What is white laminate in the interior + photos of the main types

Laminate has been used as flooring for just over 30 years.

During this time, it managed to firmly occupy its niche in the market, seriously displacing other, older types of materials.

The reasons for this success were the properties of the laminate, the successful combination of low price with attractive external characteristics, as well as ease of installation, which allows you to do everything yourself, without the involvement of strangers.

The ever-increasing demand has caused active production of the material, improvement of its operating parameters or the development of new samples.

Today the market is filled with various coating models that have different properties and appearance.

Let's take a look at one of the standout material samples - white laminate.

What is white laminate in the interior?

In this case, the name reflects reality in the literal sense of the word. That is, we are considering a white laminate. This is not some specially developed type of material, not a group with common qualities intended for a specific use . We're just talking about laminate flooring painted white (or very close to it).

IMPORTANT!

The material is very specific. The traditional color of such coatings has always been dark tones or close to the natural colors of natural stone or wood. The white floor is unusual for our user. It cannot be said that it immediately repels or causes rejection, but it makes you think.

From the point of view of material properties, these are ordinary types of laminate of different strength classes, from different manufacturers, with their own parameters or features.

Real photos of white laminate:

Features of interiors with white floors

A light floor visually expands the space, as if adding sunlight, air, cleanliness and lightness to it. This feeling is present even in very small rooms decorated using this design technique.

Due to the property of white color to reflect light, this flooring is often used in the interior of rooms where access to natural light is difficult or completely absent. But, since dark floors are considered a classic in home decoration, using white for this purpose gives the interior a less expensive and luxurious look. This point should be taken into account when decorating apartments in premium and luxury style.

In addition, white tone is preferable to use in combination with other shades. An interior decorated exclusively in white will look inexpressive. The lines and boundaries will be blurred, which will negatively affect the overall perception of the design of such a room. In order to avoid this effect, you can use one of the classic techniques used by designers. Doors painted in dark colors against a white floor will help cope with monotony and balance the dominance of white. You can also finish the walls several shades darker and add bright accents in the form of decor and individual pieces of furniture in contrasting colors.

On a note! Using a flooring material with an expressive texture, such as parquet boards, will also help to add variety. A similar effect is achieved by using tiles, as well as textured materials such as carpet.

Advantages and disadvantages

White laminate has a lot of advantages:

• A room with such floors is always lighter than any other room.
• A room with white floors looks wider.
• In hot weather, the sun's rays entering through the window do not heat the floor, making the room cooler.
• White floors create a special atmosphere in the room, making the interior elegant and somewhat mysterious.

The disadvantages include:

• The need for frequent cleaning and mopping of floors.
• Some unnaturalness of the coating, creating the effect of distorting the color of other objects in the room.
• If errors are made during installation, the resulting cracks will greatly deteriorate the appearance of the coating.
• A white floor is very demanding on the environment; it often forces you to completely change the decor in the room (the most suitable is white furniture).

Both advantages and disadvantages are very conditional and can be interpreted in different ways. A specific type of coating evokes different sensations in everyone, and therefore the qualities of the coating are perceived accordingly .

Features of glossy laminate

A popular floor covering is class 33 glossy laminate, which, thanks to its properties and characteristics, has won recognition among consumers and a wide range of applications. A special place among all varieties of decorative materials is occupied by products presented in light and dark shades.

The presence of gloss on the surface of the laminate has its own classification, which is determined by several criteria:

• The degree of gloss is normal and increased with a mirror effect. A floor covering with a regular gloss only shows shine when its surface is exposed to sunlight. An increased degree of glossy coating can reflect objects standing in the room and not necessarily in daylight, artificial lighting is sufficient. The second option has improved properties and is more expensive.
• The parameters of the lamellas are standard and shortened, imitating tiled floor tiles. Each type has its own advantages and is suitable for almost all rooms. Shortened slats are an ideal solution for creating a floor in the kitchen, hallway, bathroom, or small room.
• The design of the lamellas is the presence or absence of a chamfer, thanks to which you can create the appropriate appearance of the floor covering, for example, imitation of ceramic floor tiles.
• Color solutions. Floor coverings in white and black tones, which lack veins and inclusions, have gained popularity. This feature of the material makes it unique.

Glossy flooring is suitable for rooms in houses, apartments and offices, for restaurants and boutiques, beauty salons, exhibition pavilions, where you need to highlight or emphasize individual elements in the surrounding space, to add sophistication and luxury. The mirror surface itself is an additional source of light, so it is very functional in dark rooms.

Basic shades and types

The shades of such material can be anything. White color has the largest number of shades, so there are a lot of options. In this case, the issue should be considered in a different plane, namely, in the combination of the floor covering with the color of the walls and furniture.

It is this moment that determines the overall sensations from the color scheme of the interior, so the choice of laminate shade should be made taking into account all surrounding elements.

There are interesting varieties of color, for example, “white oak”. The material itself looks unnatural, but in combination with other interior details it really benefits and becomes the most attractive part of the room.

There are a lot of such options, but choosing the right one requires considerable taste and design experience. However, you can approach the issue from the other side - first lay the laminate, and then little by little select the color of the walls and other elements, although this approach will require time, money and effort .

White laminate - a positive impact on interior design

Elegant, stylish, timeless and at the same time neutral, of course, this is white laminate, which is increasingly found in apartment interiors. Although the white floor reigns as a background element, inextricably linked with the Scandinavian style, it can go beyond and complement the interior in any thematic design.

Optically magnifies

If you have a small apartment, any way to visually enlarge it is worth using. You don't have to break down walls right away. Play with colors. Dark colors optically make the room smaller. An effective way to add breath to your interior is to paint all surfaces with uniform, light colors. White laminate combined with the same walls and ceiling will make the room seem several square meters larger. The space is influenced by color and the fact that the boundaries between individual surfaces disappear. The white floor goes perfectly with the light wall, which naturally fits into the ceiling in the same shade.

Gives brightness

Scandinavian homes are designed so that their interiors are optimally lit during the winter months. Also for this reason, the main color of the Nordic style is white. It reflects light perfectly. Therefore, it is advisable to design rooms in this way where the windows are small, shaded by trees, or simply dark. White laminate plays a special role in such interiors. It provides an additional large reflective surface. You will get a special lighting effect by choosing white glossy lacquer boards. Shiny surfaces intensely reflect light and work on a similar principle to mirrors.

Makes organization easier

Any other color matches white laminate. A light floor in combination with the walls and ceiling will create a uniform base. This will become the backdrop for any other colors you decide to add inside. You can plan a monochrome interior in which white will be combined with grey, graphite and black. You can also combine it with elements in different shades of your chosen color, such as sapphire or green. Because white laminate is so versatile, you can freely change colorful accessories such as rugs to suit your personal mood, season and occasion.

It's practical

It was assumed that white was impractical because it was easily soiled. Therefore, many people believe that white laminate flooring requires frequent cleaning. Meanwhile, light boards need cleaning no more often than other interior elements:

1. Firstly, these are surfaces that do not see dust. They are a desirable element of interior design. Dust isn't as noticeable on white floors as it is on dark wood floors. Light animal fur is also invisible.
2. Secondly, white laminate has an advantage over dark laminate in case of scratches. Each stripe on the surface is a clear mark on the boards. Small scratches will be much less noticeable on a white floor, especially in the matte version.
3. Thirdly, laminate flooring is made from high quality raw materials, so it will look great for many years.

In which rooms is it best to use?

To determine the most successful place to use white laminate, you need to remember the material’s ability to make dark areas of the room lighter. This opportunity should be used, as it can help you look at the familiar environment in a new way and emphasize some previously hidden features of the interior.

The very first and main place of application of the coating should be called the living room . Stylish flooring, matching furniture and wall colors will create an elegant, memorable interior in which it is pleasant to receive guests or spend time with your family.

In addition, a possible place to use light laminate flooring is the bedroom. Light colors in the interior will enhance the feeling of freshness and cleanliness and create a feeling of coolness.

NOTE!

There are no fundamental contraindications for laying white laminate; you can use it anywhere - from the hallway to the kitchen or bathroom. Any option has its advantages and disadvantages. The main selection criterion is the personal taste of the owners, so it is useless to advise anything here.

Flaws

Dust on a white floor is almost invisible, but all other types of dirt become immediately visible, which requires their immediate removal to maintain a neat appearance of the coating. Light-colored floors will require more frequent cleaning. But this drawback can easily turn into an advantage, given that the room will always be kept perfectly fresh and clean.

Important! All kinds of damage, such as chips, cracks, dents, scratches, stand out much more strongly on a white background than on a dark one. This nuance should be taken into account when planning redevelopment or rearrangement of furniture.

Which class is best to choose white laminate

The strength class of a material determines the degree of resistance to mechanical stress. This includes furniture on wheels, women's stiletto heels, and a beloved dog with claws. Logic dictates that the best choice is the most durable and reliable class 34 laminate, capable of withstanding any load .

This is true, but there is one small detail: the white coating is gradually becoming covered with scratches, abrasions, marks from heels or furniture wheels, chair legs, etc. In the first years everything goes great, but over time the material loses its position somewhat and begins to age.

If dark types of laminate could serve for a very long time, until complete depreciation, then the white material will become ugly, noticeably worn and will require replacement. As a result, it turns out that it would be possible to install a cheaper class 32, which would last no less, but would cost much less.

It is from these positions that you should approach your choice: combine the service life of the material with its features.

Combination of white laminate with other coatings

In order to combine white and any other type of material, you need to have a specific design project in mind. The possibilities of laminate are very high; the design allows you to connect panels of completely different colors, the main thing is that they are from the same manufacturer.

In addition, you can combine laminate and tile, laminate and linoleum. These options may have practical significance, for example, you can lay laminate flooring in the kitchen, but in the most dangerous areas, where water can spill or grease splashes from a frying pan get on the floor, lay tiles . In approximately the same way, you can combine laminate and linoleum, for example, in the hallway.

IMPORTANT!

It is better to choose sharply contrasting colors of other materials in order to play up the combination of coatings and get the maximum decorative effect from this. Moreover, white color goes well with almost any other shade, you can choose the most suitable option for yourself.

Principles of combining shades and advantages

What can be identified from the main competitive advantages of black and white laminate?

1. The design of the room becomes more modern, luxurious and rich in appearance. Most leading designers in the USA and Europe today actively use a combination of black and white colors when decorating apartments and country houses. At the same time, the appropriate laminate is not lost sight of, which can give any room a finished and beautiful appearance.
2. Using such decor will allow you not to be afraid that the interior will lack any shades - when black and white are combined, the room itself acquires a finished appearance, so you can complement the decor with elements that are suitable in style and design.

1. If laminate flooring in black and white shades has already been laid in the room, but a decision has not yet been made on the further design of the room, then there is no particular need to add any new colors - the entire room can be done in black and white.
2. If you could not find the appropriate decor in a specialized store, then the required combination can be achieved by using black and white models. Moreover, you can combine individual panels in any way you like: in a checkerboard, chaotic, regular order. Or according to a pre-planned plan. To implement this idea, it is necessary to find models in which the panels will have minimal dimensions (in this case it will be much easier to work with them).
3. Don't forget about contrasting combinations. If white and black laminate are used in flooring, then you should not make the rest of the room design strictly black or, conversely, white. Other segments of the room (furniture, accessories, walls, ceiling, partitions, etc.) should also be made in a contrasting style.