We decided on our flooring this week which was cool 
Ben had dealt with Carpet Court while on The Block NZ and really enjoyed working with them, especially their great advice and massive product range. Because of his positive experience we decided to head into their Wairau Park showroom to select the floors for our own home.
We knew we wanted timber floors in our living areas and carpet in our bedrooms. After being asked heaps of questions about our lifestyle, the Carpet Court team recommended we try Smart Strand Silk carpet or ‘the rhino carpet’. It’s sooooo soft and plush, but it’s also stain proof. Which we decided was ideal given we will be having a family soon and who knows what the kids will try rubbing into it! We ended up choosing the Cosy Comfort style in a light grey colour called Crystal Stream.
For the timber floors, we were considering solid wood floors, but the more we discussed our options, the more we were drawn to the premium laminate options from Belgium. The Quick Step range has a layer of solid oak on the surface so it looks exactly like a solid plank, but then it is so much more durable and scratch resistant. We’re planning on having plenty of parties so there’ll be lots of high heels and no doubt a few spills, but we wouldn’t have to worry about any dents or stains which really sold us. Looks and functionality. So we finally chose the Quick Step Largo in Natural Long Island Oak. It’s going to look sooooo good 

Getting advice from Mark Brown about why Smart Strand Silk would really suit our current lifestyle and stage in life.

As well as being incredibly durable to suit our lifestyle, we chose Smart Strand carpet because it’s so plush too, like roll around and curl up asleep on it soft :)

This is the carpet we ended up choosing – Smart Strand Silk in the Cosy Comfort style which has a staggered cut pile that we liked because it looked more textured. Then the colour is Crystal Stream. Did I mention how soft it is!

And then trying it out in bare feet. Feels exactly like solid timber too. And my heels didn’t dent it either!

And we have a winner. All the looks of fully solid timber, but so much more durable and at a great price point to suit our budget. This is our actual floor – Quick Step Largo in Natural Long Island Oak.


You two are so adorable I can’t even stand it! Haha! I think timber floors are really nice and I would like to have some installed in my kitchen. That carpet really does look plushy. I would love to have something like that in my living room! I can’t wait to be able to do stuff like this with my house like you guys.
Oh, thanks Rose! It’s awesome carpet and laminate. Well worth the investment. Good luck
Hi Ben,
You guys have an awesome house man!
How are the Quickstep flooring working out for you guys? We’re considering the same range for our new build 😉
Hope to hear from you!
Eugene.
Hey Eugene,
Thank you, we’re so happy with it, definitely worth all the hard work!
We love the Quickstep flooring – looks fantastic and is super hard wearing. Had a fair few pairs of high heels on it and not a mark. Plus no signs of fading or any buckling/warping etc. We’d definitely use it again if we were starting all over.
Hope that helps?!
Cheers
Ben
Hi,
Can you give the number of floors? This is Quickstep Largo 1660 or 1661?
Thank you for help.
Iza
Hi Iza, can’t track down the exact paper work at the moment sorry, but 99% sure it was 1661 – Natural Long Island Oak.
Thank you very much for your answer. I am planning to buy a floor number 1661 and I hope that this floor will be also pretty as your floor 😉
Hi, You have amazing home!! it’s really beautyfull!
(sorry for my english).
I have a question about floor in Your home. Once You wrote under one of Your photos: “We love the colour we chose – Long Island Light Oak – matches the timber we have used in the rest of the house perfectly”. Long island light oak is 1660, and You say about 1661. So, what floor dou You have in Your dreamed home?
Take care!
Tom
Hey Tom. Thank you! It’s LPU1661 – see a link here to the UK QuickStep site – http://www.quick-step.co.uk/en-gb/laminate/largo/lpu1661_long-island-oak-natural
Cheers, Ben
Hi Ben, I really like your flooring, but it seems like LPU1661 is not available in australia? I can only find LPU1660 in both catalog and online quickstep australia. Do you have a snapshot of the sample with the code? So i can show it to the retail guy. That would be much appreciated! Thanks! Gus
Hey Gus…that was definitely the code, you can see it here on the NZ Quick Step site – http://www.quick-step.co.nz/en-nz/laminate/largo/lpu1661_long-island-oak-natural – As I recall it had to be imported from Belgium as it’s not stocked by default. Hope that helps!
How’s the smartstrand rhino carpet working out? I’ve had advice not to buy that brand or range due to various reasons.
Hi Paul, it’s great, haven’t had a single issue with it. 5 years in, have a toddler now too and has worn very well, very soft and warm underfoot, highly recommended from our experiences. Cheers, Ben.
hi Ben,
Does the staggered cut leave tracks?
And how do you think Rhino carpet would stand up with a couple of Rotties galloping around on it?
Patricia
Hey Patricia, after a vacuum you have normal marks on the pile from the general movement, but it’s back to normal straight away, and yeah, it would be great I’m sure. Any stains/marks we have had so far from our kids have been easily removed.
Cheers
Ben