Flooring- tell me about your open plan kitchen diner

[BettyCarver]

We’re in the process of planning to knock through our kitchen and dining room to have a large open space at the back of the house. There’s also a door off into a garden room. House is Victorian and we’ll go for a traditional shaker style kitchen with painted cupboards. Really stuck on flooring. Would love engineered oak, either for the whole space or for the dining area with tiles in the kitchen. But I’m aware this might not be the most practical or hard wearing option. Willing to consider anything... I was very sniffy about Karndean but have seen some really nice designs and the option of being able to replace a strip if something horrendous gets spilt on it is certainly appealing. I want style but am realistic that it’s a living and working space so don’t want to be too precious.
What have you chosen if you have a similar space, and what do you love/ regret about it?

I have Amtico in my kitchen. It's been down about eight years and still looks great. It's hard wearing, and easy to clean. It's similar to Karndean.

If you go for tiles in the kitchen be aware that anything dropped on it will smash instantly. (I once dropped a Le Creuset saucepan on a tiled floor and it cracked in two)

Engineered American walnut here. Easy to clean. Looks fab

Karndean boards here (palio Clik?)

It's not slippy, is bomb proof re scratches etc, and totally waterproof.

Have previously had:
Tiles - painfully cold underfoot without underfloor heating, and very few items have a chance of surviving if dropped
Real wood - had to be so careful with any damp being wiped up but still warped, scratched horrifically and the twice annual sand and oil was a pita (same for wooden worktops)
Engineered wood - slightly better than real wood, but discoloured in the sun

Currently have Karndean and LOVE it. Been fitted for almost 4 years and have had zero issues. Will be having it when we have bathroom done later in the year

Lvt in ours which is fine, but do think tiles in kitchen area and wood in dining area would be nicest.

This is really helpful. Leaning more towards karndean but don’t want to live with regrets! Would also prefer solid wood worktops but have already rejected the idea based on conversations with friends!

Engineered oak here. As above, previously had tiles before extension and would never have tiles again. it's been in for 4 years, family of 5, not overly precious but don't wear shoes (although we don't ask guests to remove shoes) and wipe up spills etc. it still looks good. I'd have it again.

70s house here but both times we've had LVT floors.

Our current one is from Tapi abs a grey wood look. I love it! It doesn't look like a plastic floor and was quick and easy to lay.

On worktops, we've got quartz. We got a good deal from a local stonemason (left overs from a big corporate job) he told us that if you're getting quartz go for Italian not Chinese. Chinese is cheaper but isn't as hard wearing.

We have Karndean everywhere. Not what we had in mind originally, but everyone who worked on the kitchen had a view (and they all said the same thing) so we started to doubt ourselves. They were right.

Your friends are absolutely right about the solid wood worktops.

We are going with oak boards. Rustic, to match the rest of the house.

Could someone give a rough price on karndean per sq m? And does it work with underfloor heating? Thanks!

We've just had LVT fitted in our kitchen diner and it's brilliant, well worth it with 3 kids.

Couldn't agree more on steering clear of wood worktops. Utter pain in the backside in our previous house. Couldn't leave anything slightly damp on it without permanent marks, needs regular oiling etc. We've gone for black granite this time and it's fantastic and easy to keep spotless

We have tiles and are very happy with them. We'll be extending later this year and adding a family room off the kitchen diner. Hoping the same tiles are still available, and we'll add a large rug for coziness.

Tiles here and love them, but should have had underfloor heating added! Dd has engineered oak in hers and wants tiles in her new house! We have a big rug in the seating end.

Have Karndean and love it, but probably could have got away with the engineered wood elsewhere in the house! Also have a wooden worktop because that's what we wanted - they aren't that difficult to look after (had in previous house too). We have some things from Joseph Joseph to put hot pans on.

Kitchen is beautiful and from British Standard which make lovely inframe kitchens and are fairly reasonable if you're looking for a supplier

I wouldn't have wooden worktops again - we were quite careful with ours and still couldn't stop black marks around the sink / taps. Quartz is more expensive but I wouldnt have anything else now.

No we’re definitely not going for wooden worktops. Shame, because they look lovely (in the showroom) but the maintenance sounds way too much hassle

Pergo laminate here and quartz worktops. Love them both.