Which flooring for which room

Kitchens

A kitchen floor gets spills, dropped pans, chair legs and wet feet from the garden. Waterproof is the first requirement and warmth underfoot is the second, which is why glue-down LVT and click SPC are what we fit most in Cornish kitchens. Both are genuinely waterproof, both take underfloor heating, and both are far warmer and quieter than porcelain tiles.

Engineered oak works in a kitchen if you accept it needs care: wipe spills promptly and expect the odd mark, which on an oiled floor can be spot-repaired. Laminate is fine in a dry, careful kitchen, but water sitting in a joint will swell the core, so we would not recommend it where a dishwasher might leak.

Bathrooms and wet rooms

This is not a place for wood or laminate. The choice is between luxury vinyl, which is waterproof and warm and comes in convincing wood and stone effects, or safety vinyl where slip resistance matters, such as an accessible bathroom or a wet room with a level-access shower.

In a true wet room, the floor should be welded at the joints and coved up the wall so there is no seam for water to get behind. That is a safety flooring specification, and it is the right answer even in a domestic bathroom if someone in the house has mobility needs.

Hallways and entrances

The hall takes the worst of a Cornish winter: wet coats, muddy boots, sand and dogs. A waterproof floor from the front door through to the kitchen saves a lot of grief, and running one material through both spaces without a threshold makes a small house feel considerably bigger.

If you want the look of wood in a hallway, an engineered oak with a lacquered finish copes better than an oiled one, and a good doormat well inside the door does more for a floor's life than any product choice.

Living rooms and bedrooms

These are the rooms where you can have exactly what you want. Engineered oak, solid oak on a suitable timber floor, herringbone parquet for a showpiece, or a good AC4 laminate if the budget is better spent elsewhere. Water is not the issue here, so the decision is about how the room feels underfoot and how it looks in the light.

Bedrooms are the one place where a soft floor still makes sense to many people, and we supply and fit carpet too. Plenty of customers have wood downstairs and carpet up.

Conservatories and garden rooms

A conservatory swings from freezing in February to very hot in July, and that movement is hard on floors. Rigid-core SPC is the most stable choice: the limestone-composite core barely moves, and most ranges are approved for the temperature ranges a conservatory sees.

Solid wood in a conservatory is asking for gaps in winter and cupping in summer. Check the manufacturer's temperature limits for whatever you choose, which is something we do as part of the quote.

Utility rooms, boot rooms and garages

Utility rooms are wet, and a washing machine that fails will flood one. Safety vinyl or LVT is the sensible answer, and a coved edge turns the floor into a shallow tray that contains a leak rather than sending it into the kitchen.