How do you pick flooring for kitchens?

As the room where we cook, eat and clean, many kitchens see considerable use. Over time, this makes it necessary for this area of our home to need refreshing. While sometimes, new tile work or painting is all that is needed to improve them, other kitchen refurbishments require drastic measures.

Kitchen floors must cope with heavy traffic in family homes, and even smaller households will need to manage water and food spills, along with dirt trodden in. When these floors start to show signs of wear, and repair is impossible, getting a replacement may be the only option.

In the following sections, we’ll look at some crucial considerations for when you’re picking out a new floor.

Budget

Everyone has a dream kitchen in mind, but affordability is often an issue. While you might love the look of tumbled Dijon limestone, picking an option that matches your budget is important. Fortunately, flooring is available in a wide range of materials to suit different price ranges.

Vinyl provides the most economical solution for kitchen floors, while laminate and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) are more upmarket yet affordable options. These last two solutions can be a suitable second choice when you have your heart set on wood or natural stone. Both LVT and laminate can perfectly mimic the look of these organic options – for a cost that’s considerably less.

Usage

How often your kitchen is used is also a factor. Busy homes packed with kids and pets will need a robust floor that can handle plenty of footfall. High-quality vinyl-based flooring is particularly hardwearing and can stand up to serious traffic while keeping its appearance.

If you rarely use your kitchen but want a stylish finish, you could opt for wood. However, kitchens must often cope with moisture, so consider engineered boards over hardwood. The multi-layer construction of engineered planks allows it to adapt much better when exposed to liquids, buts it’s still a wise move to mop any spills immediately to avoid damage.

Keeping it clean

Food is prepared and sometimes eaten in kitchens, requiring them to have high levels of hygiene. From everyday dirt dragged in on the feet and paws of family members to cooking stains and spills, kitchen flooring needs regular maintenance. With this in mind, it’s worth selecting a floor choice that’s easy to care for.

Vinyl is among the simplest to clean surfaces, as it requires no special cleaning fluids or equipment to maintain. Water-based cleaning completed with a mop is all that is required, as this option is entirely waterproof.

Style and colour

Laminate and vinyl are flexible options that offer an extensive selection of different looks. You’ll find intricate patterns, a rainbow of colours and even different textures and tones available. Having so much choice can be especially beneficial when you’re looking to match your new floor to existing units or appliances in a fitted kitchen.

With a wide array of possibilities offered, you’re sure to find just the right flooring required to suit your needs.

Versatility of striped carpets explained

According to House Beautiful Content Editor Rachel Edwards, striped carpets are very versatile.

Edwards said that the key to using striped carpets is to use ones with hues that fit with the room decor, complementing the colours of the wallpaper, paint and furniture. She said that striped carpets provide:

“Some clever visual effects to widen or elongate a room, and adding a touch of visual interest to a space. And whilst they require a bit more consideration than a plain carpet, they can make a bigger design statement.”

Stripes can be bold and eye-catching, or more subtle and lighter. Gentle, neutral colours are best for relaxed restful spaces, and bold rainbow stripes are good for areas where busy activities take place. Stripes can be narrow or wide, or they can vary in width. In small rooms, a simple striped carpet in three or fewer colours can change the perspective of a room, creating the illusion of extra space.

Striped carpets can be combined with geometric shapes or other patterns. Instinctively, many people think that mixing stripes with patterns does not work, but many carpet designs disprove this view.

Vertical stripes direct the eye to interesting room areas. For instance, they can highlight windows with outside garden views, or focus attention on an original fireplace.

Carpets in North Wales and Chester make homes feel warm and cosy. Many people prefer plain carpets as they are uncertain about striped designs, but as Edwards has argued, striped carpets can enhance the look of any room.

Perfect picks for playroom flooring

Playrooms at home provide little ones with their own area to use their imagination and play with toys and games in comfort. However, just like all built-for-purpose rooms, they have specific requirements to meet. In terms of flooring, the solution found must offer safety, while being durable, comfortable and simple to maintain when play time involves making a mess. Read on for some flooring options that are ideal for a kid’s playroom in your home.

Carpeting

Warm and soft to sit on, many playrooms use carpet. While tricky to clean and care for, a carpeted playroom ramps comfort levels for children. Little ones often kneel or sit on floors to play, and a carpet with thick, soft pile can have a cushioning effect. This can also be useful if they take a tumble during games, offering a softer landing than other floor choices.

As mentioned, carpet is not easy to maintain when it’s in constant use. Spilled drinks, paint spatters and other mess can take its toll. However, there are some solutions. You can buy a cheaper carpet, so it won’t be so pricey to replace when it gets too worn, but there is another option worth considering.

Carpet tiles offer a soft play area for kids, but are more affordable than wall-to-wall carpeting. They are also easy to care for, with simple vacuuming keeping them in good shape. If stains or spills happen, tiles can be swapped out for other in a less conspicuous spot or replaced entirely with a fresh one.

Vinyl floors

Vinyl flooring can be found in a wide range of colours and patterns. This can be perfect when you want it to match with your existing décor. However, with such bright colours available, why not choose a bright red, blue or yellow to really make it pop? If you’re looking to create a fun environment for playtime, vinyl can be an excellent option.

Vinyl is also one of the most affordable flooring options. In a room that is going to see a lot of use and may need replacing, this can make it a product worth considering. Vinyl is also incredibly hardwearing, which means you’ll see an excellent return on your investment. It also means that the floor you’ve chosen will be able to handle significant traffic and use when your kids have their friends over.

It’s exceptionally simple to clean too, with any mess easily washed away using water-based cleaning methods and non-specialist products.

Laminate floors

Finally, among the best suited floor options for playrooms is laminate. This kind of flooring is exceedingly durable, able to withstand plenty of everyday wear and tear. This means it can cope with scuffs and scratches, along with stains and spills. With a smooth finish, laminate provides a safe surface for kids to play on, and extra rugs or beanbags can add a little more comfort.

Easy to clean, laminate can be simply wiped down when accidents occur. It’s also incredibly versatile and can mimic real wood or natural stone, giving playrooms a stylish appearance.

With plenty of perfect flooring choices available, creating a comfortable and secure play area in your house is never a problem.

Which carpets are the best for cats?

While house cats love curling up on a warm carpet, the two are not always an ideal match. Among the most common problems are carpet pulls, which are caused by cats catching thread loops with their claws. Other problems our feline friends can cause are much more difficult to deal with, like hairballs and territorial and accidental spraying.

Cats also bring dirt in from outdoors and moult, leaving loose hair that can quickly clog up carpet fibres, making floor coverings seem dull or patchy. However, if you have cats, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a carpeted home. In the following sections, we’ll explore some of the options available to solve these problems.

Select cut carpets over looped carpets

Sometimes by accident but often on purpose, cats like to get their paws into everything. Unfortunately for carpets, these paws have claws attached. When cats scratch, stretch or play, their claws can extend and get caught in carpet loops, unravelling the fabric. Once a thread is loose, it becomes a game for cats, making the situation worse. While looped wool carpets are luxurious, a cut pile carpet will be much more suitable for homes with cats.

Choose a neutral-toned carpet

Outdoor cats may bring muddy paws indoors, leaving prints on your floor, and all cats will moult, dropping hair on carpeting. While cats are always dropping loose fur, they also moult heavily twice a year. In summer, they shed their thick winter coat for a lighter summer one, and vice versa when the seasons change again.

While regular vacuuming is a must when you own a cat, dirt, debris and hair can take its toll on carpets, making them lose their appearance. You can combat this by selecting a neutral-toned carpet that doesn’t show up the hair the way a very dark or light product will. Some cat owners even pick carpets the colour of their cats to mask the presence of loose fur.

Carpet cleaning

As mentioned, daily vacuuming will keep on top of cat hair issues, but other messes can be trickier to deal with. Always deal with accidents as quickly as possible – the longer that hairballs, vomit or urine are left to soak in, the harder it will be to remove stains and smells. A natural remedy that is exceptionally effective is sprinkling impacted areas with baking soda. Its absorbent quality can trap excess fluid and unwanted odours, and the soda can then be easily vacuumed up.

Go tiled

Finally, to solve all the issues of cats and carpets with a simple stroke, consider buying carpet tiles. These modular options are ideal for homes with cats, as if an accident occurs, they can quickly be swapped out for a fresh new carpet tile if you buy some extras.

Carpet tiles don’t feature looped fibres either, making them difficult for cats to damage with their claws. They’re also very easy to remove and clean under the tap when you need to resolve a hairball issue.

Ultimately, choosing a cat-friendly carpet for your home will boil down to personal choice, but the above points should assist you in making a decision.

Expert says clean carpets last twice as long

According to a carpet cleaning expert, a properly cleaned carpet should last twice as long as a dirty one.

This claim was made by the Kärcher cleaning machine Product Manager, Katrin Nock. Speaking to the European Cleaning Journal, she said a quality carpet will last a long time, but if it’s left uncleaned, soil particles will cause fibre distortion, which can make the carpet wear out quicker.

Dirty carpets are a risk for allergy sufferers. Microorganisms in dust rise in the air when the carpet is walked on, and this can affect allergy sufferers. Though bacteria and viruses can be trapped in carpets, the danger to health from them is low.

Nock said that well-maintained carpets create a good impression for visitors to commercial buildings. A clean deep-pile carpet absorbs sound and creates an atmosphere of comfort and luxury. She added:

“This is why carpets are generally found in VIP areas and in the management departments of high-end banks and specialist shops.”

In restaurants and cafes in particular, a clean carpet indicates that the business has a high standard of hygiene.

During the virus lockdown, many offices were empty. This did not mean that carpets in Chester, Wrexham and North Wales commercial buildings were kept clean. The air in unoccupied buildings tends to become stale, musty and damp, making carpets dirty and become infected with mildew and mould, which are health risks. Fortunately, carpets can be restored by a professional carpet cleaner, and this also makes a carpet last longer.