What width planks for old cottage lounge?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

We’re trying to decide on a width for new hardwood flooring in our lounge and hallway.

The grain/colour we’ve found so far that we like (https://www.v4woodflooring.co.uk/product/vit108-oak-smoked-rustic-oiled/) only comes in 190mm width, which I feel may be a little wide.

The ceiling in the lounge isn’t all that high (a smidge over 7ft, with narrow wooden beams), though the room is a decent size at 5.25 m x 3.35m. It’s a terraced cottage dating back to around 1880 with lots of ‘character’ (I.e. everything is a bit crooked). There’s a red brick fireplace in the lounge too.

Currently we have carpet in the lounge. The hallway (around 2.5m x 0.85m with the understairs cupboards closed) connecting the lounge to the kitchen has a light wood flooring that’s 160mm wide, which will be replaced.

Does anyone have any advice on picking a width? I’ve read that smaller rooms (like our hallway) can benefit from wide planks, but they may not work well with lower ceilings.

I have a feeling that wide planks may look a bit goofy in this older style house with low ceilings and small doorways, but don’t really know why. Unfortunately the samples are so small they don’t really help.

Any thoughts on 190mm vs 150mm or even 125mm?

Thanks in advance.

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Comments (6)

kempek01
4 years ago
With low ceilings in an older structure, I would be surprised to find extremely wide planks. That is why you are feeling it is wrong to go too wide.

However, you are updating, not doing a restoration. So it is fine to go wider than expected. The planks in the hallway look fine. You said they were 160 mm wide (which is about 6.25 inches). They actually look more like 60 mm (2.25 inches) to me, but it is hard to tell.

You didn't ask this, but I like the color of the sample on the lower left in the last picture.
Nick Durrant
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks for your reply.

The planks in the hallway are 160mm – they look narrower due to the pattern (I think they are actually laminate rather than wood).

So a 190mm plank will be 3cm wider than this. Too wide you reckon?

And yep, that sample is the colour we’re looking at going for (far right in photo below).

Incidentally this stock comes in random lengths between 300-1200mm, so there will be some shorter ones in there unfortunately.
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kempek01
4 years ago
Ah, I see why I was confused on the hallway width then. The pattern in the laminate makes it look like narrower width planks.

I think I would be more concerned about the length of what you are considering.

300 cm is about 12 inches. 1200 cm is about 48 inches. You can be sure there are a lot more 300 cm boards than there are 1200 cms. Your floor could look choppy with than many short boards!
Nick Durrant
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I am a little concerned about that, though from research it looks like the majorty of the boards will be around 85cm.

I have found a similar grain in fixed 1900mm length. Does that seem better, or a bit long?
kempek01
4 years ago
If the majority of the boards are 85 cm, then they would be 33 inches. That would be fine. A little short, but not awful.

On the other hand if everything is 1900mm (190 cm or 74 inches!), they will long, but long is good. If not laid randomly, they will look very tile-ish.
Nick Durrant
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks for your advice.

I found out the 1900mm length planks wont be available for a couple of months, and cost around 50% more. Since the room isn’t that large, and the mixed boards might actually suit the older/crooked character of the house, I think we‘ll go for those and order an extra spare pack to account for any very short/unsightly boards.

Thanks again