Living room + hard flooring is a very successful combination in a hectic family household. There are pets to consider, plus assorted food and drink incidents, all of which can be easily and quickly sorted out far more easily if it’s a hard floor, rather than carpet. Soften the acoustics with some rugs of course, especially in front of the sofas or chairs. Choosing neutral tones such as porcelain tiles that look like stone or timber, or our real engineered timber flooring, LVT or laminates gives plenty of opportunity at later stages for switching up colour schemes and themes by changing focal point colours for rugs and accessories. Here are some of our suggestions for tip top living room style …
Gloss & Texture
Keep it sleek with our seriously sophisticated Carrara Gold Marble Effect Porcelain floor tiles. Once installed, these tiles will look fantastic with absolutely any colour scheme you care to think of. Here they are perfect at home in an open plan living room – we love the contrast of the gloss finish with the linen look upholstery and chunky knitted throw.
Natural Oak Effects
Go for the combination of a wood-look with a totally tough porcelain plank. These are our Graziella Roble Oak Wood Effect Porcelain planks, which are a practical alternative to real timber, with an extremely convincing surface finish that looks just like natural timber. These planks measure 1200mm x 230mm and need no special sealing after installation. And yes, they can be installed with our Underfloor Heating to keep everyone cosy …
A Glossy Expanse
Many of our tiles come in both wall and floor formats or are suitable for both uses. For a very dramatic look, why not use tiles above the fireplace … these are our Cupid Cream Polished porcelain wall and floor tiles – designed to look exactly like vein-cut travertine. To maintain the glossy look, these tiles do require sealing after installation – and we recommend LTP MPG Polished Tile Sealer.
Perfect Combination
For anyone slightly nervous about having a vast expanse of light-coloured hard flooring (bits, crumbs, pet hairs!) consider a darker, busier design with more of a pattern. These are our Reclaimed Misty Grey Oak Nailed Wood Effect porcelain planks. Each measures 660mm x 150mm and has a cleverly distressed look, virtually indistinguishable from real distressed or reclaimed wooden planks – but much easier to get hold of, and no danger of any snagging on stray nails!
Partial to Parquet
We’re now turning our attention to our range of laminate that is highly suitable for living rooms. For authentic parquet style, our Boscage Caramel Shadows Oak Design Laminate flooring will add a classic look to your interior schemes. Each plank measures 628mm x 157mm x 10mm and is tough enough to have been given a AC5 Commercial Rating and a 30-year guarantee. So that should suit the most boisterous of households! Installation is glue-down and click-fit – ready our handy How To Install Laminate Flooring feature for a comprehensive guide on how to fit.
Tones of Grey
Nobility Dark Grey Oak Laminate flooring is another long-lasting choice, with the AC5 Commercial Rating and 30-year guarantee. This design comes in 1285mm x 157mm x 12mm planks, and is click-fit installation and a textured finish that cleverly replicates real wood planks.
Crisp Lines
Go for a crisp, linear look with our Palma Light Oak Laminate each plank has four bevelled sides and is suitable for use with water-based underfloor heating, so could be a good choice for a living/family space in a newly built ground floor kitchen-living-family space.
Smooth & Stylish
And onwards to a selection of Luxury Vinyl Tiles (also referred to as LVT) flooring that’s suitable for living/family spaces. For a traditional look in a living room, our Watson Cappuccino Luxury Click Vinyl Flooring is a practical and attractive choice, replicating the look of classic timber floorboards. It’s click-fit installation – check out our How To Install Click-Fit Luxury Vinyl Flooring guide for some handy installation advice.
Perfectly Pale & Practical
LVT is an excellent choice for hard flooring for living rooms – and it’s also suitable for kitchens and bathrooms too if it’s wanted for a scheme to run through the whole house. Our Londres Everest White Luxury Click Vinyl Flooring has a built-in underlay and a tactile wood-effect surface finish. Each tile measures 178mm x 1235mm so has the same proportions as traditional real-wood plank floors.
Contemporary Shades
Mercurio Mist Grey Luxury Click Vinyl tiles will add a sense of calm to a colour scheme, and these tiles are also waterproof, so can be used throughout a whole scheme, not just for living spaces. They have a convincing wood-effect grain so can really be considered an excellent all-round choice.
Luxury on a Budget
If you’ve got a large space that needs to be spruced up to look good and need to stick to a budget, why not consider our Lucas Grey Luxury Glue Down Vinyl plank tiles – each measures 1219mm x 177mm.
Real Wood Luxury
Naturally, we also need to bring you some real timber options for this edition of Ultimate Combinations. Real wood floor is a top choice for many, especially in a living room (or dining room, family rooms, and bedrooms). Our Grande Light Oak Engineered Flooring has a top layer of European oak which displays natural markings, graining, and tones. The matt lacquer finish looks at home in traditional and contemporary settings and offers great practicality as a hard floor for a living room. Each plank has a four-sides micro-bevelled edge and a click system for straightforward installation.
Understated Style, Oiled Finish
If you’re looking for a non-glossy timber look for the living room, then our Mediano Oak Engineered Flooring may just fit the bill. These three-layer planks have a top layer of European oak and a subdued natural brown finish. Each plank is 1029mm x 155mm x 14mm and the format looks very proportional to larger spaces.
On the Light Side
For engineered wood with a lighter finish, we suggest our Natural French Alabastre Oak engineered flooring, which would bring a lightness of touch to a living room scheme. This high specification engineered French oak floor has Ultimtec Technology, Bestloc X-Treme 5G locking system, and a lifetime warranty on the click-together system itself. The matt lacquer finish is also cleverly designed to give the appearance of an oiled floor. Suitable for use with a water-based underfloor heating system too, and it also has sound-insulation properties, so this is really a win-win choice for an engineered oak floor for a living room!
Will you be combining living rooms with hard floors in your next interior redesign project? If so then don’t forget to send us your pictures of your finished projects – share your pics with us over on Twitter tagging @TileMountainUK or on Instagram!
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Ultimate Combinations: Engineered Wood Flooring & Modern Furniture
Linda has worked as a freelance interiors writer and blogger for many years; she has written for most of the major home and design magazines, including KBB Magazine, Grand Designs, Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, Period Homes and Good Homes. She made the break and moved from London back to her home town of Shrewsbury three years ago and has just finished renovating her house. She also works in an interior design studio, produces copy for brochures and website, tries to tame her garden, aims to finish all the home furnishing projects she has on the go … and loves walking.