Is the room open plan or separate? If its separate you can do something different? What is the current floor? Could you supply a pic please?

It is open plan

Nothing can be done with the kitchen area as wood too damaged.
We had a walk knocked hence the strange look

That is a really good space and I love the old pine floors. Kitchen flooring is tricky if you are not replacing your kitchen. I like porcelain tiles. Really hardwearing and super easy to clean. That said you have a suspended floor and it will need a backing layer of ply to provide a base for the tiles so that they don't crack. Its always preferable to tile right up to the wall but if the kitchen is staying then this won't be possible. You could replace the damaged portion with pine and stain it all so the colour is consistent. I am not the best person to ask about LVT, laminate, etc as not a fan but it might be a very practical option for your family. Has the existing floor been sanded and refinished many times? That would be my first option to see if refinishing is possible?

Hi Isla,
Thank you for showing an interest in my dilemma.
The floors have been sanded and stained and varnished many times over the years (house was built in the 70s). The kitchen cannot be sanded anymore. I do like the floorboards but my issue is that if I keep them and just change the kitchen that it may look quite strange/too busy.

I was reluctant to cover the boards with a laminate, however I do love the herringbone and have seen some beautiful laminate versions. I wonder would herringbone just look too busy in the space.

I like having the same type of floor in all the rooms to keep the flow.

Again, I have seen some fabulous tiles too. I just don’t know what to do and what would look well.

What would you do? Do you have pictures of floors that may work?

I prefer natural materials and the consistency of tiles but there are some lovely laminate versions. You will also need to make good where the wall was removed so I am assuming the floor needs to go over the gap? Your kitchen units are a lovely shade of blue so any grey and white tiles would look great. Do you like patterned or plain? I will find you some examples. If you are not replacing your kitchen at this time I would look at a laminate but not herringbone as it will clash with your existing floor in the dining area. Too busy.

This is a lovely subtle floor covering. Try to think of the floor choice in conjunction with the dining area. You want a contrast but nothing too bright as the kitchen already has colour. You could also consider wood effect porcelain tiles. Hardwearing but very practical.

https://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/hand-painted-kitchen-transitional-kitchen-belfast-phvw-vp~124229120

Thanks Isla,

We are keeping the kitchen. The photo may not show the colour very well. It’s an off white colour.

I was considering covering all the floors downstairs in laminate herringbone from the hall into the kitchen/dining and then on into the sitting room.

I feel that just tiling the kitchen (even though I’ve seen some beautiful tiles) and leaving the rest of downstairs as pine floorboards, maybe it’ll look strange?

I love natural materials too. I like patterns for small areas as a fun experiment! But for big areas and things that can’t be changed easily, I prefer to go natural and timeless

I love your pine floors. I know what you mean about only doing some of it (replacing the kitchen floor) but if its the whole downstairs rather than the kitchen then thats a whole different ballgame.

I’m trying to decide what to do.
Either just the kitchen or else just go with the whole lot.

Would you think herringbone laminate in all the rooms would look too busy??

No it wouldn't look too busy, if you choose a light colour its calming. Might be the solution you are looking for. I find it hard to clean and very plastic looking so not for me. This article might help you with your kitchen flooring choice.

https://www.houzz.co.uk/magazine/kitchen-planning-how-to-choose-the-perfect-flooring-stsetivw-vs~40025198

Thanks Isla. I really appreciate the time you’ve spent helping me!

Last thing, if this was your house, what would you do? And what else would you change?

I’m moving the bookcase to another room and getting a lower smaller mid century slim console with shelves and drawers. It’s beautiful.

I love your floor as it is but appreciate you need to change the kitchen part. Have a look at Claybrook studio, they have some beautiful tiles. I hate laminate everywhere. It would put me off buying a house but thats just me. If you change all the flooring then I would definitely try and use wood or engineered wood. I don't know how long you are planning to stay there or your budget but I would seriously think twice before ripping up pine floors to replace with laminate or LVT. I have engineered oak everywhere. Not my choice but nice to live with as it looks warm. You could refinish your pine floors everywhere else with white oil after sanding and stripping. It would look amazing. I did it years ago. No one would believe it was the same floor. If you decide on a laminate and some are very tempting I would try and keep it in the kitchen only. Your console sounds lovely.

This is our home and we’ve no plans to leave. 😅
Last thing , if we were to just tile the kitchen, the kitchen floor will be higher than the rest of the floors. Would you have any advice on what to do to make it look ok and not be a tripping hazard?

Thats a very tricky one. You may not have a huge step as the pine floor would come out to be replaced with marine ply to form a base for the tiles. Try not to choose very thick tiles. You need 10mm or less. Porcelain is about 9mm. Hopefully it will only be a few millimetre difference. See if you can find a clever tiler with some great ideas for the interface. You can of course use a covering strip but some of these are ugly. If you tile past the doorway then maybe a strip right across (you can get natural oak ones which will look much better) so that the height difference is obvious. Its a balancing act. Good luck with it all.

Thank you so much Isla! You’ve been a huge help!