Design ideas for wood flooring
Wood flooring is a design feature in its own right and can transform a room, both aesthetically and functionally.
Just as with kitchen worktops, going on the hunt for practical pieces is one of the more difficult things you have to do as a homeowner. Where sofa beds and dining tables can be switched out or put into storage, the floorboards you opt for can't be given to a young person buying their first home or neighbour quite so easily.
Different homeware and furniture retailers specialise in different types of floor, so it can be hard figuring out what to buy and where to buy it. To help you begin your search, you'll find a list of our favourite wooden flooring retailers here:
Douglas Fir: If you're after douglas fir, head to Dinesen. The wood is more hard wearing than pine and available in long lengths as well as extra-wide planks. Our top pick is the white soap and lye treated option; dinesen.com
Hornbeam: If you like the look of this robust, pale hardwood, we recommend opting for Element 7. The retailer have plentiful supply of hornbeam, which is ideal for use in hallways and in kitchens (or any area where there is high footfall); element7.co.uk
Pine: Anyone looking for the cost-effective pine wood should look no further than Fine Oak Flooring (the name isn't a misnomer, they do sell oak flooring too but we prefer their range of pine). Be warned, this is the softest of softwoods, so it can dent fairly easily, which brings a certain lived in charm; fineoakflooring.co.uk
Bamboo: Whilst bamboo is technically a grass, it's much more environmentally friendly than wood as it grows faster. It’s also stronger than most hardwoods. The clue is in the name with this one, so Simply Bamboo is our first choice; simplybamboo.co.uk
Oak: The king of the hardwoods, oak is remarkable for its versatility – it can be stained to any shade, dark or light. Ecora has a fantastic range of oaks but we like the ‘Oak Natural Oiled’ best; ecora.co.uk
Larch: Any maritime fans will recognise the softwood larch. Often used in boat building–evidence of its strength–its grain works well in traditional interiors. Our go to place for this one would be Ted Todd; tedtodd.co.uk
Teak: Anyone looking for a rich, deep hued wood should look at teak flooring. With a high oil content that repels moisture, this darkly coloured tropical hardwood is ideal for use in bathrooms and in kitchens. Weldon offers a good range of teaks and, whilst it may be on the slightly more expensive end, you do get what you pay for in terms of quality; weldon.co.uk
Walnut: Any room that needs an injection of warmth will benefit from walnut flooring. With its rich tones and beautiful grain, this is a classically beautiful wood. Head to Havwoods for an extensive range; havwoods.co.uk
Experimenting with the width of floorboards allows you to play with the scale of a room and can dramatically transform a space. In larger rooms, wide boards can accentuate the size. Try Freeman Attwood for oak ones, Dinesen for douglas fir planks that measure up to 45cm wide, and Element7 for engineered wide planks in a range of timbers. Thin boards, on the other hand, can give spaces a neatness and make them feel manageable. Drummonds Flooring’s ‘Rustic Oak Floorboards’, £180 a square metre, come in a range of widths and have a weathered patina.
Take a look at these tantalising options - from parquet herringbone patterns and engineered oak boards to reclaimed wood and painted floors - with different styles suited to different rooms of the house.
Paul Massey1/19In an effort to retain the character of this Queen's Park cottage, Lonika Chande stripped out everything except the floors, which have a charming patina to them. In the bathroom, she proves how well wooden flooring works with bold colour choices, as a bath from Aston Matthews painted in Little Greene’s ‘Ashes of Roses’ contrasts with tongue and groove in ‘Gravel’ eggshell by Dulux.
Lucas Allen2/19In this Rose Uniacke-designed hallway, the dark floorboards are complemented by bright white walls and dark wooden furniture. They have been laid across the hallway, rather than running down its length, helping to widen the space. Elsewhere in the house, a palette of duck egg blue and pastel pink softens the choice of darker oak.
Simon Brown3/19The main bathroom adjoins the master bedroom in Vanessa Macdonald's Oxfordshire home, where a freestanding bath and hardwood floors make the bathroom unique and elegant as a room in its own right. The touches of blue and green in the decoration are harmonious with the floorboards and create a peaceful colour scheme.
Paul Massey4/19A wooden floor does not have to be brown, as Bridie Hall's paprika red floorboards prove. The designer painted them in Dulux's ‘Paprika’ paint and kept the rest of the room neutral.
Lucas Allen5/19Caroline Riddell's mews house features an open-plan living space, where the kitchen, dining room and living room all meet. Walls are clad in off-white tongue-and-groove boards, and parquet flooring provides a seamless transition from one room to the next. The plain backdrop allows for bursts of colour.
Michael Sinclair6/19When Joanna Vestey and her family bought this farmhouse, they were thrilled to discover the oak flooring in near perfect condition. It runs throughout the house in wide planks and adds to the character of the building.
Michael Sinclair7/19This glamorous house by Maddux Creative features arguably the most glamorous type of wood flooring there is: parquet. The elegant planks add character to the modern furnishings with their aged appearance.
Michael Sinclair8/19In Lady Wakefield's Twickenham house, what appears to be original floorboards have been covered with antique rugs to provide warmth and softness underfoot. The planks themselves are wide and light in colour, adding to the airiness of the house.
Elsa Young9/19Maria Speake of Retrouvius used brick-sized reclaimed wood for the flooring in Henrietta Courtauld's house, introducing an interesting texture from the wooden floors.
Elsa Young10/19'Why stop at the floor?' asks Maria Speake of Retrouvius, who designed this hall. The brick oak parquet extends up the wall not just for aesthetic reasons but also to protect it: 'The robust blocks are ideal for skirting as they withstand scuffs.' Retrouvius sells a selection of reclaimed blocks. retrouvius.com
Paul Massey11/19In this bright and airy Cornish house by Marion Lichtig, Dinesen floor boards cover many of the floors. Cut from 20-metre-high Douglas fir trees, the planks are extra long, and have a soft white bloom. The dining table is made from two of the same planks.
Simon Brown12/19Large wooden planks run throughout most every room of this house by Chester Jones and his son Toby, with a variety of different rugs adding warmth to them.
Alexander James13/19In this modern Edwardian villa by William Smalley, the warm wooden floor provides a touch of colour amidst a neutral, pared-back interior. The floors throughout the house are laid with Welsh oak boards in unequal widths.
Richard Powers14/19The bathroom of this divine Provençal house by Andrzej Zarzycki is clad in woods in various warm tones, including fumed oak on the floors.
Paul Massey15/19Parquet remains one of the most sophisticated options when it comes to flooring. Here, smart oak herringbone blocks add to the understated elegance of this minimal sitting room, picking up the warm tones of the leather chair and wooden furniture. To create a similar look, choose Tutto Parquet's herringbone 'Design Parquet', £81.60 a square metre. tuttoparquet.co.uk
Simon Brown16/19If you want to inject pattern into a space without relying on wallpapers and fabrics, consider an intricate flooring design. The owner of this flat has installed Cheville Parquet's engineered oak 'Versailles Tiles' (£104.82 a square metre), which can be stained in over 60 colours. cheville.co.uk
17/19Humidity in bathrooms can cause solid wood to warp, so it is best to opt for engineered wood - a strip of wood on top of layers of ply. It is also ideal for using with underfloor heating. This floor, by The Natural Wood Floor Company, is made from engineered oak pre-oiled in grey (£52.50 a square metre). naturalwoodfloor.co.uk
18/19In this bedroom, interior architecture practice Spencer & Wedekind has set thin strips of bronze beading into the smoked oak floorboards. 'It adds subtle interest to the chevron design,' says director Nicholas Spencer. Tonally, the bronze works particularly well with the wood. spencerandwedekind.com
Jake Curtis19/19Plain coloured cement tiles from Emery & Cie (from €94 a square metre) tie in well with the white painted floorboards in this kitchen. The Reclaimed Flooring Company's 'Reclaimed Shabby Chic Pine' boards (£102 a square metre) are similar. emeryetcie.com | reclaimedflooringco.com
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