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Designing with LVP at front entry

5 years ago

I need help rethinking a 4 ft by 4 ft section of tile In front of the entry in my living room. I have white oak floors just refinished for the first time in 70 years. I should have had the contractor remove the tiles. I had an old thread on this when I thought I might be able to refinish the floor under the tiles. I have now had three estimates and all said that it would not look right without a border between the two spaces. To replace the tiles with tiles and make them flush with the wood floor, a section of the oak would have to be cut out. It's getting into too much money. Also, it's a small job, relatively speaking, and there is a minimum contractors will charge. I am now back to thinking LVP in that space. The last contractor suggested lighter planks and turning them diagonally for contrast. I would like to create some sort of simple design but I am not finding much online. Original floors are narrow planks so I'm assuming I would need to continue that with. I could use some design help!

Comments (12)

  • 5 years ago

    I agree it would've been better to have had those tiles removed when you did the rest of the floors ... but since it's behind the sofa, I would not spend money on it now.

    For what it's worth, I lived with that very same thing for 11 years, and I rarely thought about it.

  • 5 years ago

    Unfortunately, it's the first thing you see when you come into my house. I did get some good suggestions about stenciling a design on the wood but I'm just not up for it and I'm bordering on contractor fatigue. I think I'm going to stick with the lighter LVP and yes I know real wood is better. 😏

  • 5 years ago

    acm, I need to sell the house within the next year. Minimum charge for the last estimate was $900. He felt cutting the wood out under the tile would be very expensive on top of that. I think I'm just going to go with the original contractor who refinished the floors because his minimum was not as high. Thanks everyone.

  • PRO
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Your floors are beautiful. Yes, you should have had the oak floor put in when refinishing, but that is water under the bridge.

    LVP is not going to look good here. But, this has to be changee. It not only looks bad. The trim piece is a tripping hazard.

    Here is what I recommend: get a large-format tile and make sure the contractor raises the floor to meet the height of the oak flooring. The tile should have tones of the oak floor in it.


    Here is an example.

    https://www.tilebar.com/sample-delancey-briar-oak-8x8-matte-porcelain-tile.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw092IBhAwEiwAxR1lRkYGH_gRQF2MLwZxrIQ5HMm1nHGda6NChok_K9YhyyhIMLPCI2zGxxoCK9kQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


    Then, I'd like to see that tile repeated somewhere else in the home, so that it looks intentional.


    Good luck😀

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    You had 20 = answers to this on your other post .

  • 5 years ago

    CDR, that's exactly where I have decided to go with the tile. I plan to repeat the pattern in front of the fireplace. I brought home samples of a large pattern almost exactly like your suggestion but it just seemed a bit overwhelming in the room, perhaps because the ceilings are only eight feet. Is there a reason for using a large pattern?

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    You don't have to. It depends on your style, the architecture of the house and what the fireplace looks like.


    I would need to see

    1) A photo of what you aspire your room to look like

    2) photos of all 4 walls of this room.


    Here are other examples

    Interior Remodel · More Info


    Mediterranean Entry · More Info


  • 5 years ago

    You’re selling the house within a year? Paint the tile or put down a rug and call it a day. The rest of the floors are gorgeous and I don’t think not redoing that one patch will affect your sale. Some people might prefer having a place to set wet shoes and boots.

  • 5 years ago

    Leave it be. Any LVP will look worse in my opinion.

  • 5 years ago

    There are only so many choices. There is no magic answer that doesn't cost more than you will get as a return.


    You are selling in less than a year and really don't want to spend any more than absolutely necessary without impacting the value of your home.


    I would replace the two transition strips that are trip hazards to a sloped transition rather than a square transition. The trip hazard from your current set up will be noted on inspection and you don't want to draw any additional attention to this mistake.





    Then I would paint the tile, grout and transition strips the same color as your walls or very close to the color of your walls.


    The color is already repeated on the walls so no need to repeat.


    I am not big on painting floor tiles, but it is done by DIYers every day and on HGTV often enough to make it a popular answer. It does last long enough to make many people happy, making it a perfectly fine answer for resale.


    Here is a blog on 6 month after painting. Floors still look great except in the shower where it has some peeling. Your application is not in a shower. I think you should be good for a couple of years.

    https://www.housemixblog.com/2020/10/14/my-nitpicky-6-month-painted-tile-update/


    You should be able to do this yourself or maybe hire a local handyman to change the transition strips for you if you are not comfortable with doing that part. Painting is something you will most likely need to do yourself, but may be able to get a handyman to do. My guess is that no flooring contractor would be willing to paint the tile.




  • 5 years ago

    Jennifer (and Gertie), I may give it a whirl. If it doesn't look good, I will have lost nothing. That transition is what I had planned to use. I have a handyman coming, so the timing is good. I'm not sure about painting the tile the same as the walls since they are very light with a slight pink undertone (Portland gray).