Browse our editorial collections and find your perfect floor.
Browse CollectionsBrowse our editorial collections and find your perfect floor.
Browse CollectionsParquet flooring lays smaller blocks in striking geometric patterns, herringbone and chevron being the signatures. Available in both engineered and solid constructions, it turns a floor into a design feature that suits classic and contemporary interiors alike.
A house full of students sees furniture dragged about and a fresh intake every year, which argues for hard-wearing laminate. Away from those streets – Nanpantan, Thorpe Acre, Barrow upon Soar – engineered oak repays the extra outlay in a home someone means to keep.
It adds instant elegance and a sense of craftsmanship, and works especially well in hallways, living rooms and open-plan spaces. An LE11 student street keeps a different heating year: months of a cold, empty house, then full heat from the first week of term. Boards laid into that swing want days in the room before fixing, and an expansion gap the skirting covers rather than pinches.
Semis and detached houses make up most of the stock in this part of Charnwood, and ownership sits well above the private rented share. But that rented share is not spread evenly: it concentrates in a handful of LE11 streets given over to student housing. Within that mix, parquet flooring earns its place above all in hallways, living rooms and open-plan spaces.
From the orders we deliver across Loughborough, this is where each floor tends to go:
Living rooms in the wider Charnwood wards: Out at Barrow upon Soar, Hathern and Thorpe Acre the housing is semis and detached homes bought to stay in, and the brief has nothing to do with tenancies. A front room there carries engineered oak, or herringbone parquet where the proportions of the room can take a pattern.
Houses let to students in LE11: Much of Loughborough’s private renting is student housing, concentrated in a handful of streets rather than spread evenly across the town. Those floors take furniture dragged instead of lifted and a change of tenants every year, which is a hard-wearing laminate job rather than an oiled solid oak one.
Kitchens: The two Loughborough kitchens are not the same room: one is put right between student tenancies, the other rarely, by the family cooking in it. LVT answers the first because the board does not absorb water when a machine leaks, and porcelain tiles answer the second.
Halls and stairs in a student let: In a shared house the hall and the stairs carry every tenant several times a day, and they are what a landlord ends up repairing first. A laminate with a tough surface holds on the treads, provided the nosings are fixed properly so the leading edge cannot lift.
We deliver across Loughborough and Leicestershire (LE postcodes) from our UK warehouse. Most in-stock orders arrive within a timeframe that depends on the delivery postcode.
We supply parquet flooring across Shelthorpe, Hathern and Quorn and the LE postcode area. Start with samples: for £1.99 each we send swatches to Loughborough, so you can judge colour and texture where it matters, in your own rooms.
Bestsellers our customers order again and again. Samples available for every floor.
News from the brand, honest buying guides and real UK prices, fresh from the team that supplies the floors.
Our story · 4 min readHomes & Floors Goes Racing: Our Colours on the TrackWe sponsored a day at the races. Read the post-race report from jockey Paddy Bradley, riding for trainer Charlie Fellowes, and why a British flooring brand backs racing.Read the article
Comparison guide · 7 min readEngineered Wood vs Laminate: Which Should You Buy?Engineered wood or laminate? Compare looks, lifespan, cost, underfloor heating and resale value, with an honest verdict on which floor suits which home.Read the article
Cost guide · 8 min readFlooring Cost per m² UK (2026): What You Will Really PayRealistic 2026 UK flooring prices per square metre for laminate, LVT, engineered wood, solid oak, parquet and tiles, plus fitting costs and how to keep the total down.Read the article
Buying guide · 7 min readBest Flooring for Underfloor Heating: What Works and What to AvoidWhich flooring works best over underfloor heating? Engineered wood, LVT, laminate, tiles and solid wood compared for heat output, stability and safe temperatures.Read the article
Comparison guide · 6 min readLVT vs Porcelain Tiles: Kitchens & Bathrooms ComparedLVT or porcelain tiles for your kitchen or bathroom? Waterproofing, warmth, durability, fitting and cost compared, with a clear recommendation per room.Read the article
Pattern guide · 6 min readHerringbone vs Chevron: Patterns, Costs and Which Suits Your RoomHerringbone or chevron parquet? How the patterns differ, what each costs in materials and fitting, and which rooms each pattern flatters most.Read the article Three places to look before you order: the guide library, real customer projects, and trade support.

Twelve in-depth guides on choosing, laying and living with each floor type.
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Finished rooms, the floors behind them, and the collections they came from.
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Trade pricing, project guidance and UK supply for designers and contractors.
OpenHomes & Floors is a UK flooring specialist supplying premium engineered wood, solid oak, parquet, LVT, laminate, porcelain tiles and wall panels to homes and trade customers nationwide, including Loughborough.
Every range is hand-picked for quality and value, backed by honest expert advice, samples available so you can check colour and finish in your own light, and delivery options to your door.
Follow the craft · join the conversationThe same questions come up in every town we deliver to. These four references answer them once, with the source in each case.
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