Over recent weeks I have written regular updates as our kitchen refurbishment project has progressed. This week I’m going to do something different and focus on one element of the project; the flooring.
This is a very significant part of the new kitchen for two reasons. Firstly, as the pictures below show, the flooring in the food preparation earlier was worn out and damaged. It simply had to go.
Secondly, we were bringing down a wall and going open-plan. The idea was to create a family-friendly kitchen/diner that would meet our needs much better than the galley kitchen and separate dining room we had been living with for five years. We wanted to create an environment the whole family could enjoy with a modern, clean and stylish design.
This open plan space was to incorporate the dining room. Unlike the kitchen, this was carpeted. Once we’d replaced the flooring in the kitchen/diner, it made sense to do away with the carpet and to also continue with the same flooring into the small hallway next door.
We needed something that looked good and would be hard wearing. We do, after all, have two young children and so the floor would need to tolerate spills, knocks and bashes.
Our first thought was to put down Cotswold stone flagstones. I loved this idea, but wasn’t persuaded our budget would stretch to it. A quick consultation with our building contractor left the idea in tatters.
The flooring area we needed to replace would sit on top of several different materials. About half of it was floorboards, a quarter of it concrete and the remaining quarter a suspended chipboard floor. Without extensive work to strengthen and level the floor, it would not be viable to use flagstones as they would crack.
This, to me, left wood laminate flooring as the one option we should seriously consider. Several years ago when I was doing up the first house I purchased, I wouldn’t even have looked at laminate flooring. It always struck me as a bit cheap and bland.
Since then, however, the quality and variety of laminate flooring on the market seems to have improved immensely. I chatted it through with our builder and he was all for it. He reckoned it would be easy to install and would work well considering the different materials the floor would sit on.
The search was on to find something we liked! After considering several different options, we went with a product from Wickes. I’ve recorded a short video about our decision making process. You can click below to watch it.
The home improvement specialist stocks a wide variety, from dark, chestnut shades to Chantilly oak, which is almost white in colour. We settled for a Madera light hickory wood laminate flooring. It’s a light brown that gives off very warm glow when caught in the sunlight.
The Wickes product we chose looked great, matched well with the cream kitchen units we were installing and, crucially, was designed for high-traffic areas. Added to this, our builder had worked with Wickes flooring in the past so he knew it and was comfortable installing it.
At this stage, there is still a bit more to do. Some of the edging trim still needs to be installed and the entire floor needs a thorough clean and polish. This has nothing to do with the flooring, it’s simply because there is still some building work going on and the atmosphere is a little dusty.
Even so, much of the flooring is in place. It has been installed at incredible speed with no hiccups along the way. I hope you’ll agree this was a good choice of floor (you can explore the Wickes range yourself on its website).
Next week I shall publish a second blog post and video, this time looking at the installation process and also showing off the finished flooring.
So tell me, what do you think of the flooring so far? Do you like it or would you have chosen something else? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts. Please also feel free to ask any questions if you wish.
Disclosure; this post was produced in partnership with Wickes.
28 thoughts on “Our new kitchen; flooring focus”
We went for laminate too. Real is costly and would stain easily and dent if anything was dropped. Lino is easily damaged. Tiles are too cold….and a huge investment if you go for underfloor heating. Good choice!
Thanks Pamela. I’m a huge fan of good quality laminate. Hard wearing, cost effective yet modern and stylish.
Laminate has indeed come on so much in appearance and quality. There is nothing cheap or bland looking about your flooring and now I would like a new kitchen too!
Thanks Carol, glad you like the new floor and the look of the new kitchen. It has come on a lot over the past couple of weeks.
that looks so great! My laminate needs replacing badly, I got a new patio window and now I have some bare cement. Not a good look!
Ah yes, the cement floor look. We had that in a large part of our kitchen for a while. Best of luck replacing it when the time comes.
Laminate has certainly come a long way over the years, your choice looks lovely against the units! Our new house has flagstone in the kitchen and I squealed in excitement when I saw it because it’s my dream kitchen floor haha Yes, I said dream kitchen floor. Don’t judge me!
Hey, we’re all allowed our dreams! Glad you like the laminate. We’re getting a lot of admiring comments.
Live the new look, it is all coming on a treat. #SharewithMe
Thanks Fiona. We still haven’t got used to the new kitchen. It’s such a wide open space compared to what was there before. And, of course, it has great flooring!
Love it! It’s shaping up nicely! I can wait to see the big reveal at the end of the series
Big reveal is on the horizon although it will have to wait until after the decoration has been completed. Think we may get that done when MiL visits over the Easter holiday.
I think your flooring choice is wonderful. It is a lovely shade. Laminate has come a long way from when everyone had the same light coloured flooring several years ago. We used Wickes laminate in our playhouse and it has really stood up to the scuffs and scraps the kids have inflicted on it #homeetc
It’s reassuring to hear about the play house Louisa. Seems like we made a good choice if it can stand the abuse from kids!
That’s a really nice looking laminate, I love the shade – it looks lovely and soft against the cream units. Looking forward to the final reveal! #HomeEtc
Thanks Katy. Big reveal coming in a few weeks when the decoration has been completed!
It looks great! We are currently deciding on kitchen flooring too. Who knew making a decision could be so difficult?!! Can’t wait to see the completed kitchen, you are getting so close to the finish line now. I am feeling slightly fearful and panicky as work starts here on 14th April and I can’t really come up with a single meal I think my children will eat that could be prepared using only a microwave and a toaster!
Looks fab! My hubby owns a flooring company so I’m a bit of a flooring snob but you’ve done a great job. The wood effect looks great against your units #sharewithme
I think it looks great and will obviously suit the needs of your family really well. We also found that laminate has come on in leaps and bounds when we were looking for new flooring and opted for a wood/laminate hybrid and two years on it still looks amazing #HomeEtc
Oooh that flooring looks fabulous and such a contrast to what you had before. No wonder you’re pleased. Great job. I’m just getting grumpy about our forthcoming plans – everything’s so expensive. Ugh! Steph xxx #HomeEtc
Oh yes, such improvements are expensive. Glad you like the flooring though.
Great job and choices!! We have had a variety of flooring and I think as long as you are happy with it then great! Laminate is SO fab these days and we have it in our bathrooms and it looks superb 🙂 Your progress is coming on fast!!!!! Thanks for linking.
#HomeEtc
Progress was very quick. We have a few jobs to finish off and some decorating, but it’s all in hand. Prepare for a big reveal in a week or two.
What are the tiles that you found in the hearth?? Are they patterned? I couldn’t see too well from the film — I LOVE finding things like that! It also gives you more of an idea of the history of your home — fab. It’s really coming on John! Looking amazing!! 🙂 #HomeEtc
I’m afraid the tiles are already covered over! They were patterned but they didn’t look all that nice to be honest. Big reveal coming in a few weeks.
Love the wood color. I think new floors are the best especially in a renovation you can’t put old floors back in and live to talk about it. lol Thanks for linking up to Share With Me and the continual support. #sharewithme
Glad you like the flooring Jenny. We’re getting a lot of very positive compliments about it.
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