Doormats

[Libby18]

No not the human kind - advice about coir mat inset into wooden floor please! My living room comes straight off the street - no hallway. I'm having a new wooden floor and everyone advises an inset coir mat as you come in the front door. However my partner says 'If you cut out part of the floor to put down some grubby mat thereby reducing the effect of the new floor it will look like a low-class entrance . Just can't fathom that you can't see how it would detract from the effect and therefore value at the point one enters and has first impressions!!!!' Everyone else thinks it's a good idea as otherwise dirt and grit will be dragged in and scratch the floor. He has a good idea about home decor - but it's my house we're talking about though he shares it a lot of the time. I don't want to make a silly mistake and upset him but I don't know what to do - the house doesn't even have a porch (it's a listed cottage so not sure if it is allowed) and even though there's an outside mat it's not effective when you step in. There's no room for a thin mat on top of the wood as the front door as a draught excluder right to the floor. Would it really be a bad idea??

[wowfudge]

An inset mat has an edging round it. You need to be able to pull the mat out (usually on the door side) to shake it out. Put a rubber doormat outside if you can to take any real muck off before you even get inside.

It's a sensible solution. As you say, you couldn't put a doormat on top of the wood and open the door. Your DP is being a tit.

[Libby18]

Thanks so much wowfudge, yes indeed I am making sure I can take the coir mat out and shake it so it won't get 'grubby', and even replace if necessary with something more aesthetic. Agree about DP.

[AgathaF]

I think the inset door mat thing looks a bit like shop/retail premises. Why can't you put a door mat over the wooden floor - any style and any size doormat - rather than limit your options to having to always have something the size and depth of the inset area?

[Libby18]

Thanks but the point is that I can't get anything to go in front of the door - it has a draught preventer that brushes the floor as you open it because otherwise you'd have a gap and the draught would go right into the living room. Hence, having to have something inset into the floor as you come in. I agree it could look like a shop entrance and that's my worry - maybe there is some alternative to coir?

[Libby18]

The door opens inwards, you see, into the living room and there isn't room underneath it for a mat unless inset.

[AgathaF]

Ah, in that case then I agree an inset mat would be practical.

[fairislecable]

A friend had beautiful wooden flooring put down throughout the ground floor, she insisted she wished to retain the clear unbroken lines - so no mat well.

The floor fitters said as they left see you next month. They were correct she had them back to fit a mat well!

It looks lovely and it is practical.

[dudsville]

I think built in floor mats make sense and look nice. I think loose door mats are annoying and look messy. I think it would be odd to walk into a room straight off the street and drip or spread mud potentially all over someone's doorway.

[dudsville]

I think coir is the most obvious choice but we actually wanted to match our dark flooring so that the break in materials was more seamless. We chose actual shop entrance "carpet", the ribbed stuff, in black.