Open plan spaces look amazing with the right floor and disjointed with the wrong one. As fitters who work on open plan extensions and renovations regularly across Birmingham, here's what actually works.
One Floor Throughout or Zone With Different Floors?
A single floor running through the whole space is the simplest way to make an open plan room feel larger. With no breaks or changes of material, your eye travels from the kitchen to the far wall in one sweep, and the room reads as one generous space rather than three smaller ones squeezed together. It also avoids extra transition strips that catch feet and gather dirt.
Zoning with different materials — stone-effect in the kitchen and wood-effect in the lounge, for example — adds definition, but in most rooms it ends up feeling busy. Our recommendation is one floor throughout for open plan spaces under 60m². We only suggest zoning when the kitchen is already physically separate, such as when it is raised or divided from the living area by a step.
Best Flooring for Open Plan Spaces
LVT is our top choice for most open plan spaces. It is waterproof, so it handles splashes at the sink and spills around the dining table, it stands up to the foot traffic a kitchen-diner gets, and it runs seamlessly from one zone to the next. It is comfortable enough underfoot for the living end of the room and comes in convincing wood and stone looks.
Engineered wood gives the most premium look and feels wonderful in the living area, but it needs protecting in the kitchen zone — spills wiped up quickly and mats by the sink and dishwasher. Laminate is a good budget option for a large space, but we advise keeping it away from the wet areas of a kitchen, where standing water can make the boards swell.
What to Consider for Open Plan
Start with the size of the space. Large open plan rooms suit wider planks — we suggest a minimum of 180mm — because narrow boards repeated across a big floor can look busy. Then think about natural light: lighter floors bounce light around and make a darker space, such as a deep extension lit from one end, feel bigger and brighter.
The direction of lay matters more in open plan than in any other room. We run boards along the longest dimension of the space, which draws the eye through it and makes it feel longer. If you have underfloor heating, check your chosen floor is compatible before you buy — the manufacturer's guidance and your heating system's limits always come first.
Colour and Tone Choices
Light oak tones are the safest choice for most open plan homes. They make the space feel bigger and more modern, and they sit comfortably with white kitchens, grey sofas and most wall colours. Dark walnut tones are dramatic and look superb in a large, bright room, but in a smaller open plan they can feel heavy and make the space close in.
Grey and stone-effect LVT is very popular right now, especially in kitchen-diners, and gives a clean, modern finish. Whatever you choose, keep it simple: open plan needs visual calm. Too many colours, patterns or contrasting materials in one space quickly look cluttered, so let the floor be a steady backdrop and bring in colour with furniture and rugs.
Herringbone in Open Plan
Herringbone works beautifully in large open plan spaces because the pattern has room to breathe. In a small room the zigzag can feel busy, but stretched across a big kitchen-diner it becomes a striking feature that still looks calm from a distance. It adds real character to a modern extension without overpowering the kitchen units or furniture.
We fit a lot of LVT herringbone in Birmingham extensions. It gives the classic parquet look with the waterproof practicality open plan needs, so the pattern can run straight through the kitchen zone. Herringbone takes longer to set out and fit than a straight lay, so allow for that in your plans — we talk you through the layout options when we quote.
Practical Considerations
Plan your transitions early. Open plan spaces usually connect to a hallway, a downstairs toilet or a carpeted lounge, and each doorway needs a neat finish where your new floor meets carpet or tiles. We agree the position and type of each transition strip with you before fitting, so there are no surprises on the day.
Decide early whether the floor will run under the kitchen island or stop neatly around it, as this affects the order of work with your kitchen fitter and how much flooring you need. If you have bi-fold or sliding doors to the garden, we finish the floor cleanly at the threshold so the transition to the outside surface is tidy and the doors still open freely.