Flooring for your new home – Is Laminate The Perfect Fit?

I’ve just moved into a new apartment and one of the most important things for me when talking to the developers apart from choosing the style of kitchen and bathroom tiles was which flooring or carpet I wanted to have fitted. From personal experience I’ve seen how making the right (or wrong) choice can transform how a home feels completely.

There is a huge amount of different flooring available on the market these days and it was a tough decision. In the end I chose LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tiles) for every room, the apartment is quite small so I opted for a white oak style flooring to keep things light and I have to say I’m really pleased with the result.

Go with the Flo

Now I’m not sure about you, but when I was a kid, having a carpet was a sign that your family was doing ok in life. In the 60’s and 70’s most people had bare floorboards and a rug, but when the words ‘disposable income’ came along shortly after Vesta Curries and Pot Noodles, things changed and suddenly everyone wanted fitted wall to wall carpets in every room. Which was good for me as I had just got a job for a small, but very busy independent carpet and flooring firm in the town where I lived. We were flat out fitting carpets for all the new-builds going up everywhere and we couldn’t fit them quick enough.

One of the big trends to come through in the flooring world for kitchens at that time was Flotex. This stuff was amazing, it was a cross between carpet and flooring with an incredibly dense fibre pile. If you spilled a drink on it, the liquid would just stay on the very top without it being absorbed and you could just wipe it straight off.



These days you can buy Flotex in a large range of styles, back them only a few colours were available. The only downside to it was that from a carpet fitters perspective it was very easy to get carpet burns on your knees (if you see what I mean).

DIY SOS

With regards to the other types of flooring, I think when insulation and central heating systems started to get good not to mention all those DIY programmes on TV many people realised they didn’t have to rely on a carpet to keep them warm and opted for trendy new laminate flooring.

Style-wise it went through a phase at the start of the decade when everyone had that same yellow laminate boards and it all got a bit naff for my liking. However when i was searching for my new place I was really surprised at how sophisticated some of the new designs had become. There are some really realistic looking laminate now. For plenty of options in kitchen flooring click here.

If you’re thinking of getting some new flooring here are some quick tips

1: Get it fitted professionally – trimming doors and cutting small squares and edging strips is fiddly and easy to mess up. If you don’t do it properly it looks naff and when you come to sell your house people will notice it.
2: Beware of hidden charges – If you buy from a place that says ‘free fitting’, it isn’t really free. It might seem cheaper, but you’re probably paying more for the flooring – trust me, I know.
3: Buy the best you can afford – spending money on a decent flooring is an investment; it will last longer and look better for longer too.

Flush the Fashion

Editor of Flush the Fashion and Flush Magazine. I love music, art, film, travel, food, tech and cars. Basically, everything this site is about.