SITTING ROOMS & BEDROOMS

When considering warmth underfoot in a sitting room, it is easy to dismiss a natural stone floor, yet, as an excellent conductor, it is ideally suited to underfloor heating. But factor in the depth of the stone as the thicker it is, the harder the heating will have to work. “We think there’s nothing more comforting underfoot than the undulations and texture of a natural stone floor,” says Kristen Georghiades, cofounder of Rose + George. “Its imperfect aesthetic is part of the appeal, meaning you won’t run around vacuuming as they camouflage day-to-day life.” Original worn flags are rarely surpassed in their feel of times gone by, adds Henriette von

Stockhausen of VSP Interiors. “So, if you’re lucky enough to have them in a sitting room, treasure them.”

In a bedroom, wood is a good choice. “As wood is naturally warm underfoot, it makes a great alternative to carpet in a bedroom. It’s easy to clean and less prone to stains,” says Sevda Cifci of Havwoods. “The construction of engineered wood means that most engineered flooring is suitable to use over underfloor heating, whereas solid wood flooring cannot as the wood will naturally expand and contract with changes in temperature.”

Another advantage of having hardwood floors in a bedroom is that dust mites, one of the biggest causes of allergies in the UK, cannot survive on them. “On top of that, it’s possible to add an acoustic underlay beneath engineered floors meaning they can improve acoustics and make the bedroom quieter,” adds the team from

The Natural Wood Floor Company. ■

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT A darker parquet adds vintage style to a scheme. Versailles parquet, from £150 a panel, Trunk; Studio Peake chose more contemporary wood floor overlaid with a rug by Vanderhurd for this bedroom scheme; Engineered-wood flooring made of European Oak looks at home in a period sitting room. Hartland herringbone flooring, £105.95 a square metre, Havwoods