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Godfrey Hirst
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What Is the Best Hard Flooring for Your Home?
Laying a new floor in your home? Make light work of hard flooring choices with this beginner’s guide
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There’s so much more to hard flooring than choosing between timber and laminate, and with the vast array of options available you might find the choice overwhelming. The experts at Godfrey Hirst have got your flooring questions covered with this guide to choosing the perfect hard floor for your home.
Choose Your Material
The material you opt for will depend on the room and how you intend to use the space. Consider the amount of footfall, and whether the floor needs to be water resistant.
Timber. For a timeless, natural look, go for a classic timber floor. Choose from European oaks and native Austrialian woods like spotted gum, blackbutt and jarrah. Ensure your wood has a surface coating applied to protect it from spills, dirt and wear, but avoid wet areas like bathrooms.
Bamboo. Up the eco credentials of your flooring by choosing bamboo, it’s typically a more ecological material choice because the timber takes only three to five years to reach maturity – versus 15 years or longer. Plus, it will give your home a laid-back, yet chic look. Bamboo floors that are strand woven and cold pressed are extremely hard-wearing and a surface coating will add to their durability.
Laminate. Need something hard-wearing and functional? A good-quality laminate can look simply beautiful and comes in a wide range of colours and finishes, so you can find the perfect style to fit your home. Use laminate in living areas, hallways, kitchens and bedrooms.
Luxury vinyl plank. If you’d like the look of a hardwood floor in a bathroom or kitchen, opt for luxury vinyl plank. It looks and feels like natural timber, but is scratch-proof and water resistant. For added wet-room protection these planks have a built-in anti-microbial agent to prevent mould, microbes and insects.
The material you opt for will depend on the room and how you intend to use the space. Consider the amount of footfall, and whether the floor needs to be water resistant.
Timber. For a timeless, natural look, go for a classic timber floor. Choose from European oaks and native Austrialian woods like spotted gum, blackbutt and jarrah. Ensure your wood has a surface coating applied to protect it from spills, dirt and wear, but avoid wet areas like bathrooms.
Bamboo. Up the eco credentials of your flooring by choosing bamboo, it’s typically a more ecological material choice because the timber takes only three to five years to reach maturity – versus 15 years or longer. Plus, it will give your home a laid-back, yet chic look. Bamboo floors that are strand woven and cold pressed are extremely hard-wearing and a surface coating will add to their durability.
Laminate. Need something hard-wearing and functional? A good-quality laminate can look simply beautiful and comes in a wide range of colours and finishes, so you can find the perfect style to fit your home. Use laminate in living areas, hallways, kitchens and bedrooms.
Luxury vinyl plank. If you’d like the look of a hardwood floor in a bathroom or kitchen, opt for luxury vinyl plank. It looks and feels like natural timber, but is scratch-proof and water resistant. For added wet-room protection these planks have a built-in anti-microbial agent to prevent mould, microbes and insects.
Match With Your Style
The look and feel of your flooring can be transformed by the style of board you go for, and the finish you choose. These style terms will give you a head start.
Matte finish. A surface with only a small amount of shine gives a natural look and absorbs the light, so the floor will blend beautifully into the space.
Satin finish. For a little more depth and to highlight patterns and grains in the wood, choose a satin finish. This one gives slightly more shine than a matte finish without the full sheen of gloss.
Gloss finish. To give your room a light, airy feel you could go for the polished shine of a gloss finish. These floors will form a striking feature, rather than blending into the background.
Wide board. When a material has an interesting pattern or grain, it’s a good idea to show it off by going for wide planks. These boards look stunning and work particularly well in open-plan spaces where they add to the scale of the room.
Micro-bevelled edge. To give your floor a worn, natural look, choose boards with a micro-bevelled edge. These have a diagonal rim that forms a v-shape along the joins.
Square-edged boards. Want something more sleek and modern? Go for square-edged floorboards that join seamlessly without any gaps.
The look and feel of your flooring can be transformed by the style of board you go for, and the finish you choose. These style terms will give you a head start.
Matte finish. A surface with only a small amount of shine gives a natural look and absorbs the light, so the floor will blend beautifully into the space.
Satin finish. For a little more depth and to highlight patterns and grains in the wood, choose a satin finish. This one gives slightly more shine than a matte finish without the full sheen of gloss.
Gloss finish. To give your room a light, airy feel you could go for the polished shine of a gloss finish. These floors will form a striking feature, rather than blending into the background.
Wide board. When a material has an interesting pattern or grain, it’s a good idea to show it off by going for wide planks. These boards look stunning and work particularly well in open-plan spaces where they add to the scale of the room.
Micro-bevelled edge. To give your floor a worn, natural look, choose boards with a micro-bevelled edge. These have a diagonal rim that forms a v-shape along the joins.
Square-edged boards. Want something more sleek and modern? Go for square-edged floorboards that join seamlessly without any gaps.
What’s next?
You can now get the look and feel of natural wood with the benefits of laminate and luxury vinyl planks by going for a hybrid flooring. This type of material is made by pressing three layers of material together. It’s hard, stable and can withstand quick temperature fluctuations without contracting and expanding. It’s also non-porous and waterproof, so it’s the ideal material to use in bathrooms and kitchens.
Looking to combine hard flooring with carpet? Check out this simple guide to buying carpet
Tell us
Which hard flooring have you chosen for your home?
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team
You can now get the look and feel of natural wood with the benefits of laminate and luxury vinyl planks by going for a hybrid flooring. This type of material is made by pressing three layers of material together. It’s hard, stable and can withstand quick temperature fluctuations without contracting and expanding. It’s also non-porous and waterproof, so it’s the ideal material to use in bathrooms and kitchens.
Looking to combine hard flooring with carpet? Check out this simple guide to buying carpet
Tell us
Which hard flooring have you chosen for your home?
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team
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I live in the tropics and I chose tiles throughout which you haven't mentioned. My daughter has bamboo and it has been terrific except that the cut edge wasn't sealed properly at the doorway and now has water marks there. Something for others to consider. My eldest daughter lived in Europe for a decade where they had laminate flooring but she hated it because it wasn't real wood in her eyes. It was extremely serviceable and easy to clean and looks the same today as it did when it was installed. There seems to be a snob value to real wood, whether it's the best or not.
laminate is a poor wearing floor choice and bamboo is not very natural because of the glues used to bond the fibres, stick with solid wood or tiles, polished concrete...dont be fooled by the advertising blurb,,
I bought bamboo three years ago for my new home thinking it would be amazing. Biggest regret. It's fading near the windows, moves under foot, feels cheap even though it wasn't and is not wearing well. I am planning on taking it out and laying hardwood down next year. Another friend has had the same issue and choices flooring no longer sell it where we live.