Wooden flooring ideas for a stylish living room

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Your living room is one of the areas in your home where you can best show off your personal style, from funky furniture to dramatic décor, and even picking a fun paint colour for your walls and furniture. But you might not have realised that your flooring can also be a great way to show off your personal style too.

Wooden flooring is one of the most modern ways to make your living room a fashionable and sophisticated lounge for you to relax in with friends and family, and is one way to incorporate a touch of Scandi interior design. Whether you’re in the process of redecorating to vamp up your space, or if you’re trying to figure out which style you like best, we’re going to talk you through the different types of wooden flooring you could use in your home that would best showcase your style.

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Laminate wooden flooring

Laminate flooring is one of the most common modern floorings in British homes nowadays, and for good reason. Laminate flooring can come in many different looks, from different types of wood to different characteristics, making it incredibly versatile for many tastes. So, whether you prefer a vintage look, or if you prefer a sleek understated wooden floor, laminate could be perfect for you.

Not only does laminate suit a range of styles, but it also works great for those on a budget. Solid wood flooring can be expensive, and laminate gives you the look and feel of solid wood flooring, without the expensive price tag. Textured laminate can recreate the feel of wood flooring, and some of our laminate floorings here at Tapi are embossed so that the impressions on the top layer perfectly match the grooves and whorls of the wood pattern - the ‘perfect imperfections of real wood – on the decorative layer below.

Laminate flooring is also great for family homes where rooms can be very busy and full of life, and the occasional spill or stain on the floor - some of our laminates have amazing stain and water-resistant properties that make them perfect for coping with all the chaos of family life, whether you have pets, children, or both. Keeping your laminate clean helps it last longer too, so you can enjoy your flooring for many years to come.

Vinyl flooring

Vinyl is another amazing option for creating the effect of wooden flooring in your home and can come in lots of different patterns, like herringbone, to give your home a more versatile and contemporary feel. We also sell slip-resistant vinyl floorings for areas in your home that can get a little slippery, like bathrooms and stairs.

As well as having lots of different looks to choose from, sheet vinyl is also much cheaper and easier to fit than wooden flooring as it comes in large rolls that are spread out on the floor and sealed to the subfloor using adhesive. What makes it even cheaper is that most sheet vinyl doesn’t require any underlay underneath it to give it a nice spongy feeling – this cushioned effect is built into the bottom layers of the vinyl roll! You can find out more about how to lay vinyl flooring in our DIY corner.

Thanks to its water and stain-resistant properties, it also means you can continue the effect of wooden flooring in areas where you might normally hesitate to put real wood floorings, such as kitchens and bathrooms. You don’t have to worry about cleaning your vinyl flooring half as often as real wood flooring either. Simply clean with a soft brush and damp mop every week.

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LVT flooring

Luxury vinyl tiles are a suitable flooring option for every room of the house because it's comfortable, cushioned, warm underfoot, water-resistant, and most importantly, look great. Our luxury vinyl tiles are a little different to our sheet vinyl floorings, as they come in planks rather than large sheets that are rolled out and stuck to the subfloor – there’s more about that in our 'what is LVT flooring' guide if you want the lowdown on all things LVT.

There are many beautiful wooden designs available - oak, whitewashed wood, aged wood – and even the most discerning eye will have difficulty distinguishing between LVT and a genuine wooden floor. That’s thanks to the many layers that make up our beautiful range of wood effect LVT. A protective layer is present on the surface, protecting the floor from potential damage and preventing scratches and stains. An acoustic layer reduces surface sound while adding comfort below the wear and tear layer, and a design layer adds amazing style to your flooring.

Engineered wood flooring

Engineered wood flooring is the perfect option for those who don’t want to compromise on the look and feel of wooden flooring but would like a sturdier option that will last a little longer. Made up of a top layer of real solid wood, and then plywood layers underneath, engineered wood boards are the perfect combination of style and substance.

Don’t be fooled though, this is not a cheap replacement for solid wood flooring! This flooring truly does look and feel like the real deal and will need just as much care as solid wooden flooring. Caring for your engineered wood flooring will make sure that it lasts for years to come, and will age well with your home.

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Different styles of wooden flooring

As well as different wooden flooring types you could choose from, there are also a couple of different styles you could pick too – you don’t just have to pick the standard plank effect! Here are some of the most popular styles of wooden flooring you might fall in love with:

Herringbone

Herringbone flooring is a pattern created with straight boards cut at 90-degree angles. These planks are laid with the short ends of each plank overlapping, to create an alternating pattern that is popular in both modern and classic home styles.

Chevron

The chevron pattern takes the same straight boards but cuts them at diagonal angles to place the short ends of two planks together to create an arrow shape. This creates a uniform pattern that closely resembles that of herringbone flooring, but with a modern twist. For more about the differences between the two styles, check out our chevron vs herringbone flooring guide.

Parquet Patterns

Parquet patterns can come in lots of different styles, from finger block patterns to the diamond shapes of Chantilly or the lattice of Chalosse. The style you pick will depend on your personal preferences, and you can even make these patterns with tiles too. Reach out to our floorologists today to chat about the different patterns and styles you’d like to try in your home, or for more parquet flooring ideas, take a look at our handy guide.

If you’re still a little unsure about which flooring would work best in your space, you can try our handy flooring finder to find the perfect floor to suit your style, or for an entirely new style, why not read on our guide on how to style tiled flooring in your living room, or discover our selection of the best flooring for living rooms? Alternatively, explore our website for the different types of wooden flooring you could choose from, or check out our Ideas Hub for style inspiration and colour palettes you could use to complement your new flooring, including tips on how to create a rustic living room!

Post author

Claire Murphy Copywriter Former lifestyle journalist, keen amateur upcycler, full of value for money ideas

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Published: 05-10-2022