Oh I also forgot to add that I will be continuing the flooring into the living room on the right. Not sure if that's super relevant but thought I'd add it anyway :)

and you can match the stair case too

That's a great, spacious hallway.

Although you dismissed timber, have you considered reclaimed solid wooden flooring? Then the 'lived in' look is part of its charm and would work really well with your home's character methinks.

Could look great with some lovely rugs/ runners.

This sounds a bit mad, but have you thought of woven vinyl flooring? It is very lovely, you can clean it easily, the one thing I would worry about is claws.. so you'll have to take a view. Might be a tad slippy too, so think about nosing. but it's another option. You can get some interesting nosing details too. Also I don't think LVT is a terrible idea, but as long as you buy one high spec enough, that it has a thick wear layer (clear bit at the top) so that scratches can be buffed out if need be. My favourite Woven Flooring Brand is Bolon. My favourite LVT brand is Amtico. Hope that 's helpful. :)

Thanks everyone. I do love the look of old wood, our last house was a new build so the floors were new and glossy which meant they did look awful after a couple of years but maybe old bashed up wood would wear better. The only thing is that the floors look a lot better in the picture than in real life! I would probably have to replace about 75% of the boards that are down (the darker ones are the only originals left) though so is that going to be prohibitively expensive?

I haven't heard of woven vinyl flooring, that may be an option for the upper hall (which I thought I might have to carpet). I'll look into that - thank you.

I'm sure you can lay reclaimed wood on top of the floorboards (so a whole new floor) with some adaptive measures. I think that's what floorboards are generally there for.

Might also result in better insulation.

you just need a floor sanding machines, that will be the great heavy big floor sander and edging sanding machine, and a expert , who can replace the damaged boards,

Possibly aesthetically it's nicer if you remove the skirting but it's perfectly possible to leave the skirting and lay the floor (nearly) up to the skirting boards and finish with some kind of wooden beading, either in the colour of the wood or in the colour of the skirting (which I would prefer).

You will then loose a few cm height of the skirting (the thickness of the new flooring plus underlay).

I am a EXPERT,all i was doing was floor sanding at 1 part of my life,and i currently still doing floor instalations have a look at my project or click on to my website on my houzz page

I have had a lot of sweat dripped in the Scottish Highlands for over 6 mths, in Edinburgh being precisely, if a customer giving me the honour to doing a job for them , we would be greatly take on the contract and travel where necessary, as long as travel and accommodations is covered and the jobs worth while, it should not be any hassle.

I would use sisal on stairs and herringbone parquet on floors. The pattern would be forgiving in terms of wear and you could use Bona Traffic varnish which is really tough.

Thanks everyone. Some really useful comments here and further thought to be had. Now to go and get some quotes...

Hi Hilary,

We can't help but imagine a beautiful parquet floor in that hallway - we agree with colourhappy about having a durable carpet on the stairs too to add contrast. Hallways in old houses just ask for parquet, and you could go modern or traditional with the colour. Here's some inspiration:

Goodrich Salted Oak · More Info

Goodrich Coffee Oak · More Info

Goodrich Espresso Oak · More Info

You can order free samples from our website if you'd like to take a closer look.

Best wishes,

Hannah | Woodpecker Flooring

Hi Hilary,

The floors from our Strada Collection could be the perfect
option for you as they have been uniquely multi lacquered for a
scratch-resistant, easy to maintain finish created with busy homes with
children and pets in mind. See the collection and order free samples
here: www.tedtodd.co.uk/product-category/strada/

Best wishes,

Fiona