Laminate flooring all through downstairs

[sniffysnifferson]

We're in the process of planning our kitchen/dining room flooring and have picked out some lovely oak style laminate.
I'm thinking of doing the rest of downstairs with the all the same flooring.
Will it look boring all being the same?
Anyone done the same and reccommend it?

I think wooden or laminate flooring through the whole downstairs looks lovely. We had our dining room and hall done last year and I’m kicking myself for not getting the whole downstairs done because we can’t add to it now as it’s real wood and had faded in some areas. Plus the flooring itself has been discontinued.

Do it.

We have laminate all through downstairs apart from in our (tiny) kitchen. We have a sitting room/dining room from the front to the back of the house and a passage way nearly as long and it looks great.

There is a table and chairs at the back with a bookcase, and sofa, chairs, bookcase, tv etc at the front with a big rug so it is not just a massive length of floor, it's broken up by furniture etc.

If you had the same colour carpet all the way through it would have the same effect as all the same laminate and plenty of people do that.

If you love laminate then you may as well do it. It's easier to clean than carpet and if you fancy a change it's easy enough to put rugs down to match your decor/furnishings. (Of course you can do this with carpet too.)

I’ve got oak laminate throughout the whole downstairs and I love that it flows and looks seamless. We have a massive rug in the living room to soften it a little bit. It’s also easy to maintain, I can’t imagine we would change it until we don’t have messy babies and toddlers chucking food at it.

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't thought of having a nice big rug in the lounge to break it up aswell.

We really.love the flooring and whilst the store still stocks it i was debating buying enough for the rest of downstairs.

Those with laminate in the kitchen, how is it holding up? I am worried about going for it I case the moisture/spills in the kitchen cause it to swell.

We have Karndean flooring throughout the whole of the downstairs. There are rugs in the hall and a large rug in the lounge to break it up and provide a little warmth; I think it looks great.

I would be worried that it would be cold. My mum had her living dining room done and it really did seem to make a difference.

My entire house is laminate except the stairs.
All the bedrooms and everything downstairs.
Makes cleaning a breeze! No poo/wee/sick issues on kids bedroom carpets. No wine/juice spill issues on downstairs carpets etc! All good!

It's fine but don't go for the cheapest. I. Did and its a bit shit, looks cheap and sort of bends and flexes when you walk on it. Fine if you go for better quality though.

@sighrollseyes what’s the noise from people walking on laminate upstairs like when you’re downstairs? I’m sure that’s not good grammar but I can’t think how to phrase it better

I have it in bedrooms, hallway and living room. Its great and easily kept clean

Spend as much as you can on a good, thick insulating underlay - it'll be worth every penny - but it's a great idea, together with adding some rugs for comfort or in high traffic areas - it's cheaper than changing your entire carpet when you feel like a change.

It's all very nice, though it doesn't do anything for sound deadening. It has a downside if you need pipes or wires running or repairing under your floor (assuming it's not concrete, cuz to get the floor boards up, you have to take all the laminate up. If its glued, then taling it up wrecks it.

@titusP ours has been down for nearly four years and there’s one small corner of one plank that has a tiny bit of swelling. We wipe up spills fairly quickly and run a micro fibre mop over it most days and it’s completely fine

I had new kitchen and all downstairs redecorated. All the compliments I get are for the laminate flooring I got in all the rooms. It flows really well and as other people have said looks good and seamless.

I did have mat near the sink for water dripping however after I had a leak elsewhere that went unnoticed for hours with no harm done I got rid of it.

Go for it!

This is what I’m having done - it’s a small single storey house and I’m not a fan of carpets. The living room is relatively large so I’m planning at least one rug. I have been assured that it will be ok even in the kitchen and bathroom.

Are you detached or semi?
Asking because our semi neighbours made our life hell when they installed laminate throughout the whole of their downstairs. Afterwards we could hear them open the cutlery drawer, fart, sneeze, telephone calls, what programmes they watched-the works.
Had the last laugh, after 5 years of hell, when we sold to a family with a toddler, a newborn and a yappy dog.
I’m sure it will look lovely.

We did that with karndean type stuff ( I think that’s like a laminate) and so glad we did. Pre children we had a big rug in the lounge to soften it but that went once’s the kids came along. It’s so practical. Been in 7 years and still looks new.
Make sure you have seen your choice on a large expanse. Some ( even the more expensive) can look cheap and shiny. We opted for a very matt, textured one wth lots of flecks of colour ( true forest rustic beech) and it wears so well and you can’t see dirt at all. People are surprised when I say it isn’t real wood.

What @peterpiper said
The noise.
We got rid of all of ours, as the racket our kids made on it was intolerable.
And they slipped and hurt themselves on it all the time

I hate it

But that’s just me clearly ( and peter piper 😬)

Laminate was a bit rubbish when we had it, engineered wood is so much better. You need really flat floors with laminate too, which we didn't have in our Victorian terrace

My downstairs is fully laminated in an oak v groove style laminate.

It’s been down 12 years and looks as good as new - no movement, swelling or damage.

I love it and have a rug to break it up.

Karndean all through downstairs here...I love it. It looks real, it wipes up so easily and my hoover is now upstairs as I just sweep through with a brush. I'd never go back to carpet downstairs with kids, cats etc. It's not cold at all.
I'd like to do upstairs too. It's worth paying for engineered wood flooring..mroe expensive but defo worth it.

I have it downstairs in the hall, kitchen/dining area and living room but have had a few leaks so the laminate under the washing machine and in the kitchen could do with replacing.

Agree with PP who said that engineered wood is better. We have this all through our house except for the kitchen dining area.

As pp pointed out, victorian terraced houses will not be flat. We ended up having to replace joists in a lot of the rooms to put down our engineered wood. Looks lovely tho. But was a bigger project than we'd imagined at the start!

If you can afford it, get solid oak flooring.
It is beautiful and warm underfoot, looks good as it ages, laminate is cold!