Which Flooring Is Best For Which Room

With the vast choices of flooring available it can become frustrating when you have invested in a floor that deteriorates quicker than expected, simply because it was not suitable for the room it is in.  Each room comes with its own challenges but, whichever room you are updating, there will be flooring to suit your needs. 

Continue reading for advice about which flooring is best for which room and save yourself time and money in the long run. 

Hallways
Hallways have a high volume of traffic, it is best to choose flooring which is both hardwearing and easy to clean.  You will also need to consider the age of your home and what would suit its period of design.  For hallways, tiles, polished concrete, paint, carpets, laminate floors and hard wood are all good choices.

Stairs
Laminate, engineered and solid wood can all be laid on stairs.  They are all stable and have enough grip to avoid slipping.  However, it is common sense to always be cautious when using stairs.  Coir and Sisal carpets are safe to use as well, but we would recommend you avoid Jute or Seagrass.

Living Rooms
Living rooms have stable temperatures, low moisture and low footfall, so there are no restrictions for flooring types.

Kitchens
Vinyl, laminate, and lacquered floors are all good for busy kitchens.  They handle moisture, splashes and scratches well, although spillages should be cleaned up immediately. 

Solid wood, natural carpet and oiled engineered floors are not as robust so we would recommend you do not use these.

Bathrooms
Vinyl, tiles and some laminate floors can resist the high levels of moisture found in bathrooms, so these are the floors we would recommend.  Changes in moisture can cause damage to natural carpets and solid wood floors over time, engineered floors are not good at resisting splashes.  Carpets are not considered very hygienic in a bathroom either as they can not be cleaned daily.

As with any flooring, spillages would have to be cleaned up as soon as possible to avoid damage.

Conservatories
Vinyl, tiles, laminate, engineered and natural carpets are all fine to use in a conservatory.  Solid wood floors are likely to shrink and expand because of the huge variation in temperature and moisture in the room.

Under Floor Heating
Engineered, laminate and luxury vinyl tiles should all be good with under floor heating, but always check with the manufacturer before you purchase the flooring.

Basements
Vinyl, laminate, engineered and natural carpets will all be fine in a basement.  The temperature in basements can vary hugely so solid wood floors would not be suitable.

We have tried to make it easy for visitors to our website to work out which floors are suitable for which room by including pictures in our product descriptions.  Keep an eye out for these when looking around our site.

all rooms
all rooms except bathroom
Bedroom
Kitchen
Living room
Stairs

Further Reading
How to buy wood flooring.
Which floors can you use in a bathroom.