Take parquet flooring, I remember as a child the local village hall used to be floored with the stuff and its every tradesman's nightmare and the scorn of all self respecting home-owners who did away with the effort of lifting it, and simply carpeted over the top – much to the relief of the present owners of 1930's houses!

Of course we cannot forget the importance of hardwood timber flooring, if you are lucky you may also have this in your home, and can transform your living space with a little attention to perfection.

Using the original flooring in your home is so eco-friendly now, not to mention far cheaper than the expense of re-carpeting, you can soon be following the latest trends with little or no expense, a standard terrace house built towards the end of the Victorian era can be full of gorgeous original features that can be uncovered and brought back to their former glory in just a weekends work.

Of course, if you are in the midst of building your 'grand design' you will be looking for a little more than just the standard offerings – in the ever increasing quest to create our own personal spaces within our homes, manufacturers are now offering an ever expanding range of offerings – gone are the days of laminate flooring, once in every minimalist home simply because there was nothing else readily available, it was hard wearing, cost effective, easy to lay and above all it looked modern. There is now a whole range of floor covering, from the subliminal to the exotic, and now the floor is as much a reflection of your personal taste as your wall coverings and furnishings. There is a whole myriad of flooring to choose from from the distressed look, to exotic species bevelled edge to snap together installation its your call.

This is not mentioning the colour – are you dark or natural, natural flooring is harder wearing, but does not make so much of a statement, and what about underfloor heating, were cold floors the reason why we all reached for the carpets decades ago? You may say but a rug will do! But then why go to the efforts of finding the latest in flooring trends just to cover your beautifully crafted masterpiece over!

On a personal level, I always feel wooden flooring creates a sharp professional edge, its low maintenance and easy to keep clean, its also far better for allergy sufferers as the dust is not sitting amongst layers of carpet pile – isn't this what our grandparents always told us?? I can hear those words 'told you so' ringing in my ears, along with images of hand scrubbing freezing cold stone slabs. How lucky we are that things have moved on so much since those days, and like everything else, they had their day and now are making their come back in a more tantalising creative way!

About the Author

Kay Hammond

Kay is the editor of home & decorating and lives in a very plain and ordinary 1970's house where typically the sun shines at its best in the kitchen all year round. Alas my dream of a designer home has long ago vanished with the arrival of my now very active toddler boy - so I am now content in the knowledge that a very ordinary home can look beautiful with the minimum of effort.