor for the living room although it depends on your lifestyle. We used a ladder to hang curtains after ours was done with a thick towel doubled up underneath and now have ladder marks in the floor! I'm not overly fussed over them but it's something to consider. We also need to get a chippie in as the gap between the floor and skirting board is really quite large in places although that may not be an issue if you're re-laying them. You can buy products such as draughtex for the gaps between the boards but there are a few similar products around.
moorlikeit
Original Author
4 years ago
Many thanks Minnie. Resilience is definitely something to consider.
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minnie101
4 years ago
No wood is going to be indestructible but pine is super soft, I also dropped something really light on it and caused a dent before the guy even finished restoring the floor lol!

the other thing I meant to ask, is have you actually seen the boards? I only ask as not sure of the age of yours but the planks got narrower and narrower from the Georgian to the Victorian era. Ours is 1840 so they're quite wide but if it's a later Victorian the skinnier planks may emphasis the narrowness or be a bit busy?
moorlikeit
Original Author
4 years ago
Yes definitely skinny planks. I will try and find pics. We are looking for a pared back look so we are keen that the flooring does not jump up at you. There will be a couple of large size rugs to zone the room. As these have not been chosen yet, we are also aware that a plain look may make that choice easier. We are thinking lighter tones to increase the sense of space: have you any thoughts on that aspect?
minnie101
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Well the other option is to go for wide planks, again because there are few joint lines it looks less busy and wider (you could probably go wider than the ones in this picture). In terms of space I think it depends on the wall colour, if you've got a really dark floor against light walls/skirting it tends to make the room feel quite a bit smaller as your eyes kind of rest on the contrast between the 2. Having furniture that is on legs will also make the space feel bigger as you can see the floor beneath
Huw Buckley
4 years ago
Depends on the state of the subfloor. For lvt it needs to be in decent condition so may need screeding if a solid floor. I used wood effect parquet style lvt strips (Polyflor Expona medium oak) which is commercial grade so should be hard wearing. Was about 30 quid per sqm I think.
moorlikeit
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks for highlighting another aspect.
PRO
Italian Design Ltd
4 years ago
Removing existing pine floorboards, installing plywood and re-installing old pine floorboards would be very unpractical and you would end up with an old pine floor.

Then of course you need to sand it, fill the gaps and finish the pine boards. It will be time consuming and expensive.

Unless you really like the style of old pine floorboards, I think you should go for a new floor.

You can chose between a variety of different styles, colour and materials. If want to go for parquet I suggest to use small herringbone or like 90x360mm or similar as longer planks will look too big in small spaces. Parquet is available in engineered wood, laminate and LVT and prices varies but start from as little as £15 sqm for laminate.

Alternatively you may want to look at planks again in laminate, LVT or engineered wood with prices starting again at around £15 sqm.

LVT is probably the most durable solution but the subfloor i.e. your old pine boards must be very flat and sound.

Engineered wood and laminate both herringbone/chevron and planks can be installed either glued down to your existing floor or over an underlay. Both installation method will take care of draught. Consider lighter tones and the same material throughout if possible.

hope this helps
PRO
RJ Flooring Specialists
4 years ago
Can't beat a beautiful engineered oak herringbone in my opinion.
In an older house I'd get a nice tumbled looks rather than perfectly formed blocks

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