Buying a new floor for your home can be stressful, time consuming and an expensive process. Make sure you have a good while to test your samples, so you can confidently choose the perfect one for your space. Think carefully about how they feel and look, placing it in the rooms you are considering laying it in or even ones you’re not- you never know it could be perfect for that unexpected room!

With so many flooring options on the market such as: solid and engineered wood, laminate, vinyl, carpet and tiles, it can come as a bit of a challenge choosing the right one! The best thing to do is whittle down the practical benefits of each flooring that is most suitable for the room you’re looking to lay it in. For example, wood flooring is very durable, and carpet is warm and luxurious under foot- choosing the right flooring is a whole other decision

Once you’ve chosen the type of flooring you’re looking for, it’s time to order your sample, and here at Luxury Flooring we provide them free!

Test Durability

It’s well known that products vary in resilience hugely. Start off by seeing how easily it scratches and dents. Try dropping a heavy object onto your sample or drag something sharp across it, within reason of course! Try spilling water or something that’s likely to stain such as red wine or food products. After this, clean it up straight away then repeat the process, leaving it longer before you clean it up. Another good test is to try walking on it with heels, run your kid’s toys over it, get your pet’s paws in contact with it. All these tests will show how resilient your flooring is to the trails of everyday life.

Texture

As you can imagine, you will come into contact with your flooring a lot, so it’s important to get the feel of it right. Place the samples down and walk on it barefoot, it’s imperative for it to feel cushioned and comfortable underfoot. Flooring with a high textured surface can sometimes feel slightly rougher under foot, tiles are cold and firm, so make sure you test it, so you make the right decision. While walking on the floor, take notice whether or not the shoes leave marks with the pressure of your weight.

 Lighting

This can hugely change the way your flooring appears. Place the sample in different areas of the room at different times of the day. As well as this, test it in artificial and natural light- make sure the floor looks flattering with all types of light at all times of the day. Don’t be afraid to order samples that you might not have originally associated with the colour scheme in your room- you’ll never know how it will look until you test it in the room. Look at both warm and cool tones to see what works best.

Consider Temperature Changes

Extremes in temperatures can alter flooring. Consider the temperatures of the room and make sure you expose the sample to this. For example, the boiler room will see significantly higher temperatures than the living room, so it’s certainly worth putting the sample through this test. Not all flooring can cooperate with underfloor heating too, so make sure you’ve done your research about which floorings are appropriate if under floor heating is something you have already or are looking to install.

One you’ve put your sample through these tests, then it should become clearer to see which flooring makes the best choice for your home.

Have Your Say

What do you look for when testing your samples? Let us know down below!

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