Best flooring for hallways

Your hallway’s the first area of your home guests will walk into, so this is a great space to make your personality known and show off your style. Creating a stylish and functional space can be a little tricky, so the best place to start with making your hallway look great is your flooring.

Whether you love the classic look of the carpet, or you prefer the elegant modernity of tiles or wood, we’ve got lots of different flooring types you can explore. We’ll take you through the different options for hallway flooring and even some creative ideas for your hallways if you’re looking for some exciting new options.

What is the best flooring for a hallway?

There isn’t one single flooring that’s exactly right for a hallway – after all, if there were only one correct flooring, everyone would have the same! However, there are a few considerations you need to make when you’re picking your hallway flooring, including:

What your style preference is
How durable you need your flooring to be
If you need your flooring to be water or stain-resistant
How much money you want to spend on new flooring

The most common hallway flooring options include carpet, vinyl, luxury vinyl, laminate, and engineered wood. Let’s take a closer look at each of these floorings.

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CARPET

Carpet is one of the most popular options for hallways, and it’s easy to see why! It’s soft under your feet, it’s warm and inviting, and there are so many colour choices and different types of carpets to choose from – if you want to take a deep dive into the different types of carpets you could choose between, check out our care guides. It’s great at holding warmth in your home, which can be very handy in a room where your front door might be opening and closing regularly.

The only downside to having carpet in your hallway is that you’ll need to be extra careful about keeping it clean – ensuring guests take their shoes off at the door, and pets and children don’t drag any dirt or mess through the house will keep your carpet in good shape for many years to come. And if you do end up with any stains or marks on your carpet, you can always check out tips on removing carpet stains, to help you deal with it.

LAMINATE

Laminate is another popular choice for hallways thanks to its durability and style. Laminate has a strong resemblance to wood, and some laminates come with an embossed top layer that mimics the grooves and pattern of the printed layer below to even make it feel like natural wood.

Whether you prefer pale ivory hues and ashy greys, or dark beech browns and walnut shades, laminate wood flooring is available in a wide range of colours. Not only does it have the style factor, but laminate is strong too, thanks to its multiple layers of materials that make it long-lasting enough for regular visitors to walk over for many years.

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VINYL

If mucky paws and dirty boots are frequent occurrences in your hallway, then you may be hesitant to buy any kind of flooring for fear it will get ruined quickly. Luckily for you, you don’t have to compromise if you choose to buy vinyl flooring.

Vinyl is extremely easy to maintain thanks to its protective top layer, meaning you can easily wipe away any mess with a lightly damp mop or cloth, and you won’t have to worry about water getting between the joins of your flooring as vinyl comes in large rolls. It also can mimic the look of so many different types of flooring. So, if you love the look of colourful tiles but are on a budget, you don’t need to compromise on style either.

LUXURY VINYL

Luxury vinyl is a chameleon flooring that can take on the look of almost any smooth flooring, creating realistic tiles, and wooden planks and even recreating the effect of stone. This flooring can be incredible in hallways where you want the effect of luxurious flooring like marble, but without the cost! This is a great way to show off your style while keeping your bank account in the black too.

Luxury vinyl is laid similarly to other smooth floors like laminate, as it comes in single tiles or planks that are laid individually and often click together to create a floating floor. These floors often require an underlay to keep them from bending, but they work well with underfloor heating which is a great energy saver – you can find out more about the best flooring to save you energy this winter in our guide to flooring to reduce bills.

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ENGINEERED WOOD

If wood is what you’re after, then you might just fall in love with our selection of engineered wood flooring. With a solid wood top layer and sheets of plywood underneath providing extra strength, this flooring is the best of both worlds for your hallway. You get all the character and style of solid wood, and the clever design makes it even more durable and sturdy than solid wood.

As it’s just like natural wood, you’ll have to be careful not to leave standing water and get scratches on engineered wood. However, you can keep your flooring in great condition by following our engineered wood care guide.

Hallway flooring ideas

By now you’ll probably have a good idea of what type of flooring appeals to you most, but if you’re still a little unsure of what flooring would look best in your space, you can always check out our Flooring Ideas page for some inspiration from our customers. If you’re still trying to figure out what might work best for different types of hallways or areas of your hallway, we’ve come up with some great ideas.

Matrix Herringbone - Silwood

Richmond - Asgill Oak

Small hallways flooring ideas

Smaller hallways don’t have to feel cramped or dark – you can illuminate your space with a light-coloured laminate or bright luxury vinyl that looks like marble tiles. You can also use more expensive materials in smaller hallways, which means you could invest in engineered wood if you love the look and feel of solid wood. Keeping your flooring simple is another way to make your small hallway feel less busy and crowded – try non-patterned vinyl or a neutral carpet to make the space feel inviting and cosy.

Best flooring for stairs

Your hallway is most likely where your stairs are located too, and you might be wondering what flooring is best for your stairs. You could continue the flooring that you have in your hallway up the stairs into your upper hallway too, which works great with carpet. You can also do this with smooth floors and add an extra layer of comfort by fitting a stair runner over the top. Not sure what a stair runner is? We've got a guide for that!

If you’ve been inspired to discover what flooring would work best in your hallway, or want to find out more room inspiration, including the best flooring for conservatories, you can arrange a free home visit for one of our flooring experts to come out to your home and help you choose. Or, if you’re ready and raring to pick out your favourite flooring, book a free store visit to come down to your local Tapi store and see all our collections.

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