Is laminate a better choice than hardwood flooring?

A solid wood floor has long been a sought-after choice for households seeking to add warmth and an impressive appearance to the interior of their homes. However, in recent years laminate flooring has fast become a go-to alternative for homeowners looking for the aesthetics and durability of wood flooring at lower costs.

In the following sections, we’ll investigate some of the reasons why property owners across the country are increasingly seeing the merits of a laminate floor.

The costs involved in laminate flooring

Options such as laminate allow people to enjoy a stylish and high-quality floor at an affordable price, opening high-end flooring up to a wider demographic. Hardwood flooring is among the most expensive options that a property owner can pick to deck out the rooms of their home. The beauty of laminate is that the latest offerings in this material can efficiently mimic a real wood look and feel at a fraction of the cost. In fact, laminate flooring is roughly around three times less expensive than solid wood. This cost of a hardwood floor involves not just the real wood harvested from trees, but the price of installation.

In most cases, laminate wood is less pricey because its construction involves layers of composite wood compressed at high temperatures with an image of hardwood grain placed on the top. This makes the materials involved less costly but also installations that are around 50% less than those associated with solid wood flooring.

Impressive durability

While hardwood floors are renowned for their longevity, keeping them in optimum condition is another matter altogether. Over time they can accumulate a wide range of scratches and scuff marks which can lessen and dull their appearance. Additionally, real wood does not cope well with excessive moisture, which can make it warp and lead to further damage. For these reasons, many homeowners with parts of their property that are likely to see heavy wear, or be subject to moisture, may choose laminate.

As a rule, more durable floor coverings are simpler to maintain, making laminate an option worth considering. Constructed from pressed wood layers, it is far more resistant to moisture, scratches, and general wear and tear.

Easier to clean

The process of caring for a laminate floor is far simpler than looking after a hardwood floor. Highly specialised products must be used to clean solid wood floors and they require regular attention to stop issues like dust and pet hair clogging gaps between boards. A wide range of store-bought products can be use on laminate flooring, but a cleaning schedule involving regular sweeping and vacuuming will keep them looking in great shape. It’s worth noting that using a brush attachment with a vacuum cleaner is always the safest option when caring for laminate.

From its exceptional durability and ease of care to its more affordable costs for materials and installations, it’s not tricky to see why some homeowners find laminate a more suitable option than hardwood.

New Kings Norton pub features unique carpet

The latest pub opened by JD Wetherspoon is the Navigation Inn in Kings Norton, which features a unique, luxury carpet.

The Wetherspoon pub chain is known for its low prices for food and drink, but no expense is spared when it comes to its carpets. Each pub has its own unique carpet, the design of which is inspired by the local environment.

The Kings Norton pub’s carpet design was influenced by the Guillotine Lock, which is located at the junction of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Stratford-upon-Avon canal. The lock prevents water from flowing in between the different levels of the canals. The lock motif is combined with a traditional pattern that is floral. The carpet design represents the mix of industrial and rural elements in the Kings Norton area.

An offcut of the carpet is displayed on the pub wall in a picture frame that has details about the design. The walls contain many references to the long history of Kings Norton, which includes the Saturday market founded in 1616.

The pub was opened in December 2021 by Gary Sambrook, Northfield MP. According to Birmingham Live, Sambrook said:

“What I love about Wetherspoon's pubs is that they always soak through it the fabric of local history and there's so much of it here in Kings Norton, a real place on the map in Birmingham.”

Having a unique carpet design is very expensive. Fortunately, carpets in the North Wales and Chester areas are available in a wide variety of colours and patterns to suit all tastes.

Appeal of 3D carpets grows

Carpets are generally seen as two dimensional and flat, but several carpet manufacturers have started to add a third dimension – depth.

Many owners of carpets in Chester and Wrexham like deep pile carpets. As they are walked on, people can feel their depth, the third dimension. For more depth, there are carpets with various pile lengths that add texture.

An Italian carpet studio is handmaking carpets with elevated textures and what looks like carvings. These have different pile lengths in different areas to form swirling, three-dimensional patterns. They are made for the specialised high-end yacht market, with people having bespoke sculpted carpets fitted in their yachts.

Talk Carpet, based in the United States, has a three-dimensional carpet range of commercial carpets for bars and restaurants. These are plain-coloured carpets with curved lines cut into the pile in shades of grey, white or black. They reference prehistoric animal skeletons and create a sense of movement and dimension.

Another way to create a three-dimensional effect is by using rugs that have a two-dimensional pattern on them that forms a visual illusion of depth. Some find these illusions disorientating, however. For example, there is vortex trap illusion rug looks as if there is a deep hole in the centre of the rug that people could fall down.

Depth can be added to a room without special carpets by placing a deep-pile rug on top of a plain carpet, putting floor vases containing colourful plants on the carpet and by placing small tables with cushions on the floor.

World-renowned artist designs limited-edition carpets

Jwan Yosef is a world-renowned artist famed for art made with various types of tape. He has now turned his talent to making carpets, in collaboration with the Swedish Henzel Studio, which specialises in handmade art rugs.

Yosef starts by putting masking tape onto paper. He layers strips of tape to create three-dimensional designs, which are then scanned and digitised. The designs are used to make handwoven silk carpets. He has designed several sets of carpets in limited editions of 20. He explained his feeling behind the carpets to Architectural Digest:

“I worked with masking tape as a reference and the carpet became a pretty accurate three-dimensional imitation of that real object.”

Joakim Andreasson of Henzel Studio said that Yosef’s carpets allow him to work with tape in a unique way to create carpet art. He said that Yosef is amongst the most unique and challenging artists he has worked with. Henzel Studio said:

“Yosef invites the vernacular of everyday materials to a re-thinking of possibilities—a poetic exercise that extracts the many metaphors and biases society projects on familiar effects.”

The carpets can be placed on the floor, but it is not recommended that they be used in heavy footfall areas, as silk is not a very durable material.

For more practical carpet choices for Chester, Wrexham and North Wales homes, local carpet retailers have a wide selection of carpets in various fibres, colours and patterns. Expect a high-quality carpet to last many years.

Wool carpets make for healthier rooms and world

Wool carpets make a room look good and create a relaxed atmosphere. In addition to this, they are also healthier for both a room and the planet.

A natural fibre, wool reduces ambient noise to make a room quieter. Smooth floors allow particles and dirt to be airborne, and this is a hazard for allergy sufferers. Wool pile, however, traps particles to prevent them from being airborne, and vacuuming the carpet easily removes these particles.

Wool that comes from sheep that are well looked after is a sustainable material. Many carpet manufacturers use a high proportion of British wool in their carpets, which supports British farmers and the countryside they manage. Many carpets contain 20% nylon. This makes a carpet more durable so that it lasts longer, but nylon is not as environmentally friendly as wool. Some prefer 100% wool carpets, even if they don’t last as long.

Post-manufacturing, excess yarn can be used to make underlay so that there is minimal waste. The wool in worn carpets can be recycled and used as a fertiliser.

In commercial buildings, the wool carpets used often conform to a high Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Certification, which rates how sustainable and environmentally friendly a building is when newly built or refurbished.

Wool carpets in Chester and North Wales homes are prized for their warmth and luxury and have the added benefit of making a room healthier. Many wool carpet buyers are concerned about the environment and choose wool because it’s natural and more eco-friendly than many other floor coverings.