The residences people live in can vary greatly in terms of size and style. While some only need to serve one occupant, other properties are busy households with multiple family members. If you’re planning to refloor your home from top to bottom, we’ve put together a list of helpful hints for selecting an ideal option for each type of room.
While everyone has their own specific taste and personal requirements, the following points may be worth thinking about when you’re choosing floor coverings for these different areas around your home.
Entrance halls
The floors in areas that lead outdoors can often see the most wear compared to other parts of a property. Footfall in these spaces can be heavier, and snow, rainwater, mud, dirt, dead leaves and other debris will often get trampled inside. Homes with cats, dogs and kids will find this an even more common scenario.
For this reason, carpet that can become worn and stained and wood flooring that may warp are never wise choices. Luxury vinyl tile, or LVT for short, can be an excellent alternative. It can mimic real wood and offers a high-end appearance like carpet, but it is far more hardwearing and waterproof, making it a much better solution.
Bathrooms
Due to their functions, bathrooms and their flooring must be entirely waterproof and easy to clean by necessity. While tiles make an excellent floor choice for bathrooms, if you have a large floor space to cover, this can involve considerable expense and a lengthy installation. A cheaper alternative can be vinyl. LVT is able to look just like porcelain or natural stone, and it offers the same impermeable protection from water damage. Additionally, vinyl is incredibly easy to clean, keeping bathrooms and lavatories hygienic.
Living rooms
While some people prefer carpeting in their living spaces for comfort, this option does get worn over time due to how often such areas are used. Others enjoy the regal aesthetics of a solid or engineered wood floor, but this can be costly and typically involves a professional installation. If either of these solutions are selected, adding rugs and padding to the feet of furniture can protect the flooring from wear. Laminate can be a more affordable alternative. Crafted to look like real wood boards, it is durable and easier to care for than carpets, as it never requires a deep clean.
Dining rooms
Rooms where we dine must balance functionality and style when it comes to the flooring. A laminate floor can offer impressive aesthetics that resemble authentic timber or stone tile, and it is also very easy to clean when food and drink are spilled during dinner parties and sit-down meals. If you opt for a luxury real wood floor in your dining area, consider adding a washable mat below your table, as this will protect it from scratching when chairs are moved.
Bedrooms
The floors of the rooms we sleep in experience the least wear, making them ideal for carpeting. The luxury comfort of stepping out of bed and sinking your feet into an inch of plush, deep pile is one sought by many homeowners. For a room that is dedicated to rest and relaxation, wall-to-wall carpeting can be a perfect choice. However, if you enjoy the privilege of an en-suite bathroom, a more waterproof option may be wiser – you can always add thick fluffy rugs for extra comfort.
Kitchens
Like bathrooms, kitchens must contend with water spills, and as a room where cooking and eating takes place, the floor must also be easy to maintain. Those on a budget will find vinyl is cost effective and comes in a wide range of colours to suit any kitchen décor. High-quality LVT is a more expensive incarnation of vinyl, but it will last longer, ensuring a solid return on your investment. Laminate flooring may be suitable for kitchens that don’t see heavy use, but it is not as waterproof as vinyl, or as simple to clean. Laminate flooring requires specific cleaning products, while LVT can be washed with water without harm.
Home offices
The floor you fit in your home office must suit your office equipment. If you use a chair on castors for example, you’ll find this will scratch wooden boards and make indentations on carpeting, causing damage over time. Laminate and LVT can give you a harder wearing surface, so whether you’re pacing about on the floor or wheeling over to your files, you’ll have a floor that can take the strain.
To be productive, a home office should always feel comfortable to its user. LVT and laminate floors can both be installed with an underlay that ensures an extra layer of comfort, and thick rugs can always be added for extra warmth.
Playrooms
Homes with children sometimes benefit from a dedicated playroom. Picking a suitable floor for a playroom isn’t always easy, as coverings must be comfortable but able to cope with spills and stains when playtime gets messy. While vinyl is very easy to keep clean, you may find you need to use cushions or beanbags for comfortable seating options.
A better option worth considering is carpet tiles. Far softer and warmer to sit on then vinyl, carpet tiles are also easy to clean if an accident occurs. This modular design of carpeting allows owners to remove tiles for maintenance whenever required, and if they are damaged beyond repair, they can simply be replaced. Homeowners can either swap the stained tile with one hidden from sight beneath a bookshelf or toybox, or buy a spare in the same style instead.
Are you ready for new flooring?
As mentioned earlier, the perfect flooring will always depend on individual taste, how many people make up your household and whether kids and pets are part of your family. However, if you’re looking for solutions that supply satisfaction, will hold up well under use and will look great for years to come, these suggestions may be well worth considering.
