Wooden Floors or Porcelain Tiles in the Hall?

nemo32

Hi Everyone,

All opinions welcome, We are thinking of putting porcelain tiles in our hall, kitchen/dining area but I am concerned that they will be too cold and too cold looking. The other option is to putting laminate wooden floors in the hall and just keep the tiles to the kitchen/dining area.

What do you lot think would be best? The area including the hall, kitchen/dining area is very large btw.

Thanks for your opinions

paddy147

nemo32 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

All opinions welcome, We are thinking of putting porcelain tiles in our hall, kitchen/dining area but I am concerned that they will be too cold and too cold looking. The other option is to putting laminate wooden floors in the hall and just keep the tiles to the kitchen/dining area.

What do you lot think would be best? The area including the hall, kitchen/dining area is very large btw.

Thanks for your opinions

I put solid marble in my kitchen/dining area.

Wide plank oak flooring in the living area and then a cream white tile in the porch.

The house is open plan and one area leads into the other.Worked out very well.:)

nemo32

So you have marble tiles on your kithen? What do you have in your hall way leading into the kitchen?

paddy147

nemo32 wrote: »

So you have marble tiles on your kithen? What do you have in your hall way leading into the kitchen?

I had the hallway removed during a major renovation and extension project (completely gutted/stripped back to a bare shell,roof removed).

The house is now a rather large open plan style house.

Big front porch,this leads into a large open plan living area,then this leads on out into a large open plan kitchen and dinning area.

Living area is sectioned off from the kitchen/dinning ares with recessed sliding doors,that are built into the walls and slide back into them (space saving).

The kitchen/dinning area is finished in 600 x 600 x 25mm cream solid marble tiles with a 600 x 200 x 25mm brown marble border.

The only reason I went with tiles in the porch was that both the architect and builder said that it would break up all the spaces to make the porch its own and seperate from the living area,and then the same with seperating the living area from the kitchen.

Ive also been in another house that my builder did,and he fitted wide plank wooden flooring from the porch on into the living area (clients wishes),and it did look well too.




Its down to your own personal preference,at the end of the day.

funky mum

Hi Nemo

We are building at the moment and have decided to put tiles all the way through the hall and into the kitchen/ dining / living area. It will be a large open plan area at the back. I'm going to use the same tiles throughout the house.

I have wooden floors at the moment in the hall and they are so worn looking from all the trekking in and out, I can't wait to get the tiles down. Laminate is harder wearing though so it wouldn't show up scratch marks as easily I think.

One thing to consider is that we will have underfloor heating in our new build which will help make the tiles warmer.

nemo32

funky mum wrote: »

Hi Nemo

We are building at the moment and have decided to put tiles all the way through the hall and into the kitchen/ dining / living area. It will be a large open plan area at the back. I'm going to use the same tiles throughout the house.

I have wooden floors at the moment in the hall and they are so worn looking from all the trekking in and out, I can't wait to get the tiles down. Laminate is harder wearing though so it wouldn't show up scratch marks as easily I think.

One thing to consider is that we will have underfloor heating in our new build which will help make the tiles warmer.

Thanks funky mum,

If I had the money I would do what your doing with the underfloor heating, I defo think it would be the best look to go for as the house would flow alot better... I bet it will look fab

LaChatteGitane

Imo it depends on what 'look' you'll be going for.
My first choice would be natural stone tiles (but then not the polished marble that paddy has in his kitchen ). Tiles are great for high traffic areas (ie entrance hall and kitchen)
My choice for 'living and sleeping areas' would be 'real' wood flooring.
The thing with natural materials is that they work great with contemporary, even minimalist interiors as well as traditional.

But, it is also a question of personal tastes.

ps Aren't you a little worried that your dining room will be too cold/clinical with ceramic tiles ?

nemo32

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

Imo it depends on what 'look' you'll be going for.
My first choice would be natural stone tiles (but then not the polished marble that paddy has in his kitchen ). Tiles are great for high traffic areas (ie entrance hall and kitchen)
My choice for 'living and sleeping areas' would be 'real' wood flooring.
The thing with natural materials is that they work great with contemporary, even minimalist interiors as well as traditional.

But, it is also a question of personal tastes.

ps Aren't you a little worried that your dining room will be too cold/clinical with ceramic tiles ?

Hi,

Yes I know what you mean, it does all come down to personal choice at the end of the day. Well the dining room will be part of the kitchen area really so wanted to keep the same look for these areas. Don't want to go with solid wood, they mark and stain too easy. Need something hard wearing so this is why we are going with tiles of laminates. Thank again.

LaChatteGitane

nemo32 wrote: »

Hi,

Yes I know what you mean, it does all come down to personal choice at the end of the day. Well the dining room will be part of the kitchen area really so wanted to keep the same look for these areas. Don't want to go with solid wood, they mark and stain too easy. Need something hard wearing so this is why we are going with tiles of laminates. Thank again.

Aha. You can always put down a lovely rug underneath the dining room table if you'd fancy that.

If you decide to go for ceramic tiles, choose a colour and finish that is closest to what a natural stone floor would look in colour and texture. Like bluestone, slate or lime stone. There are good replicas.:)

ps don't go for glossy floors, it will look cold and dirt will show up much easier than with a soft or even matt finish.

nemo32

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

ps don't go for glossy floors, it will look cold and dirt will show up much easier than with a soft or even matt finish.

I was thinking glossy floors because we are going for a highgloss and walnut kitchen, not a good idea?

Staplor

I was originally thinking of differentiating my hall from kitchen, I didn't in the end, and went for a light travertine the whole way through. The benefit of a matt finish is that it hides the dirt really well, so if someone drops in unannounced the house looks well. My sister went with porcelin and she's constantly cleaning them (a few times a day) while I get away with a hoover every week and a wash maybe once a month.

LaChatteGitane

nemo32 wrote: »

I was thinking glossy floors because we are going for a highgloss and walnut kitchen, not a good idea?

I would'nt think this a good idea at all.

A matt-ish floor finish will give you 'grounding'. That's first.

Secondly, you don't want your highly polished floor detracting from your high gloss kitchen. They will fight for attention so to speak, while a subtle floor will contrast/complement your high gloss kitchen perfectly.

Cedrus

I would think hard about the practicalities and be sure to chose not just the right look but more importantly the right 'duty' floor. The hall is a very high traffic area at the best of times, with wet gritty shoes and all the shopping etc. getting landed in on it. The ongoing cost of a high maintenance floor will be a lot of cleaning and some strict rules.

You could have no shoes in the house rules and put down any floor you like but if you have kids, pets, gardeners, footballers etc. marching across it you need water and scuff resistant. I used to have a solid wood floor in my hall, I put eight coats of diamond coat varnish on top of what it came with and it was destroyed first by the little scratches of street grit carried in on my shoes, then by a dogs claws when he went berserk every time some one came in the door and finally the wet from shoes got through the scratches and stained the wood. I used floor mats but they actually made it worse as grit got under them and scratched the floor where I didn't see it.

I currently have smooth matt tiles throughout the ground floor which are solid rather than glazed, so actually the same as porcelain but without the gloss finish and they work brilliantly (I do have underfloor heating though).

nemo32

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

I would'nt think this a good idea at all.

A matt-ish floor finish will give you 'grounding'. That's first.

Secondly, you don't want your highly polished floor detracting from your high gloss kitchen. They will fight for attention so to speak, while a subtle floor will contrast/complement your high gloss kitchen perfectly.

Ok so when you say matt-ish finish, it could be porcelain without the polished finish?

nemo32

Cedrus wrote: »

I would think hard about the practicalities and be sure to chose not just the right look but more importantly the right 'duty' floor. The hall is a very high traffic area at the best of times, with wet gritty shoes and all the shopping etc. getting landed in on it. The ongoing cost of a high maintenance floor will be a lot of cleaning and some strict rules.

You could have no shoes in the house rules and put down any floor you like but if you have kids, pets, gardeners, footballers etc. marching across it you need water and scuff resistant. I used to have a solid wood floor in my hall, I put eight coats of diamond coat varnish on top of what it came with and it was destroyed first by the little scratches of street grit carried in on my shoes, then by a dogs claws when he went berserk every time some one came in the door and finally the wet from shoes got through the scratches and stained the wood. I used floor mats but they actually made it worse as grit got under them and scratched the floor where I didn't see it.

I currently have smooth matt tiles throughout the ground floor which are solid rather than glazed, so actually the same as porcelain but without the gloss finish and they work brilliantly (I do have underfloor heating though).

Thanks Cedrus,

Yes I would never go for solid or semi, due to all of the above so we were thinking laminate for the hall as it is pretty hard wearing and not expensive which means we can replace pretty easily if needed.
I would go for the tiles throughout if I had the underfloor heating but I doubt we'll have the budget for that. Did you find it expensive? Does it eat into your heating bill?

So when you say smooth matt tiles you mean, matt porcelain rather than polished?

solerina

I have polished porcelain tiles in my hall, they are high gloss and cream.. I find them fantastic, I got sealant when I put them in and have never looked back, they are very easy to claen and if they get wet from wet shoes they just need to be left to dry and the dirt/dust can be swept away....no problem what so ever.

LaChatteGitane

nemo32 wrote: »

Ok so when you say matt-ish finish, it could be porcelain without the polished finish?

Yes, absolutely !

Cedrus

nemo32 wrote: »

Thanks Cedrus,

Yes I would never go for solid or semi, due to all of the above so we were thinking laminate for the hall as it is pretty hard wearing and not expensive which means we can replace pretty easily if needed.
I would go for the tiles throughout if I had the underfloor heating but I doubt we'll have the budget for that. Did you find it expensive? Does it eat into your heating bill?

So when you say smooth matt tiles you mean, matt porcelain rather than polished?

It really depends on your own demands, we have dogs and we wear shoes indoors (downstairs anyway) so hard wear is important, this is not the same for everybody. I love the look of polished porcelain but it's a non runner in our house because although it's very difficult to scratch, we have the wear pattern that will do it. I also wanted travertine but that has to be sealed to prevent staining and with my previous experience, I wasn't going to risk it.

I wouldn't go with laminate in a hall because it's not waterproof, I've seen laminate floors where the joints have got wet and the hardboardy stuff underneath has swelled and the floor has buckled. They can be sealed and for some levels of wear they could be fine, but again, not in our house. Like you say laminate is not too expensive but in a small hall you'll be paying for the labour because of the intricacy. Also, unlike tiles you will have to replace all of it if it is an interlocking type.

Our underfloor heating came with the house and it's not expensive to run but it was further justification for going with a hard non insulating floor finish.

nemo32

solerina wrote: »

I have polished porcelain tiles in my hall, they are high gloss and cream.. I find them fantastic, I got sealant when I put them in and have never looked back, they are very easy to claen and if they get wet from wet shoes they just need to be left to dry and the dirt/dust can be swept away....no problem what so ever.

This is the problem, there will always be conflicting opinions and as the most undecisive person on the planet maybe I shouldn't ask the questions in the first place.. haha.

Do you find them cold looking though? Do they hold the heat at all?

tred

nemo32 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

All opinions welcome, We are thinking of putting porcelain tiles in our hall, kitchen/dining area but I am concerned that they will be too cold and too cold looking. The other option is to putting laminate wooden floors in the hall and just keep the tiles to the kitchen/dining area.

What do you lot think would be best? The area including the hall, kitchen/dining area is very large btw.

Thanks for your opinions

I did something simlar, i have large porcelin tiles running from entrance hall, into kitchen utility left and large dinging room/kitchen. Its a new build, so i have lots of insulation underneath, but the tiles are never cold!,and i have radiators as well. It gives a real open plan feel and its easy to maintain.

nemo32

tred wrote: »

I did something simlar, i have large porcelin tiles running from entrance hall, into kitchen utility left and large dinging room/kitchen. Its a new build, so i have lots of insulation underneath, but the tiles are never cold!,and i have radiators as well. It gives a real open plan feel and its easy to maintain.

Any chance you have a pic tred? Are they polished or matt?

Tayto1976

Hi,

I'm new to this site so forgive my ignorance if I'm posting out of turn.

We just bought a house that has horrible carpet throughout. We want to redo the hall, front living room, back playroom and dining room. There are ceramic tile in the kitchen which we will leave as is for now, it's not cold and it's a. Nice looking tile.
I too don't like the cold feel of tile. We like the look of wood for the hall and are thinking of going with 'Amtico', it's a very natural look and warmer than wood. It's very expensive to lay though but there cheaper 'Spacia' range have now got a 20 year wear guarantee.
Does anyone have any experience with this floor covering and if so what did you think of it??
From the samples in the showroom it looks so much like wood and perfect for kids/pets as it doesn't scratch or wear.

We are also thinking Putting the Spacia in the front sitting room for the look and feel. For the back playroom we are thinking a laminate floor as its only the kids room really. For the dining room I'm also thinking laminate as this room will be partially knocked through and joined into the kitchen when funds permitt in the future.

Nemo32 - have you considered Amtico?
Anyone have any opinions on this flooring choice?

paddy147

Tayto1976 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm new to this site so forgive my ignorance if I'm posting out of turn.

We just bought a house that has horrible carpet throughout. We want to redo the hall, front living room, back playroom and dining room. There are ceramic tile in the kitchen which we will leave as is for now, it's not cold and it's a. Nice looking tile.
I too don't like the cold feel of tile. We like the look of wood for the hall and are thinking of going with 'Amtico', it's a very natural look and warmer than wood. It's very expensive to lay though but there cheaper 'Spacia' range have now got a 20 year wear guarantee.
Does anyone have any experience with this floor covering and if so what did you think of it??
From the samples in the showroom it looks so much like wood and perfect for kids/pets as it doesn't scratch or wear.

We are also thinking Putting the Spacia in the front sitting room for the look and feel. For the back playroom we are thinking a laminate floor as its only the kids room really. For the dining room I'm also thinking laminate as this room will be partially knocked through and joined into the kitchen when funds permitt in the future.

Nemo32 - have you considered Amtico?
Anyone have any opinions on this flooring choice?

Pics of what I went for,with regards the open-plan areas of my house.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=79533879&postcount=4