THE VALUE OF WOOD FLOORING SAMPLES

PUT THEM ON THE FLOOR

Our first tip is to look at your sample on the floor – it may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how many people only look at flooring samples in their hand or on a table. Once you put your sample on the floor it will pick up the light in the room differently, which will affect the way you see the colour and any texture in the finish.

THINK ABOUT LIGHT

Next is to look at the sample in the light that you will see the flooring in most often – so not just daylight and artificial light, but morning light, or afternoon light, well lit or by in lamplight, depending on the room it is destined for and when you will spend most time there. Remember that although we will put the same colours onto every plank or block in your floor, with the same skill and care, the grain and timber in each one will be unique, and so the colour of your sample will be indicative of the overall tone but can’t represent the beautiful tonal variation of a real wood floor.

SIZE MATTERS

Size is another thing that your wood flooring sample can help you with. Looking at the sample on the floor creates a sense of scale and makes it much easier to choose the width of plank or size of parquet that would work best for a particular room. You can also use your sample to check whether your new wood flooring will be the same thickness as floor coverings in adjacent rooms. If it isn’t, we can make beautiful thresholds to transition seamlessly from one to the other, but not everyone can, so this is something to think about as you choose your floor. Bear in mind that you will need to allow for the thickness of adhesive or underlay if you are using these.

A QUALITY FINISH

And finally, finish. Flooring doesn’t just have to be beautiful, it has to be practical, and the quality of the finish will be crucial to this. All of our floors have two coats of durable natural hardwax oil on top of their colour and texture. This isn’t something that you can see, but it is something you can feel and that is integral to the way they wear and evolve. It is the reason that no additional finishing is required after our floors are fitted, and that they are so easy to care for. Put a cup of tea or a glass of wine on to your sample and you will see it doesn’t mark. Test it with a few children’s toys, under a chair or under the dog’s paw and see how well it stands up. We don’t promise that the floors are bomb proof, but they are most definitely designed for modern living and busy homes.

EXPERT ADVICE

If you have questions once you’ve received your samples, get in touch with your nearest showroom or our head office team. We are here to help and will be pleased to provide all of the information and advice you might need. Wood flooring is an investment and its important to get it right.