How to Blend Stone and Wood Flooring

Combining two timeless natural elements, such as wood and stone, in flooring can make a real style statement and create a sense of luxury in a project. Not only is blending wood and stone an excellent way to inject different textures - the grain of wood can beautifully offset smooth-surfaced stone - but by choosing complementary colours you can add interest in a harmonious way or opt for contrasting shades to evoke a certain mood. Both materials have a unique aesthetic and, by playing with the textures and colours, you can create a floor that enhances the beauty of both and adds the wow factor.

Blending materials between interiors spaces has been a trend for a while, although Chris Elliott, Project Consultant at Artisans of Devizes, has seen a definite increase in clients opting to combine natural stone and engineered wood over the last couple of years. ‘Often the decision to do so is as a solution to an open plan space, or where a hardier or more practical choice of material is required,’ says Chris. ‘In recent times, there has been an increasing trend in blending materials for personalisation and to add a truly bespoke design to the home. Combining the different materials in a manner that is not just comfortable but practical can also be aesthetically pleasing to the property’s design. Due to a reliance on hardier natured materials in well-trafficked areas, the ability to blend materials to get the best of both worlds is a boon in design.’

Blending stone and wooden flooring works particularly well in areas such as hallways, kitchens and bathrooms, and especially where dining and living spaces meet these rooms. Basically, you can blend materials wherever you want as long as the ones selected are appropriate to the applications intended. ‘There are some areas in the home where I would advise against the use of engineered wood flooring,’ says Chris. ‘For instance, in a bathroom where water can stain or steam can engorge the boards, then stone would be preferable. Also, in the kitchen around the active food preparation area. Hot oil splashes can burn marks into the engineered wood floor, for instance, whereas stone will not suffer as much. In these spaces, natural stone would fair far better and promote a lasting, resilient, but also visually appealing design choice.’ If practicality is a large consideration, blending is a great way of introducing impact. ‘For some people there are so many interesting ways to blend that it can be done exclusively just for a bespoke stamp or visual appeal.’

According to Chris, any type of natural stone can work well with any type of engineered wood floor. ‘The decision will often come down to the visual appeal of the combinations,’ he says. ‘A popular choice for combinations is limestone and engineered oak flooring. Other materials may be viable, which we normally see used in bathrooms, such as marble in place of limestone.’

Depending on what look you want to evoke, you may opt for similar finishes or contrasting ones. ‘For instance, you may choose a blend of rustic finishes like tumbled for natural stone and engineered wood flooring from the Generations collection by Charles Lowe.’ Popular combinations that Chris has noted is the use of Artisans of Devizes’ Buscot limestone with Charles Lowe’s Mellow from the Generations collection. ‘Their warm tones mingle well and serve as an extension to what is being offered by each,’ says Chris.

Another combination that has impact is a contrast of light and dark. ‘This includes using either Artisans of Devizes Pimlico limestone or Cipriani limestone as a pairing to Bistre from the Generations collection by Charles Lowe.’ Blending materials is a chance to add a personal stamp to your project but it is important to bear in mind who the selection is for, from both a visual and practical point of view. ‘For example, you should bear in mind whether this is your forever home for you and your family to enjoy, or whether there needs to be consideration for a future property sale or rental,’ says Chris. ‘It is also important to choose designs that you not only love now, but will continue to do so for a number of years. If the intention is to sell your property relatively soon, you may consider selecting a more rounded, less personal aesthetic that would appeal to a bigger majority.’

What makes blending stone and wooden flooring so attractive is that they can give each space its own appeal and story while linking to adjacent finishes. ‘You can also create a sectioned or compartmentalised practical aesthetic when combining in open plan spaces, highlighting the different areas of use for the space,’ says Chris.

Clever combinations can result in a variety of different aesthetics. For instance, if you want to create a classic and elegant look that will stand the test of time, you could introduce a rich mid-dark toned wooden flooring with a distressed or aged finish and combine it with a light or pale stone with delicate smaller fossils and a smooth, honed finish, or inject a little more texture with a tumbled finish. ‘The stone choice could also have the corners clipped if square and accentuated with cabochons,’ says Chris.

To evoke a rustic look that’s perfect for a country home, textured limestone with a tumbled or seasoned finish is a good choice, paired with a character-rich, aged wooden floor. ‘Warm colours also add to this aesthetic and lend a traditional and homely feel,’ says Chris.

If you are striving for a modern aesthetic, meanwhile, Chris advises using a limestone or marble with a honed finish in either a bold colour or an incredibly pale one, and team it with a clean primed or select grade wood with very small or no features, in a mid to light tone. ‘Straight Lines and flat formal surfaces are usually key,’ says Chris.

And finally, if you’re in the heart of the city and looking for an urban design, choose weathered and worn-finished limestones such as Blond Barr as paler colours work better for the stone and combine with a dark wooden floor that has minimal characteristics or features.

Blending materials can work beautifully but you do need to take certain factors into account when doing it. ‘The biggest concern when fitting these products together, whether they are in adjoining rooms or within the same space, will be the build-up of each material and if they are level to each other, or if one will sit proud, creating a possible tripping hazard,’ says Chris.’

For projects that require subfloor works, it is important to take note of the specifications and sizes of the materials being selected. ‘This is useful information to pass on to the contractors as in most cases they will build out the subfloors to make sure the finishes are level where possible.’

You also need to decide how you want the floors to meet as there could be a gap between the two. ‘Where one sits proud of another or there is a gap between the materials, there are a decent variety of profiles and edges in both wood and brassware that can be applied to limit trip hazards and hide gaps in a more decorative way. It is probably best to source wooden profiles finished in the same wood as the floor to blend nicely,’ says Chris.

If you have installed underfloor heating, you will need to take into account the type of system used, whether water or electric-based. ‘Natural stone flooring may be fitted over either with no real impact on the installation process from system to system, but engineered wood floors have to be fitted as floating over electric-based systems, as opposed to the preferred adhered method, which can be done with water-based systems. Solid wooden floors should not be fitted over underfloor heating,’ says Chris. With both materials and systems, an appropriate underlay should be fitted. ‘For stone tiles, this will serve as a decoupling layer to limit movement in the materials, where for wooden flooring it can serve as a moisture barrier with water systems and protection for electric ones.’

It is also worth remembering that when the materials are in the same room or space, they will react at different rates to the underfloor heating. ‘It is important that the wooden floor is kept below 27 degrees as above this the boards will dry out and shrink, risking cracks or delamination,’ says Chris. ‘A probe fitted to a monitor within the floor will be able to give more accurate readings as the floor’s build up of temperature will be higher than the room’s main thermostat will detect.’