Tips for your flooring selections
If you don’t want to spend hours reading countless flooring guides online, here are a few practical tips to help you choose the right flooring for your home. And if you’d rather speak to a real person, we’re always happy to help.
Choose type of flooring
Different types of flooring have very different characteristics. A flooring product that is perfect for one home may be completely unsuitable for another. Here’s an honest look at the most common flooring types you’ll find in the Sydney market today, including the reasons you might choose them—and the reasons you might not.
| Flooring Type | Typical Cost | Good For | Things to Consider |
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| Laminate Flooring | Low – High |
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| Hybrid Flooring (SPC) | Low – Mid |
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| Engineered Timber Flooring | Mid – High |
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| Solid Timber | High |
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| Vinyl Flooring | Mid – High |
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| Wool Carpet | Mid – High |
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| Solution Dyed Nylon (SDN) Carpet | Low – Mid |
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| Polyester Carpet | Low – Mid |
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Choosing the Right Colour
There are hundreds of flooring colours and styles available, but choosing one doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We like to simplify flooring colours into two dimensions:
Warm vs Cool
Light vs Dark
The timber grain can also be grouped into two broad styles: Australian timber vs Oak
Australian timber species, such as Blackbutt, Spotted Gum and Jarrah
European Oak, with its softer and more uniform grain pattern
Before visiting our showroom, think about the overall look you’re trying to achieve. You can also browse Pinterest, Instagram or other social media platforms to collect inspiration. Once you know whether you’re looking for a warm or cool tone, and a light or dark floor, narrowing down your options becomes much easier.
Light & Warm is the most popular choice in Sydney today. This includes many natural oak colours as well as Australian favourites like Blackbutt. Bright, timeless and easy to match with almost any interior style.
Dark & Warm is rich and elegant. This category includes darker oak tones along with timber looks such as Spotted Gum, Walnut and Jarrah. Ideal if you’re looking to create a more dramatic or luxurious interior.
Light & Cool can typically be a light grey oak colour. A popular choice for contemporary and minimalist homes.
Dark & Cool is usually charcoal or dark grey oak tones. Best suited to modern interiors where contrast is an important design feature.
Not Sure? then choose Light & Warm. If you’re renovating a home in Sydney and aren’t sure where to start, light warm tones are almost always the safest choice. Natural Oak and Blackbutt remain the most popular flooring colours because they complement a wide range of furniture, wall colours and interior styles, while also standing the test of time.
Does Brand Matter?
Not always.
Many lesser-known flooring brands can offer good value, and a bigger brand name often comes with a higher price.
However, a brand that is widely accepted by the flooring industry is also exposed to more feedback and criticism. This often pushes the brand to maintain stronger quality control and provide better after-sales support. In that sense, brand does matter.
This is especially true with products like engineered timber flooring. Many engineered timber floors look similar from a small showroom sample, but the real differences are often hidden. These can include the quality of the locking system, the stability of the core, the number of knots, the ratio of long and short boards, machining accuracy, coating quality, veneer quality and veneer thickness. Most customers cannot identify these differences by looking at one sample board. When you are making a flooring investment that may cost tens of thousands of dollars, choosing a more reliable and reputable brand becomes meaningful.
Brand also matters when some certain types of products are dominated by particular suppliers. For example, in Sydney, the high-end laminate flooring market is strongly led by Quick-Step, while Preference Floors offers some excellent engineered timber and hybrid flooring options with their own unique strengths. It always worths to have a look at their products when you are doing comparison.