Modern whitewashed laminate flooring in a bright interior

Collection No. 04

Laminate

The category has moved on considerably. Today’s laminate is AC-rated, photo-realistic and genuinely hard-wearing — a serious floor, honestly priced.

The Material

Forget what laminate used to be.

Laminate has had a long journey. The first domestic laminate floors of the 1980s and 1990s were, frankly, not very good — thin, obviously artificial, dated quickly, and gave the category a reputation that took two decades to shake. The laminate we stock today is a different product entirely: dense high-density fibreboard cores, photo-realistic decor layers with embossed-in-register texture, and melamine wear layers rated to commercial standards. Most people can’t spot the difference between premium laminate and engineered wood in a finished room.

What hasn’t changed is why laminate exists. It is the floor that does more for less — practical, pragmatic, unapologetically sensible. For rental properties, family homes with children and pets, offices, and any space where the floor needs to work harder than the budget allows, modern laminate delivers a look and a lifespan that would have been impossible at the price ten years ago.

“A serious floor, honestly priced — for rooms where practicality matters as much as appearance.”

Why we stock it

Not every project needs solid oak. Not every room is a formal reception. Laminate is the right answer when your priorities are resilience, scratch resistance and value — without compromising on how the floor looks. We stock it because some of our customers are fitting out second homes, rental portfolios, kids’ playrooms, home offices; others simply appreciate a pragmatic material that performs above its price bracket. A considered laminate floor, properly specified and cleanly fitted, holds its own in any home.

Inside the Board

Four layers, engineered for durability.

What makes laminate tough isn’t one layer — it’s the way they work together.

Cross-section diagram of a laminate board showing the four layers: wear layer, decor layer, HDF core, and moisture backing

Where It Works

At its best where practicality leads.

Laminate shines in the rooms where performance matters as much as appearance — and stays out of the rooms where it shouldn’t go.

Family Living Rooms

Toys, feet, furniture, the occasional spilled juice — laminate absorbs the wear of family life without the anxiety of a premium floor. Choose AC4 or AC5 rating for the traffic that comes with young children.

★★★★★ · Ideal

Hallways

Heels, grit, wheeled suitcases and daily use make hallways the most punished floor in the house. Modern AC-rated laminate handles it without visible wear for fifteen years or more.

★★★★★ · Ideal

Home Offices & Studies

Desk chairs roll. Chair mats help, but even without one, a good laminate shrugs off the daily movement of a wheeled office chair far better than a softer engineered floor.

★★★★★ · Ideal

Rental Properties

The category’s natural home. A well-chosen laminate with AC4 rating gives landlords a floor that looks considered, survives repeated tenant changes, and can be refitted at reasonable cost when it finally does wear out.

★★★★★ · Ideal

Kitchens

Acceptable with caveats. Water-resistant laminate (not all ranges) handles kitchen use, but spills must be mopped promptly — the HDF core swells irreversibly if water penetrates the joints. For kitchens, we usually recommend LVT over laminate.

★★★☆☆ · Possible with care

Bathrooms & Wet Rooms

No. Even moisture-resistant laminate is not designed for standing water or constant humidity. For bathrooms that want the look of wood, LVT is the only honest answer — waterproof through every layer.

☆☆☆☆☆ · Use LVT instead

Choosing Well

The AC rating is what matters most.

Almost everything about laminate’s performance is captured in a single rating. The Abrasion Class (AC) scale runs from AC1 to AC6 and tells you exactly how much traffic a board is engineered to handle. It’s the number we look at first when we specify laminate for any project.

AC3 — Standard domestic

Entry-level domestic laminate. Suitable for bedrooms and light-use living rooms, but underperforms in hallways and busy spaces. We rarely recommend below AC4 for anywhere in a modern home.

AC4 — Heavy domestic / light commercial

The domestic sweet spot. Handles hallways, living rooms, kitchens and any busy family space. Most of our stock sits in this tier — it’s where the balance of performance and price lives.

AC5 & AC6 — Commercial-grade

Overkill for most homes, essential for some. Offices, rental portfolios, properties with multiple dogs — AC5 and AC6 give you a floor that would hold up in a shop. Worth the small premium if the floor will take a genuinely hard life.

The Vocabulary

A short glossary, plainly written.

100+ ranges in our showroom

From crisp contemporary to rich traditional.

Modern laminate ranges cover every tone and texture you’d find in real wood or stone. Our showroom holds over forty — in AC4 and above, all with embossed-in-register finishes, all ready to be handled and compared in person.

White oak effect laminate Natural oak effect laminate Rustic oak effect laminate Grey oak effect laminate Walnut effect laminate Smoked oak effect laminate Light oak herringbone laminate Natural oak herringbone laminate Grey herringbone laminate Light oak chevron laminate

See the Full Collection in Hampton Hill

Take the next step

Good laminate needs to be seen in person.

The difference between a convincing laminate and an obvious one is all in the detail — the depth of the embossing, the accuracy of the print, the matt or satin of the surface. Visit our Hampton Hill showroom to compare the ranges side by side and see why today’s laminate is nothing like the category’s reputation suggests.

Plan Your Visit Get in Touch