Anyone got a light karndean floor?

[digginthedancingqueen]

Am tempted by the washed scandi pine. Am assuming it's easier to keep clean than wood.

Anyone got a light Karndean floor? Would love to see pictures if you have.

Yes, in the kitchen - ours is a stone effect and a smooth surface (as opposed to the Polyflor dark timber effect - textured - we have in the rest of the downstairs).

It's been in for less than 1 year and has scratched very badly. Unlike our Polyflor. I would not recommend Karndean as a result.

The stone effect slightly masks the scratches but we now have a gazillion rugs/runners everywhere to manage the kitchen floor. We have spare tiles left over - so the tiles can be replaced - but we are looking at 7 big tiles already needing replaced which is as many as we have left over.

The same dog/active children have been all over both the kitchen and the rest of the downstairs. Only the Karndean kitchen floor has failed us. Polyflor still looks amazing.

I would strongly recommend a textured finish rather than smooth/flat. The texture on our Polyflor is so much more forgiving. Not a single noticeable scratch and it's been down for 4 years. Much more hardwearing (despite the Karndean allegedly being better quality and more expensive).

As you want timber there's not much point sharing pictures - but light Karndean is not something I would repeat. Light Polyflor - and textured - I might go for.

Good luck with your decision; I wish I could be more positive about Karndean.

We have had karndean 15 years and it looks as good as new , but I think they have different strengths ? I would go heavy duty

@littlebauxpeep - we were considering a light stone effect karndean for our kitchen, so your review is timely. Would you possibly post pics of that and your polyflor too?

Thanks for the post OP.

Depends how much you spend, karndean higher end stuff is bombproof (I've got Van Gogh oak in my house)
We have camro cashmere oak at work which I like the look of but it does scratch easier than my karndean at home. It's a very high traffic area though. I would have it in my house no problem and it's reasonably priced.

We've had the korlok in Canadian urban oak in our house for a year. DH managed to take a chunk out of one of the planks by dropping a heavy screwdriver from 5m up a ladder 🤦‍♀️ however it was actually really easy to replace the one plank. It's in our hallway, kitchen/diner, utility and downstairs WC so high traffic areas, and has so far other than the screwdriver incident been great.

I don't understand why everyone on mumsnet seems to love karndeen but if you look elsewhere online the reviews are pretty poor e.g uk.trustpilot.com/review/karndean.com
I have not tried it so cannot personally comment but was put off by reviews elsewhere.

I have 4 friends who have it and they all love it so not sure it's just Mumsnet that loves it. I think if it's not fitted well that causes problems.

I have limewashed oak flooring throughout downstairs and love it. Only a few scratches in kitchen area but as its textured not really noticeable.

@crystalize is lime washed oak a knight tile? The ones I like are the paler ones in the knight tile range.

We have macrocapra all through downstairs apart from the kitchen, and have done for 10 years or so. We are totally careless with it, have 2 big dogs, are not a shoes off house, and it still looks good. In the dining room it did look a bit scratched where ds has an office chair in lockdown, but actually it was dented and dirt gets trapped and it just needed a scrub. At some point it will get a layer of the polish...

We have it in bathroom and dining room and it's great. Easy to clean, only a couple of scratches (that's with 2 kids who love to drop/drag/throw things anout)

I have a cheaper type version lvt flooring , and been down four years and is great , no real scratches despite dog etc and I even steam clean every now and again ( didn't realise I couldn't until recently) usually just use method spray and mop to clean , find it really useful.

I have it in my conservatory, it has worn well but has badly faded. Bu t to be fair it has been down for 10 years!

@digginthedancingqueen Mine is the KP99 Limewashed Oak straight tiles not zig zag..not sure what the Knight tile is? Had it down over 6 years, really like the zig zag style now! I personally wouldn't go lighter than mine.

@crystalize why would you not go lighter? Because of the dirt showing?

@digginthedancingqueen I think because mine is very light as it is, even in the north facing room! Its good though as lots of different shades so the dirt not as obvious. My sister went for a lighter one (different brand) thought it would be similar to mine... she wishes she went darker.

We have white washed oak and 4 years it’s been down for and it’s great. We went light flooring as our house is built into the hill so on the lower floor only have two sets of French doors for natural light so wanted as light as possible. Cleans well and looks as good as it did when it got laid. Was also useful to know that as it got put down in a new build we didn’t have to pay Vat on it.

I have Van Gogh french oak, and I'm really happy with it. My favourite colour was in the cheaper Knight Tile range, but I was warned off buying from that range. The negative reviews I've read have mostly been about that renge. It clearly scratches more easily than the other ranges. My granddaughter has been driving around my living room in her Little Tikes car again today. No worries at all about that. It's never left the slightest mark.

[quote digginthedancingqueen]@crystalize is lime washed oak a knight tile? The ones I like are the paler ones in the knight tile range. [/quote]
Missed this. As above, I'd compromise on colour and get buy from the next band up.

Thanks for the tip @saraclara
I've got some samples through and the lighter ones look very white! Feel like an back to square one every time. Need to order a lot more samples, I think.
I still love chevron engineered wood the most but am being practical with 3 footballers in the house and all their friends (when it's legal).

Quick follow up as I see a lot of people are saying avoid Karndean Knight Tile and you'll have a bomb-proof floor re. scratches. Van Gogh seems the most recommended.

I've now checked the Karndean website and Opus and Van Gogh ranges have exactly the same wear layer. The difference may be that Van Gogh only has timber effect options. Opus has the stone effects. Ours is Opus Argento.

I don't know what makes the difference - considering they have exactly the same wear layers (in fact it's double the wear layer our better looking after 4+ years Polyflor Camaro Wild Amber Oak).

Maybe the timber effect helps longevity? I definitely think a textured effect is more forgiving than a smooth tile.

You want a timber effect OP so perhaps the exact same wear layer on Van Gogh will be better than our Opus?? I certainly hope so.

I wish we'd gone cheaper and got Polyflor again. Karndean has been a disappointment for me but I do think LVT is fantastic - just not Karndean Opus Argento!

@Whatpaint - can't seem to add you - just seen your request. Will get some snaps after zoom schooling...

Thanks @littlebauxpeep - also interesting that the Opus is not great, it's not just the knight tile range.