Picking the Right Flooring Style for Your Flat. The mixed housing stock around Stockwell means there’s no such thing as a typical apartment. Georgian terraces and medieval Parish bound parts of new town sit across the street from brutalist housing estates. Both can be neighbored by glassy new build developments with high spec internal finishes.

Choosing a flooring style for your place can’t be a one-size-fits-all thing, and pretending otherwise will only cost you money.

Light oak-effect laminate works wonders in Victorian conversions and the three-storey townhouses bordering around Stockwell Park Road. Low ceilings, small windows, not a lot of natural light. A light oak plinth reflects what little you have rather than blocking it out completely. Going in a totally different direction in a new build with large glass areas, darker tones like smoked oak or a light walnut will work as happily as you don’t need that much natural light.

Larger rooms lend themselves to a darker colour palette too, a room can only be dim if it has small windows!

Herringbone, Chevron, Straight Plank?

Herringbone can look a bit formal or standoffish in a new-build, and a bit period in a Victorian house. Sits better in flats that still have that traditional high ceiling and cornicing combo, but costs more to install because the angles mean more cutting.

Chevron is more directional, sharp and architectural in feel, and can sit better in modern home renos despite looking traditional. Straight plank is cheap to fit, faster to put down, not as picky about shape and size of room. If you rent, live in a Victorian conversion, or just don’t want to overspend on your flat.

Straight plank laminate flooring in a light oak colour will tick all the practical boxes without looking dull.

Give us a call on 020 3322 7001 if you can’t decide between patterns. We can tell you what texture and size works in your room, and for your light.

Plank Width Dramatically Changes the Overall Feel of a Room

Narrow planks will seem smaller, better for tight box rooms and crowded hallways Wide planks will seem bigger, and better for larger rooms, but do you really want them in your pokey Victorian conversion? Much of old Stockwell house stock includes small rooms, narrow or medium planks will seem better proportioned than the wide one you get in glossy photo shoots.

Color Tones Matter More Than You Think

Grey laminate pairs with grey brick walls can sometimes seem harsh in real life compared to an actual sample, and not just because of shop bar lighting.

You’d think the color sample under bright fluorescent lights in the store would be accurate enough but you’d be wrong, and they’ll look a whole lot different in your real room at all times of day. Try to take a sample plank and match it to your actual wall or furniture color at different points in the day. Morning light will look different from late afternoon light which will look different from evening light.

Sound fussy?

Yeah, it probably is but we promise that you won’t regret it once you see how the floor looks for years to come. Curtains, fabric, color of the sofa all effect how your floor’s color will read after a while, and sometimes the tiniest change in light can have a dramatic effect.

Think it through before you spend money!

No, Style Isn’t Everything

No, style isn’t everything but a floor that scratches up in no time isn’t particularly fashionable. If you have kids and/or dogs living in your Victorian flat you’ll need a wear layer that will last for the long haul, and any renter will need the same thing because of high turnover that ruins floors. Our two decades of fitting laminate across South London has taught us what new HPL finishes hold up best, and how different ranges vary when aged with high amounts of traffic. Not all of London’s wood flooring company stock the same lines, and you really do see the difference after a few months of dogs, young kids, and banana skins.

Some ranges look good on the shelf and become very difficult to live with after six months.

Is it better to buy a thicker or thinner engineered board to put over underfloor heating?

Underfloor heating?

Ask now before you fall in love with the pattern you selected.

A good wood flooring installer should tell you before you spend money on the boards!

Who Else Wants to Know Which Style Is Best for Small Flats in London?

Narrow or mid-width straight plank laminate in a light oak tone is ideal for cramped London flats because it makes small rooms seem larger, costs less than herringbone and chevron patterns, and handles day to day wear well.

If you rent a Victorian flat in London or just don’t have a big budget, an affordable cheapest laminate floor fitters in London in a light oak will always do the trick and still looks stylish.

Most affordable option for London is probably the cheapest flooring style that doesn’t make your flat look cheap. It is quick to install which matters if you’re trying to get that room up and running again quickly instead of living out of boxes for two weeks. Choosing a pattern shouldn’t be like a game of pin the tail on the donkey, and it definitely shouldn’t be based on a single blog page that you read a fancy list of options and just feel slightly overwhelmed. Best Wood Floor Fitters London has laid laminate throughout the fit out of Mixed housing in South London including Georgian townhouses and river-adjacent flats, and we’re more than happy to tell you what pattern will work well.

Call 020 3322 7001 or visit floorfitterslondon.org.uk to browse our great recent London work.

Please note: Our fitting books fill up during the colder months so please plan ahead!