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To enable us to give you our full attention during your showroom visit, please book an appointment
Lucy had just bought her first home, a one-bedroom house in Cambridge, and she wanted it to feel warm, welcoming and properly hers. Before anyone mentioned flooring, her family came round to help decorate. Walls first, floors second.
Once the decorating was done, the job was to find flooring that would pull every room together: a soft carpet upstairs and luxury vinyl flooring downstairs. In the end, the decision came down to something that was already in the house. Her original timber staircase.
Lucy started at our showroom on Milton Road, where she could see colours, textures and finishes in real life. Upstairs was the easier decision. Browsing our carpet ranges, she liked Cormar Pembroke for the bedroom, landing and half landing, but wanted a little reassurance before committing. That's a sensible instinct when it's the first carpet you've ever bought.
Cormar is one of Britain's most respected carpet manufacturers, known for quality and durability. Pembroke is soft and warm underfoot, which is what matters most in a bedroom and on the stairs.
Lucy chose Savannah, a calm neutral that sits well with her newly decorated walls and will still work when the décor changes in a few years.
While she was in the showroom, Lucy kept coming back to our luxury vinyl tiles. She loved the idea of a wood effect floor in her living room. She was also worried it might stretch her budget.
So we didn't ask her to decide there and then. She picked out several samples she liked, and when we came to carry out the home survey, we brought those samples with us.
That proved invaluable. A floor that looks right under showroom lighting can look quite different in your own room, in your own light, alongside your own furniture and décor. Seeing the samples in place took the guesswork out of it.
Lucy's house has its original wooden staircase, and she wanted to keep it. That meant the new living room floor had to work with the timber, not compete with it.
Once we laid the samples beside the staircase, the choice became clear. Harvey Maria Sussex Oak picked up the natural tones of the old timber, so the staircase and the living room now feel like one continuous space rather than two separate decisions. And because it's luxury vinyl flooring, it's hard wearing and easy to look after in a room that gets used every day.
Luxury vinyl flooring is only as good as the floor underneath it.
Lucy's living room had a chipboard subfloor. Chipboard is common in houses, but on its own it isn't a good base for LVT. Vinyl planks are thin and follow the surface below them closely, so board joints, screw heads and any movement in the chipboard can eventually show through as ridges or dips in the finished floor.
Before installation, our fitters fixed 6mm Floorgrade plywood across the room. Plywood gives a flatter, more stable surface than chipboard, and it stops the joints in the old boards from showing through. They then applied a feather finish over every joint; a thin smoothing compound worked out to nothing at the edges. That left a smooth, solid base for the Harvey Maria planks, with no line or step for the vinyl to pick up.
This is the part of the job you never see once the floor is down. It's also the step most often skipped on cheaper quotes. If a quote for LVT over chipboard doesn't mention preparation, it's worth asking why.
Tom and Dean, our experienced vinyl floor fitters, then installed the Harvey Maria luxury vinyl tiles, giving the living room a natural wood look that suits the character of the house.
To finish the installation, we fitted Stairrods Premier Two Way Ramp thresholds (2 to 3mm, 90cm) in Antique Brass. A ramp threshold handles the small height difference between two floor types neatly, and the warm brass ties in with the wood tones rather than standing out against them.
Upstairs, the Cormar Pembroke carpet was fitted throughout the bedroom, landing and half landing, with new gripper rods and quality underlay. Good underlay gives a carpet much of its comfort and insulation, and Lucy notices it every time she walks upstairs.
Visiting the showroom first and then seeing samples at home meant Lucy could decide with confidence, without feeling pressured. Seeing the flooring beside her staircase made the difference.
The house now feels warm and welcoming, with soft carpet upstairs where comfort matters most and a practical, hard-wearing floor downstairs that's built to last.
Sometimes the biggest transformations aren't about changing everything. They're about choosing the right products, preparing the floor properly and having the time to decide. That's exactly what Lucy did.
Whether you've just got the keys to your first home in Cambridge or you're refreshing a single room, we can help you find flooring that suits the space and your budget. Book a free home survey, and we'll bring the samples you like with us, so you can decide in your own home, in your own time.
You're also welcome to visit our showroom at 141 Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1XE, or call us on 01223 755802. We fit carpets and luxury vinyl flooring across Cambridge and Cambridgeshire, and our sister company Art of Clean can help keep your new floors looking their best.
