Flooring due diligence, part 2: choosing the right design.
A floor that wins you over in the showroom can look artificial at home. The reason is rarely taste – it is five details you cannot see on an A4 sample.
1 · Don’t decide from an A4 sample
Deciding from an A4 sample
The problem: An A4 piece doesn’t show how the floor looks across a room. Showroom light is different from your home, and the joint pattern changes the whole impression.
The fix: Ask your dealer whether you can take whole planks home to try them in your own rooms.
2 · Decor: calm, late repeat, well mixed
The design trap
The problem: Strongly grained decors look attractive on a sample but quickly feel busy across a room and make it look smaller. On cheap floors the pattern often repeats after a few planks – it looks artificial.
The fix: Quality floors avoid visible repeats. With COREPEL, the decor does not repeat before plank 10.
Repeats badly spread
The problem: Laying box after box risks identical grain patterns ending up side by side. The floor looks artificial and busy.
The fix: Mix planks from several boxes and spread repeats deliberately.
3 · Surface texture: embossed in register or not?
With SPC vinyl floors, the look comes from a printed decor. The feel comes from the embossing of the surface. What matters is whether the two match.
| Embossed in register (EIR) | Standard embossing | |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | The texture follows the printed grain exactly – knots and cracks can be felt where you see them. | A generic wood texture sits over the print, independent of the decor. |
| Effect | Light catches it like real wood. Hard to tell from parquet. | In raking light the surface looks flatter and more uniform. |
| How to check | Run your fingers across a knot and hold the plank at an angle to the light: can you feel the texture where you see it? | |
All COREPEL decors are embossed in register.
4 · Gloss level: how matt is matt?
Gloss is measured in gloss units (GU). For lacquers and coatings, this rough scale applies:
Scale after Bodenmanufaktur Metzger, flooring glossary. The impression depends strongly on the viewing angle: low-angle light makes even matt floors shine.
- For a wood look: as matt as possible. Super-matt surfaces look like oiled wood and barely reflect windows and lamps.
- Everyday life: matt floors show footprints, dust and fine scratches far less than glossy ones.
- Check in raking light: floor-to-ceiling windows and long hallways show every reflection. Hold the sample flat against the light.
- Ask: manufacturers rarely state GU values. Ask – or compare two samples side by side.
COREPEL floors have a super-matt surface.
5 · Laying direction
The direction mistake
The problem: The laying direction changes how a room feels. Chosen badly, the room looks shorter, narrower or smaller than it is.
The fix: Plan the direction deliberately – matched to the room shape, light and use. Ask your dealer for a laying plan on your floor plan.
Test it, don’t just look at it
Test it at home
The problem: A new floor changes how a home feels. Only in your own rooms can you see whether it really fits.
The fix: Try the floor in daylight and in the evening, together with your furniture and colours.
Which floor type suits your use: Part 1: use, subfloor, wear layer.
Matching floors
Honey Oak Herringbone
Gray Concrete
Warm OakFind your floor in 5 clicks.
Floor Studio shows you the three COREPEL floors that suit your room – and your dealer prepares the quote.
START FLOOR STUDIOFrequently asked questions
What does “embossed in register” mean?
The texture you feel follows the printed grain exactly. Knots and cracks can be felt where you see them. That looks far more natural than a generic texture.
Which gloss level is best for a wood-look floor?
As matt as possible. Super-matt surfaces look like oiled wood, barely reflect and show marks and fine scratches less.
How can I tell whether a decor repeats quickly?
Lay several planks from at least two boxes side by side and look for identical knots. Ask after how many planks the decor repeats – with COREPEL, not before plank 10.
Which way should I lay planks?
As a rule of thumb, towards the main light source or along the longest wall. Plan the direction before buying – it also affects waste.