Camilla’s calming living room

Camilla Thomson and her fiancé Paul had been renting for five years so when they found and bought their 1930s London home, they couldn’t wait to put their own stamp on it. Over the past two years they have created a calm haven with gentle natural colours and a contemporary minimalist style, sharing their renovation story on Instagram @camillas_casa.

The healing shades of nature

In their living room, a warm neutral palette and an attention to detail has resulted in an inviting space where the couple can relax and entertain. Scandi blue sofas sit alongside soft beige walls and a rich brown chimney breast, while an impactful geometric rug in classic black and white makes a style statement and elevates the room.

Floor installed: Canadian Urban Oak

Camilla said: “The living room originally had an engineered wood floor but this had a very orange tone which didn’t fit in with our preferred aesthetic. We looked around for a more muted tone which would match our desired taupe and brown colour scheme and fell in love with the natural blond colouring of Canadian Urban Oak.”

Finding their perfect floor

After browsing the website and shortlisting their favourite designs, Camilla ordered some free samples to compare how each colourway would look in situ, moving the samples around the room as the natural daylight changed.

Camilla explained: “We had a few questions about how to fit our rigid core fitting format so we used the handy how to fit Korlok page which was really helpful. We were delighted to discover that the Korlok range can be simply installed straight on top of our existing wood floor which meant no extra cost or mess. There is no movement in the floor; you’d never know that’s how it’s been laid!”

A floor with plenty of benefits

“We’re always keen to have a go at DIY and learn new skills,” Camilla told us, “so we fitted the floor ourselves and found it super easy to score, snap and click into place. Then we finished it all off with a colour matched scotia around the edges to cover the required expansion gap. It really is that simple. And, because we didn’t need to use adhesive, we were able to bring in our furniture right away.

“The floor looks so realistic, feels great and the wood grain effect is spot on. It’s also easy to keep clean with a quick sweep and spot clean where needed.

“In fact, we love the light and fresh look of the Canadian Urban Oak so much that we’ve also used it in our new garden room, which we use as a home office and gym. An extra bonus of the rigid core format is that it’s suitable to install over new build subfloors that are still drying so we didn’t have to wait before being able to finish this space.

“My main tip for any DIYer looking to fit Korlok flooring themselves is to do your research beforehand. Success is all in the preparation. If you watch the YouTube installation tutorials and prepare correctly, you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Shop the Korlok range.