Choosing The Right Wood-Look Flooring To Suit Your Budget

*This is a collaborative post on choosing the right wood-look flooring

Wood-look flooring has been a popular choice for homeowners for many decades now, and the range of styles, types and installation methods has evolved substantially – offering more in the way of options than ever before. Flooring can be a huge consideration in home renovations, setting the tone for the décor style while also needing to be fit for purpose for years to come. More people are choosing to change their flooring on a more frequent basis – let’s face it, with an array of flooring types on the market at reasonable prices, it’s now much more viable to do this. However, if you’re looking to replace flooring, want it to stand the test of time and you’re on a budget, you need to apply some careful thinking to the flooring type.

There are so many wood-look flooring types and styles so thankfully, finding one to suit all budgets shouldn’t be a huge problem. There’s no need to forfeit style for practicality, or aesthetic for price. From laminate to vinyl, or Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT), the options are seemingly endless.

Laminate provides a solid, budget-friendly option that is easy to install

Laminate flooring became widely popular a few decades ago, but since its inception it has become much more durable and is available in a wider variety of styles. The old days of having just a few wood look designs covering the main wood types such as oak, pine or maple are gone, and laminates now come in everything from scandi-inspired white or light-toned wood through to on trend grey-toned wood grain – and everything in between. With realistic textures and wood grains – including bevelled edge planks in wide, narrow, long or short options – it can be hard to tell laminate from real wood. The easy click fit installation means any capable DIY-er can lay the flooring, which can be a huge saving on getting a professional in, for those on a budget. 

Laminate flooring is suitable for pretty much any room that won’t be subject to high moisture – so it’s wise to steer clear from using them in bathrooms, ensuites, laundry rooms or outdoor buildings that may be subject to wet foot traffic. It will withstand the odd spill better than real wood flooring, so it can be great for kitchens – and the wood fibre board base, with melamine resin top and clear vinyl layer composition makes it an extremely durable and practical option. It usually will require an underlay suitable for the laminate flooring, which adds thermal benefits and prevents any moisture vapour affecting the flooring from underneath. Overall, laminate offers unrivalled choice for the budget-conscious buyer.

Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) has soared in popularity for homeowners

LVT is an increasingly popular choice as it comes in the same vast design options that laminate offers, but additionally, many types are water resistant meaning they can be used in bathrooms and ensuites. On a par with laminate for practicality and durability, LVT also offers acoustic benefits and is warm underfoot – so for those who may have previously been put off installing hard flooring upstairs due to noise or temperature, LVT is a great option. 

LVT is made up of layers of high density fibreglass, PVC, and topped with a protective coating or wear layer. This composition makes it stronger than a plank of engineered wood of double the thickness! 

But the factor that has significantly boosted the popularity of this flooring is the availability of click installation LVT planks, which have made it a real DIY option, comparable with laminate. The classic herringbone style of flooring that has become really popular throughout UK homes in recent years is highly achievable using LVT. Like laminate, most types of LVT require an underlay – which in the case of LVT is to help the floor bed in.

So while once LVT may have been considered an expensive option due to professional installation requirements, the availability of click-lay planks means this is now a serious budget-friendly contender.

Stone Plastic Composite (SPC) is also part of the LVT family, and its natural stone, polyvinyl chloride and stabiliser composition is considered to be tougher than LVT, which makes this a slightly more expensive option – but it offers good durability and longevity.

Vinyl cushion flooring is a great all-rounder for those on a low budget

Vinyl cushion flooring may conjure up images of awful lino flooring from years gone by – but fear not, the quality, style options and low cost of it are all key factors in its growing popularity. It is low maintenance and highly durable – and the array of design options can rival some of the best LVT and laminate products. For those on a tight budget it offers unbeatable value, available for as little as £6 per square metre. It’s low cost is down to its composition of layers of fibreglass and PVC – materials that are easy, and therefore cheap to produce.

As well as bathrooms and kitchens, vinyl flooring is increasingly being used in halls and living rooms as the finish can be made to look high-end. It’s also a great option for playrooms or recreational spaces too, because as well as endless wood-look options, solid colours and playful patterns and designs feature in this kind of flooring.

With any flooring choice, you should always try and buy the best quality product that your budget will allow, and it’s worth remembering that the floor will only look as good as the sub-floor it is laid upon, so getting the foundation right will make the world of difference to the finished outcome.