Whether you own a second home for your own private use or have a property you rent out to holidaymakers, furnishing and fitting it out will always require careful thought.
Flooring especially needs to be approached from a different angle, as the considerations for a second or holiday home may well be different from those of a primary property.
Paul Williams has been an interior designer for a number of years. He started out making models for film, TV and exhibitions.
Today he focuses on design and space planning for domestic interiors. Paul launched Precious Earth Ltd in Ludlow, Shropshire, in 2000.
Q: What is your specialist area in interior design?
A: Precious Earth specialises in supplying Environmentally Friendly Materials, primarily the domestic market.
Q: Is flooring one of your areas of expertise?
A: Yes, we supply a range of flooring, as well as paints, lighting and insulation. We also design and make furniture and lighting solutions.
Q: Have you designed many interiors for holiday homes?
A: Yes, we have carried out a range of projects over the years on different types of Holiday Home.
Q: Has this included focusing on flooring?
A: Definitely. Some of our projects that have been for holiday homes have required careful consideration when it comes to the flooring.
Q: Why is this?
A: Well, with a holiday property that is being let to guests it is very important to have a floor type that is both aesthetically pleasing and hard wearing.
You want your guests to enjoy staying in the house but the floor also needs to be able to be maintained easily – you may not be able to visit the property very often yourself to carry out maintenance and organising someone else to carry it out may not be practical.
Most holiday home owners will also be keen to minimise maintenance costs.
Q: So, in your experience, which flooring can work well in a holiday home?
A: Where we have fitted high quality Linoleum Sheet and tile flooring in both kitchens and bathrooms it has worked well.
There are particular brands that we select for their good looks, and because they are very hard wearing, and forgiving of marking.
Q: Do you have any other suggestions?
A: Well some people opt for a wooden floor for their holiday home. In this situation we would advise choosing the finish carefully.
One possibility would be a natural plant-based oil finish. Again this could look good and would also be durable.
Q: Are there any other options?
A: Well, tiles can be a sound medium to use too for holiday homes. If your holiday property has under-floor heating this could be a good solution.
They would be warm underfoot but also quick and easy to clean for anyone staying in the house.
Q: Are there any other flooring considerations for a holiday property?
A: Well it is always a good plan is to have an entrance matting as a barrier between the outside and the interior floor. If your holiday home is on the coast this is particularly important to prevent sand from being brought in.
If the holiday home is in the country, why not consider having a “mud room” type space? Here you could install a good washable floor – possible with drainage similar to a wet room.
People can leave their boots and shoes in the “mud room” and if need be the floor can easily be hosed down.
