Open-plan rooms have grown in popularity significantly over the last few years and an increasing number of us are ripping out our outdated kitchens and lounges in favour of opening up our living spaces. With many of us needing to keep an eye on the little ones while cooking, or preferring one large room to entertain guests, it’s understandable that its popularity has soared in recent years. They offer the perfect solution if you’re wanting to make your home feel that bit more spacious as well as being way more sociable! Since it’s likely to be used for a variety of reasons, you’ll want a floor which will stand the test of time and resist spills, scratches and stains as much as possible.
The first rule, and perhaps the most important, is to pick one floor and stick to it, as you don’t want some sort of patchwork floor! Since open plan rooms are often used as kitchen and living rooms. The kitchen is likely to come into contact with loads of water and stain spillages, as well as being exposed to scratches and plenty of foot fall. With this in mind, we wouldn’t recommend the stylish solid wood flooring as first choice as it is no good when it comes into contact with water and can stain and scratch, particularly if it’s not treated properly. Although many of us enjoy its authentic charm, it is not the most practical option and is better suited to the bedroom or hallway.
So that leaves us with a few different options. While Luxury Vinyl Tiles are very durable and are affordable for those on a budget, as well as being scratch, stain and waterproof, some may feel that they don’t quite offer the same quality level to open spaces as other flooring alternatives. But this isn’t necessarily true; LVT, particularly LVT variants made of SPC, can be extremely high quality, and fantastic imitations of wood, stone and ceramic tiles, so don’t feel like you have to sacrifice style if you do go with LVT!
Although we’ve mentioned about staying away from solid wood, you shouldn’t exclude engineered wood products from your search. Offering greater resistance to footfall, particularly on products with a thicker wear layer, when combined with a lacquered finish, engineered wood can be both a practical and stylish option. You can also install an underfloor heating system with engineered wood, something which its solid counterpart is unable to cope with.
However, despite all its amazing qualities, engineered wood isn’t always a cheap option. If you’re on a tighter budget, then we’d recommend that you consider the aforementioned LVT or even a high quality laminate floor. It comes in very convincing imitations of natural product such as wood and stone. Available in many patterns, colours and textures, you can nearly always get exactly what you want.
Once you have your flooring, Spares2You has a wide range of parts for Dyson Vacuums & Vax Steam Cleaners to keep your flooring in pristine condition.
So, if you’re looking at ideas or completely stuck on where to start, then maybe start with engineered, LVT and laminates, depending on your budget constraints. If you have the funds available, then there’s no doubt that engineered wood can make an incredible addition to your home.