You can update your home with paint and you can change or add to your furniture as often as you please, but flooring is something that is unlikely to change in your home for years or decades to come, so making the right decision at the start of your renovation should be high on the agenda. In the hierarchy of questions around your interior flooring, you need to consider the following:
How much can you spend?
In any build or renovation, budget is important, but investing a few extra dollars on the right flooring is worthwhile. Do your sums, and if dollars are tight, consider cutting costs from other areas of your renovation or build; you will not regret it.
Will it stay or will it go?
Are you likely to keep this property or sell it after a few years? If you’re renovating for investment purposes you can afford to choose more mainstream and cost-effective flooring options. If you’re likely to sell later on, we still recommend you invest in good flooring that will not age or feel the effects of use and foot traffic in the meantime.
What look and feel appeals to you?
This is the part where you need to make an emotional connection with your floor. Yes, you read that correctly. How do you want to feel when you wake up in the morning? Picture yourself walking barefoot and most importantly picture your home in winter. For instance, how will it feel walking on timber floorboards as opposed to tiles? Then consider your decor and architecture; make a choice of at least two types of flooring and create a mood board – it will instantly highlight which option compliments both your decor and layout.
Does your chosen look and feel meet the demands of your lifestyle?
Whilst the idea of carpeting your entire home feels warm and cosy, it’s not likely to be the best option especially if you have children and pets. Consider how much foot traffic your home is likely to receive over the years and the activities that will take place in your space. Are you big on entertaining? Frequent dinner parties and get togethers can easily damage floors that are prone to scratching or breakage. If you are renovating for investment purposes, you will need to consider the exact same questions because chances are that at sale time your buyer will be too.
Will you love it in years to come?
We’ve transformed a number of homes where the owners were quick to point out that their flooring was impractical, the wrong colour and in may cases they’ve referred to it as cringe worthy! Remember that your floor will need to seamlessly accommodate your styling choices for years to come. For this reason it is important to pay particular attention to the hues and colours available to you and make the right textural and colour choices from the start.
From our experience with home renovations, we’ve come to love four types of flooring, and with the exception of bathrooms, there is no surprise that tiles did not make an appearance on our list!
- Hardwoods
Still one of the most popular flooring options, hardwoods or solid timber floorboards will add warmth, softness and an ageless appeal to a home. If you’re renovating an older home you may already have good quality timber floorboards laying dormant and covered under lino or carpet; and with a good sand and polish they can come up looking beautifully, saving you thousands of dollars. Solid timber floors are easy to maintain, they are generally sound proof and can be extremely durable if sealed well. If budget allows, consider Royal Oak for its gorgeous ash shades and soft contemporary feel.
- Polished concrete
The popular myth that polished concrete only suits modern homes is now long gone, and for good reason. Polished concrete is extremely durable, incredibly easy to maintain, and will survive through high traffic without looking worn. Sure, some may argue that it feels relatively cold, but this can be counteracted with the use of seasonal carpet or rugs. We love it because it’s highly versatile and the colour options are endless!
- Stone
Natural stone flooring is a more eclectic style of flooring due to its high cost and lack of uniformity. It will not suit all homes or budgets, but it will make a statement in your home particularly if you want your floor to be the main feature. Even though it’s not our most frequent choice we love that it is natural and no one piece is the same, giving you a one-of-a-kind look and feel.
- Carpet
Whilst we don’t recommend carpeting the entire home, we do like the warmth of carpets in key areas such as bedrooms and sitting rooms. Wool carpet is strong, feels pleasant and is fairly resilient. We love natural fibres and for this reason we also recommend sisal and jute which will suit most contemporary-classic decors.
Your choice of floor has the capacity to make or break your renovation especially if you’re considering a quick sale. Make sure you don’t rush the process and remember to create and work with a mood board.
0 replies on “How to choose the right floor with Alisa & Lysandra”
Thanks for this post. I would like to ask a “my home” specific question and maybe you can help. We have a 20 year old home which is in much need of a makeover but we do not intend to stay “forever”. Because of cost we had a pine floor laid in the family areas. We find it really ugly. We were going to replace it by putting on a floating floor but have done this in our holiday home and didn’t realise it needs beading to cover gaps. We were disappointed with the look of this, particularly around the kitchen cabinets and island. We have a dog who has scratched the pine floor at our home.
My question is – Is there anything that it can be coated with that make the ugly black/brown knots ‘disappear’? Is there a coating which will make the surface more durable?
Thanks. Cheers.
Hi, good question!
To prevent having to use beading you can pull up your existing skirting boards and then put them back on once the floor boards are laid. Unfortunately beading will still need to be used for the island bench.
Although pine floors can look pretty average, you could consider sanding them back and staining them with a darker colour. I did this in my previous house and considering it was pine, it looked quite nice.
Pine is a soft timber and does scratch easily so if you do decide to sand them back and stain them make sure you apply 2 coats of solvent based polyurethane to get that more durable finish and please remember to follow the product instructions for best results.
Alisa and Lysandra xx
Hi – if you have polished concrete or pangea polished concrete veneer – do you think it is essential that you have underfloor heating? Thank you
Great post. Just thinking about what to do with our floors so very timely. The Royal Oak you mention, is that the Quick Step Variano Royal Grey Oak oiled from Choices Flooring? I go into look but get so overwhelmes by choices!
i know royal oak flooring is based in south yarra vic
Thanks for the tips! My old hardwood floor is starting to look scratched up, so I want to replace it with new flooring. Knowing about all of the benefits that come with different types of flooring makes it easier to make a decision. I thought that you made a very interesting comment about polished concrete floors. I’ve also thought that it’s meant to make a house look more modern. That isn’t exactly the type of look that I’m going for, but it’s durability is exactly what I’m looking for. It’s good to know that it’s versatile enough that I can add a rug to customize the look in the rooms in my house.