Compare
Flooring: six styles, side by side
The same flooring brief resolved six ways. Flooring is the one finish you cannot change without emptying the house. We choose it for how the room is used, then let everything else respond to it.
Photo: tommerton2010 · BY 2.0Side by side
All six, in one row
Scroll sideways to compare, or filter down to the styles you are choosing between.
Photo: shalommama · BY 2.0- Layout
- Large-format porcelain
- Material
- Honed porcelain, 800×800
- Finish
- Matt, rectified edge
What changes: One material through the whole flat with no thresholds.
Photo: tommerton2010 · BY 2.0- Layout
- Dark engineered oak
- Material
- Engineered oak, 190mm plank
- Finish
- Brushed and hard-wax oiled
What changes: Dark timber grounding a light room.
Photo: Plutor · BY 2.0- Layout
- Terracotta stone with a border
- Material
- Kota or terracotta stone
- Finish
- Honed with a natural variation
What changes: Natural stone with visible fossil and colour variation.
Photo: tommerton2010 · BY 2.0- Layout
- Book-matched marble
- Material
- Statuario marble, polished
- Finish
- Polished with a mitred border
What changes: Book-matched marble opening like a butterfly.
Photo: DyosEL · BY 2.0- Layout
- Pale timber laminate
- Material
- Laminate, AC4, 1,200mm plank
- Finish
- Matt, micro-bevel edge
What changes: Pale timber-look laminate that takes daily family use.
Photo: TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) · BY 2.0- Layout
- Herringbone with a brass inlay
- Material
- Herringbone engineered timber
- Finish
- Satin lacquer with a brass strip
What changes: Herringbone laid at 45 degrees to the room.
At a glance
The differences in one table
| Style | Layout | Material | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serene Minimal | Large-format porcelain | Honed porcelain, 800×800 | Apartments wanting one continuous, calm floor plane |
| Bold Contemporary | Dark engineered oak | Engineered oak, 190mm plank | Homes wanting warmth and contrast underfoot |
| Modern Heritage | Terracotta stone with a border | Kota or terracotta stone | Homes in hot climates where stone stays cool |
| Classic Luxe | Book-matched marble | Statuario marble, polished | Formal villas and large apartments |
| Indo-Scandinavian | Pale timber laminate | Laminate, AC4, 1,200mm plank | Family homes needing durability at a sensible cost |
| Art Deco Glam | Herringbone with a brass inlay | Herringbone engineered timber | Statement living and dining rooms |
Sizing
Flooring dimensions by home size
| Home size | Typical room dimension | Layout that usually fits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 BHK | Single material throughout | Large-format porcelain |
| 2 BHK | Timber in bedrooms, tile elsewhere | Dark engineered oak |
| 3 BHK | Stone in living, timber in bedrooms | Terracotta stone with a border |
| 4 BHK | Marble in formal areas | Book-matched marble |
| 4+ BHK / Villa | Zoned by function | Pale timber laminate |
How to choose
Picking between the six
The honest way to choose is to eliminate rather than select: rule out the styles that clash with what is already fixed in the home — the flooring, the window frames, an existing kitchen you are not replacing — and choose from what remains. Most people arrive certain about one style and leave having picked a different one once the elimination is done.
Layout tends to decide the choice before palette does. Two or three of the six styles above will suit your actual room dimensions and door positions; the rest will look right in the photograph and fight the room in practice. Start from the layout column in the table below, not the material column.
If two styles both work on paper, the deciding question is usually maintenance: how much upkeep the household will actually do. A high-gloss Bold scheme and a hand-oiled Heritage one both look considered on day one; only one of them stays that way without regular attention.
Herringbone and chevron need a centre line set out before the first plank. Starting from a wall guarantees a wandering pattern.
Under-door clearance has to be checked before laying; planing doors afterwards damages an otherwise finished job.
Questions
Choosing a flooring style
Which of these six suits a family with young children?
Serene Minimal and Indo-Scandinavian tend to wear best under daily family use — pale, matt surfaces show less than high gloss, and both specify durable, easily cleaned materials by default. Bold Contemporary and Art Deco Glam ask for more careful living.
Can flooring mix two of these styles in one room?
Within reason. The six are coherent palettes rather than fixed rules, and most finished homes borrow across two. What rarely works is switching palette within one sightline in the same room.
Does the layout change between styles, or only the material?
Both. Each style resolves the flooring brief with a different layout logic as well as a different material direction — see the layout column in the table above for exactly how.
Which style costs the least for a flooring?
None of the six carries an inherent price premium over the others at the same specification tier — the cost difference between two flooring projects usually comes from hardware grade and finish level, not from which of the six styles was chosen.
How do I see my own room in more than one of these styles?
Bring the floor plan to a consultation. We draw your actual room in the two or three styles you are choosing between rather than a generic version of each, which is usually what settles it.
Next step
Choose your flooring style with a designer.
Send the plan. We will draw your actual room in the two you are torn between and put them next to each other.