What direction to lay flooring

[FlooringCorners]

I'm considering replacing my cheap new build carpet with something like amtico/karndean (details still to be decided).

I like the look of the oak-lookalike, long planks, as I think it looks more spacious in a small, furniture filled room, whereas herringbone, parquet etc look too busy.

I have a main room and hallway that are parallel and it would make sense to have the boards lengthwise there. There is a diagonal connecting bit of hallway between this areas. Would you have the planks in this area the same as all the others - maybe would look a bit short and stubby but the hallway isn't that long, and there would be no need for transitions. Or would you see if the installers can do some kind of fancy join, and then have the planks parallel to the walls in the connecting bit too? I'm not keen on just having abrupt changes of direction at the corner, so I think either all the same, or a mitred sort of join if they can, would be best.

This is the sort of join I wondered about. I have a feeling it wold be more expensive. But would it look better? Or does all one direction everywhere actually flow best, especially in a small space.

We have a similar zigzag area and kept the planks in the same orientation as the rest of the room but I think the picture you posted looks wonderful. It would only work (IMO) with the narrow boards pictured, but done properly, I love it

Yes, that might be a point about the width of the boards. I haven't looked too much into the specifics of Amtico/Karndean yet, but my impression is that they are wider. I think that picture is of a house with hardwood floor.

I have a feeling the installers might just say 'oh it's fine having abrupt changes' or something, you'll never notice' because it's cheaper/easier to install, but I don't know. I've not spoken to anyone yet, just looked on websites to get an idea of what I want, so it could be that they would have some good suggestions. I'm a little suspicious that they are keen on quick options, because of their easy assurance in the FAQ that it's fine to fit up to skirting boards without taking them off, no need to remove toilet or sink pedestals, can cut round any sort of obstacles easily, etc, when I've read that it might look better to get it done properly and remove everything first. On the other hand, it sounds, from that, like it's easy to cut, so maybe it wouldn't be more expensive!

I've now had a quick look at the LVT flooring in John Lewis, to get an idea of what it is. I think I'd not appreciated the size and shape of the tiles. I thought they were long plank shaped tiles, not square! So that probably means the sort of join I was imagining isn't really possible, or at least would be quite complicated.

@FlooringCorners

I've now had a quick look at the LVT flooring in John Lewis, to get an idea of what it is. I think I'd not appreciated the size and shape of the tiles. I thought they were long plank shaped tiles, not square! So that probably means the sort of join I was imagining isn't really possible, or at least would be quite complicated.

Real parquet would work, which is why it was often found in small narrow spaces, and if it’s a small space your budget might not be affected too much.

well there is one main living/kitchen room, maybe 20m^2, with a lot of furniture and stuff in it, and then the two bits of hallway - the parallel bit which is longer, maybe 5m by 1.4m and the shorter diagonal link, maybe 2.5 by 1.4m. I expect real wood would be quite expensive for that size, and not sure about durability - I'm after ease of maintenance for sure - and not sure if parquet, real or LVT, might be too fussy with the amount of furniture etc that I have in a small space. But parquet or herringbone or some of the other patterns would certainly make the diagonal area less obvious where it joins the other two regions.

How about a dark border next to the skirting, that follows the zigzag shape, with the main colour just laid straight? It might give it a bit of extra style at minimum cost.

thanks, that sounds like it could be a good idea; I'll ask about that when I eventually go to look at samples and enquire about it all

Are you sure you weren't looking at cut samples? My husband is a floor layer so I've seen plenty of LVT boxes in his van and they're always plank shaped unless they're for herringbone/parquet patterns when they're small rectangles.

Not sure at all...! I just wandered into the JL flooring department and looked at lots of samples hanging in frames you could flip through. They could well have been cut samples - they were large squares. I'd never seen it before, so I was trying to see what it felt/looked like, how thick they were, how wood-like they appeared etc. The squares might well have been there to show you the colours etc only. They had Amtico and Karndean and possibly something else, and of those two, I preferred the feel of the Amtico, but I haven't looked into any others yet, and I know that is one of the pricier ones!

Karndean and Amtico wood definitely came in long strips when I had them installed.

Wood effect LV is usually Planks. The squares were probably samples

thanks, I must have totally misunderstood the samples then (I am a total novice at this!!). Maybe the mitred sort of join would be possible then. I'll ask when I eventually make an appointment at the flooring shop (it seems so much more of a big deal to have to make an appointment, rather than just pop in and browse, that I want to know what I am talking about before I go!).

There's so much choice, the different brands, and the different levels within each brand. I want something that will withstand people walking on a main path from the door to the table/desk, which happens several times a day, and which means the cheap carpet has got quite worn and dirty looking along that path, despite cleaning it as much as I can. It's such a small flat that that is the main route! I also have quite a bit of furniture etc, including a couple of things that end up needing to be moved quite often, which on carpet I have just been able to drag (I live alone, so no-one to help lift), or roll on a trolley, so I need something able to withstand some scratches. But only the other hand, no children or pets, just me here, so not huge use. I was thinking maybe the middle range of each of the Karndean/Amtico/other company, if I can afford it - depends on what the installation cost will be.

The company that sells Amtico also goes very much for the QuickStep stuff, so I think they will try to promote that strongly. I'm open to other ideas, so happy to consider alternatives, but I am not sure they will be unbiased.

I want something that can go right up to the skirting boards, kick boards, etc, and not need an expansion gap or beading, edging etc, and apparently the LVT can do that? But other sorts of vinyl can't? I'd much rather not have to take skirting boards off and replace them if possible, but currently they (and the plinth in the kitchen) have a layer of mastic round the bottom, so I don't know what condition they'll be in once that's taken off to lay a new floor. I am hoping it might just peel off smoothly...

We’ve just had Karndean Palio Clic laid in our bathroom. It came in packs of 10 planks.

We have recently had Polyflor Expona. Polyflor sent samples, then bigger samples as I was full of indecision. It's a bit cheaper than Amtico. But the labour costs are the same I guess.

We have Karndean Parquet which I love and don't find too busy