Flooring trends

[Soffit]

I've seen a few threads on here ridiculing laminate wood flooring. I don't have laminate but Kahrs engineered wood. It was fairly expensive but has been down for over ten years now. It is looking a bit tired and I'm not sure I want the hassle of sanding and resealing. In any case. It arguably looks similar to THOSE laminates.

Recently, I have seen that dark wooden floors have become more mainstream. Are darker woods like dark oak or American walnut more in vogue now?

...and could I lay it on top of the Kahrs by using it as a sub floor without taking it all up?

If your existing floor is firmly fixed and stable and unwarped then you can lay a new floor over it - but you’d have to plane any doors to fit and aesthetically the slight difference in height between the new floor and other rooms might not appeal.

Dark floors are becoming fashionable, but I’d base your choice on what you personally like and what goes with your furniture rather than what’s in vogue - you’ll have this floor for another decade or more during which trends will constantly change and colours come in and out.

@ComtesseDeSpair

If your existing floor is firmly fixed and stable and unwarped then you can lay a new floor over it - but you’d have to plane any doors to fit and aesthetically the slight difference in height between the new floor and other rooms might not appeal.

Dark floors are becoming fashionable, but I’d base your choice on what you personally like and what goes with your furniture rather than what’s in vogue - you’ll have this floor for another decade or more during which trends will constantly change and colours come in and out.

Thanks Comtesse. All the doors need to be changed anyway. I am also thinking of doing it to have some consistency from floor to floor. Do you think a light wood on the ground floor and a much darker wood on the second floor would be odd? First floor is mainly carpeted

I'm not keen on dark floors. They show up every crumb and flecks of dust. It'd be a shame to cover real wood with laminate, although I appreciate you don't want the mess of sanding your current floor.

@CellophaneFlower

I'm not keen on dark floors. They show up every crumb and flecks of dust. It'd be a shame to cover real wood with laminate, although I appreciate you don't want the mess of sanding your current floor.

They are both engineered floors but one is old, blond and tired so could be mistaken for cheap laminate. If that look is emerging as the new woodchip then I'd rather cover it up

Your advice about showing dirt is more concerning as I find it hard to keep up with human/pet hair shedding as it is.

Honestly I can't see regular oak going out of fashion anytime soon. It's classic. Light flooring/dark flooring will do the rounds though I guess.

I inherited dark laminate and black gloss tiles (kitchen) when I moved into my house. I can't change them yet as have too much messy stuff to do first, but they're the bane of my life. They never look clean... there's already bits appearing behind me even as I'm finishing off hoovering. I have medium oak in my hall and it's so much more forgiving!

We have a dark engineered wood floor and it's a nightmare to keep clean. My friend has a natural wood colour and it's much more forgiving.

I had a rethink. do like the way in which the lighter wood catches the sunlight which probably doesn't happen with the darkest floors. It could feel gloomy and oppressive. Then again, if it were installed on the top floor which has several skylights and a lot of sunlight (and is not a used space) I could get away with it. The person whom I paid for the darker flooring seems reluctant to give my money back! I wonder whether it is rare choice after all. I have seen houses online where the owners have been architects and interior designers who have gone for dark floors and even then, they haven't pulled it off