The Bowns loved their Edwardian house but after giving their kitchen a modern twist, they wanted a gorgeous wood floor that would strike the balance between period home décor and contemporary design. A herringbone floor was particularly appealing to them, and they found their perfect match in our Painswick Amber Oak Herringbone, a beautiful parquet floor that doesn’t compromise on durability.  

Floor used in this project: Painswick Amber Oak

Why did you choose Luxury Flooring? 

We were looking for a contemporary design to match our new kitchen, which, while affordable, had a premium feel. As we were installing it ourselves, we were looking for flooring with modern features such as click joining to make fitting it as simple as possible. We were spoilt for choice with Luxury Flooring as there were so many great oak flooring options in various shades. 

What was most important to you when designing your room? 

A wood floor design which fit our aesthetic. We love the period features in our Edwardian house and wooden floors were a must during that time, so we wanted to ensure we chose flooring that looked as authentic as possible.

What’s your story? I.e. What were you trying to achieve? 

We bought this home three years ago and whilst it needed some updating, the beautiful 1911 property was in fantastic condition. Our biggest project was the kitchen which we had always seen potential in. It was a good size, but the design was awkward and made it difficult to socialise at home. There was also a dodgy extension built by the previous owner that would leak when it rained. We wanted to turn the kitchen into a beautiful, modern open plan space with a nod to our period features and style. We chose to knock down the back wall and install sliding doors, and we chose deep forest kitchen cupboards with panelling detail. Once we’d combined the old kitchen and the re-done extension into one we’d doubled the floor space, which meant we really needed some beautiful, high-quality flooring to finish off the work. We knew we wanted to keep the walls white, so we needed a warm and welcoming floor which balanced out the room.

What does your home situation look like? I.e. do you live with family, have pets? 

We have two lively Burmese cats who keep us on our toes! Having cats also means that traditional wood flooring with cracks in between wasn’t going to work as the litter would get stuck down them. Therefore, we went for the click-joining system so every plank fit snugly.

What qualities were you looking for in your new flooring? 

As we were using the flooring in our kitchen, we knew it had to be able to take on everything a kitchen does – spillages, high footfall and things being dropped on it! And that’s why Engineered Oak was a fantastic option for us. We needed something that looked authentic but could stand the test of time.

What advice would you give to someone looking to transform their floor? 

I’m a wood flooring person through and through, if there’s a carpet in my house, I’m always ripping it up! Whilst traditional wood flooring looks wonderful, the soft planks dent very easily which we’ve found in our dining room with the chair legs.  A modern wood flooring option which was engineered to be harder wearing was the perfect alternative option, which is why we chose the Painswick Amber Oak Herringbone (HE2020). This flooring was ideal, especially for a large space and the herringbone effect is simply stunning.

Did any trends inspire your interior choices? 

Traditional period properties which have original herringbone wood flooring are my dream! I always see videos on social media of new homeowners ripping up their hallway carpets to find original herringbone. We’d toyed with the idea of installing new herringbone flooring in our living room and hallway which already had wood flooring, but when we decided to redo the kitchen we knew this was the opportunity to make our dream a reality and be able to install a herringbone floor.

How has your new floor improved your home? 

The durability of the floor has been a godsend. Not having to worry about stains when I spill water on the floor (which often happens with cat water bowls!) is a fantastic feature of the flooring. It’s also super soft with a light spring which is perfect for our new open plan living area. The floor retains warmth too and is never cold. We didn’t go with underfloor heating in our kitchen and I’m so glad we didn’t – we don’t need it!

How did you decide on the colours and styles? 

Painswick Amber was ideal because it had a warmth to the oak which complemented both our white walls and dark green kitchen cabinets.