We have engineered wood (floating over cement floor) throughout the ground floor and love it - it's easy to keep clean and looks fantastic. I've had a few hot oil splashes in the kitchen and it cleans up just fine. My husband fitted it (experienced DIYer) and he says it was easy and straightforward, he followed the same logic - you can rectify a disaster with floating floor, whereas once glued there is no going back. I've also noticed the floor contracting /expanding a tiny bit throughout the year which I'm not sure how would work out if it was glued down. The only thing I'd say is make sure you cement underfloor is as level as possible, and then level it out some more - we didn't bother too much and the floorboards do squeak in one place over a slightly uneven bit. We got the best insulation we found and I'd never noticed it being particularly cold. We are moving next year and having the same floor but with underfloor heating and no radiators - it'd be fabulous! Good luck on your project!

Having just gone through exactly the same process and spent literally hours trawling the internet, visiting showrooms and speaking to companies on the phone we ended up ordering with Unfitted from Moreton-in -Marsh. Other companies we considered were deVOL (rather expensive!) and Main kitchen company in York. Unfitted pricing is very comparable to Evie Willow and a bit more than Shaker Kitchen Company, however they have a showroom you can go and view the cabinetry. They are also super, super helpful, nothing is too much trouble and they will come out for free and help with designs, ideas etc. Ask for Mark the owner.

I agree with people voting for no hob on the island. We come across a lot of customers liking the idea but.. unless you have a raised breakfast bar on the other side, what is going to serve as a splashback while you are cooking? You'll end up splattering the worktop (and people sitting on the other side of the island) while you are making delicious stir fries or curries.. Not ideal.. So maybe going for a hob next to a wall might be more practical. Unless you go for a downdraft extractor fan than can act as your splashback.. Please see images showing the difference attached. Good luck!

Oh wow, you're so right! I've definitely been to friends’ or family members’ homes where they were super excited about their new floors—but the room ended up being way louder than before. I never even thought about how much soundproofing matters! This is honestly super helpful. I’ve never done any DIY and really have no clue when it comes to flooring. I usually just go for whatever looks the nicest—or whatever’s trending at the moment, haha. It’s so helpful having insights like this so I can actually look into things more and hopefully guide people better. We don’t offer installation—just the product—so it can be tough when lovely older customers call in trying to redo their floors on a tight budget. I often feel awful when I can't steer them in the right direction. So thank you—this kind of info really makes a difference!