We finally replaced the flooring in our living space this year… But to understand the levels of excitement this brings, you have to keep scrolling for the before picture!
THE STORY BEHIND OUR NEW FLOORING
We bought our house in 2008 and, although the flooring was solid and lasted the sixteen years with us growing into the house, it was really never our taste. Over the years, we’ve had two dogs, a cat, many pairs of high heels, spillages, and two babies who quickly grew into little people, so it’s safe to say the floor has done us well. But when we compare the old floor to our new floor, I do wonder why it took us so long to prioritise replacing it. Seriously, you won’t believe the before picture!
Now that we’ve reached a point in our lives where our interior style has developed and our savings are more likely to be spent on our home than on big nights out and holidays, the dream floor is in and we couldn’t be happier. Let me tell you how we got here.
HOW SHOPPING FOR THE NEW FLOOR BEGAN
Having got my mind back after years of trying for and having babies, it was time to address the flooring situation in our downstairs so, last summer I did some research and found The Wooden Floor Store on Instagram. I reached out and they said they’d be happy to have us visit the showroom in Perth with a view to collaborating on this project, which was a success. The Perth showroom was just a 30-minute drive from us and it was so worthing taking the time to go along and look at flooring products in person and chatting to their store manager about what we wanted from our flooring.
We knew we wanted a more traditional, dark flooring but we couldn’t decide on the type or whether to choose straight or herringbone. The Perth store manager was welcomed us and our kids, and he was really helpful – he knew loads about the different products they offered and what sort of lifestyle they’d be better suited to. After much deliberation we settled on engineered oak, which is a solid layer of wood on a different base, so you get the feeling of real wood without the expense of solid floorboards. It’s easy enough to maintain, won’t fade in the light, it’s durable, and it feels like real wood underfoot. Even better, it can be sanded and revarnished/painted about five times when it needs freshening up in the future. This appealed to us as a way to save on waste and help the environment, while getting as long as we can out of our flooring (about twenty years).
PERSONAL CHOICE
Herringbone was something I’d been coveting for the last few years; every Instagram post I saved in my Interiors folder seemed to have the herringbone flooring featuring in it.
I still love herringbone, but Kris and I decided that the darker colour looked more traditional in straight, wide planks, which felt more like ‘us’ and was better suited to our style of house. It was actually an easier decision than I’d imagined as we were both on board with the idea for one!
After we had gone back-and-forth a bit, and the kids had explored all that the showroom had to offer, we headed home with the promise of samples of our favourite options being sent out to us at home so we could experiment with the different colours available at The Wooden Floor Store.
THE FINAL DECISION
The samples arrived and we experimented with them in different positions and lighting in our home, which took some weeks, and then even longer for us to actually confirm our choices. I took to Instagram again, this time to get some opinions from friends, and noticed most people were leaning towards the two final colours we had in mind. Ultimately, we chose our favourite – not the very darkest sample, but a naturally deep, rich colour in a wide, straight plank – and after many questions to our contact, Steven, who was so patient with us and answered every query we had, explaining things perfectly so we understand what type of flooring we were getting, the sizing, and how this would fit in terms of skirtings and doors – we sent off our confirmation to our contact at The Wooden Floor Store in the autumn, which included underlay.
Our order was confirmed quickly, and we paid our deposit to secure our order. Steven agreed to keep our order in the warehouse for us until we found a joiner, and it didn’t feel like there was any huge rush to complete the payment.
We shopped around a bit and decided on a friend and local joiner, Andy of AFM Property Maintenance. It was somewhat of a relief when he said he wasn’t free until after New Year, so we had some time to deal with family birthdays, Christmas and the school holidays before we were booked in.
THE DELIVERY
The Wooden Floor Store arranged delivery for us about five days before the work was due to being so that the flooring had time to adjust to the rooms it was to be fitted in. This avoids any swelling or shrinkage once it’s in place. The delivery was seamless, with the delivery person doing all the heavy lifting into position without any quibbles about where it was going. It took about 30 minutes to complete, and thereafter we just had to wait to get started in the new year.
THE JOB
The job itself took Andy about four days to complete. Andy was amazing – he did loads of the moving around of furniture himself with a little help from Kris with the piano. Andy lifted all the old flooring and took off all the skirting boards before starting to lay the new floor and reattaching the skirtings. If it wasn’t for the entire upheaval of our downstairs living space being refloored, we’d never have known he was there! Andy was professional at all times, he was friendly and chatty, and mindful of keeping the cold out as much as possible, and he tidied up after himself at all times.
As you can see from these photos, his work and the finished job is excellent. You can find his contact details at the bottom of this post.
THE RESULT
We were delighted to see the end result, which runs through our hallway, living space and conservatory, and the area between our kitchen and spare room/office. It looks so good that we’re planning to do the spare room/office next so the floor continues right through the downstairs. One day, we’ll do the kitchen too but, for now, we’re so delighted with the transformation of our downstairs.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE TO OUR HOME
It was actually quite a shock to see the difference between the before and after photos – it was only once the new flooring was down that we realised how bad the old flooring really was! It looks fresher, it feels warmer underfoot and in general, and, somehow, it actually feels more like home.
Are you ready for the before picture?
BEFORE
This blog post is in partnership with The Wooden Floor Store who provided a media discount for the flooring, underlay and delivery.
The Wooden Floor Store
The flooring we chose is available online at The Wooden Floor Store – we would highly recommend their service and product based on our experience with them, which has been seamless and well communicated. If you’re interested, take a look at their website, and I’d suggest making an appointment to view one of their showrooms to see the floors and get advice on what type will suit your lifestyle best. You can find The Wooden Floor Store on Facebook and Instagram.
AFM Property Maintenance
Our flooring was laid by our local joiner AFM Property Maintenance and we can’t recommend him highly enough – the professionalism and excellence was brilliant, and the care Andy took of our home was really appreciated too. Friendly, professional and a great price. AFM Property Maintenance can be found online and on Facebook and Instagram.
