Your tile will co-ordinate beautifully with the timber if you can pick one of the darker colours out of the timber and select a tile in this family of colour. The trick to making a colour concept work is to either co-ordinate or contrast. If your timber is as busy with grain and colour as the image you've shown, then maybe co-coordinating is the best way to go. Never chose materials independently of each other - always take a tile sample home to see in the natural light, next to the timber. I hope it all works out the way you envisage it. Cheers, Michelle

True, after 13 years our timber floor has collected its share of stilleto-heel dints, dropped-items dents, dragged furniture grooves and lots more (despite really trying hard with pads under all chairs and tables). One day we will simply have it sanded back and re-laquered. I would never change for tiles or any other flooring, though. You can't beat timber for comfort, temperature, appearance and above all; not showing every speck of dust. We did the same with timber benchtops in our previous house.

Hi Andrew, I think you are asking what type of timber you can use to match your floors. You may like to consider either Karri, ( or Spotted Gum, Nyatoh or Tasmanian Blackwood) as these are readily available hardwood timbers in this varigated tone and grain pattern you have. It is also worth noting that Timbers that start out with red in them also actually fade over time to turn this nutty colour. Once you decide on a spiecies, your Cabinet Maker may also be able to hand pick colours to get the closest match. Hope this helps; regards Malcolm.

Hi Newbie. That's such a good question. They both have their pro's and con's. Laminate can be easier to maintain on a daily basis because it doesn't show scratches as easily (from furniture, pets etc) and it's really easy to wipe clean. BUT- because the top layer isn't actually a wood veneer and it's thinner than engineered boards- once it's worn you can't repair it. With engineered boards you can sand them back and re stain (how many times you can do this depends on the thickness of the board you buy- thicker the board the higher the cost. If you have furniture protectors under dining chairs, and ideally rugs in the room to create a finished look, you will reduce scratching greatly on engineered boards. Engineered boards are nicer to walk on IMO, also warmer in winter. Laminate can sound hollow, even with an underlay. Laminate can also be slippery without a slip resistant layer. Engineered boards are more expensive and much harder to lay. If it's affordable you won't regret engineered boards for long term repairability and/or re sale value. Like everything in interiors it all comes down to budget- and the laminates are getting much better these days. But they will never have the prestige of an engineered board to a future buyer if that's something that could be of concern down the track. I'd recommend going to showrooms where you can see both options and walking on them- especially with bare feet. Hope that helps :) Fiona Jack www.fionajackinteriors.com.au