There’s so much to consider when it comes to flooring, and it's important to find the perfect balance between functionality and style.
More often than not, a home will include a combination of different flooring types.
So you'll also need to take into consideration the foot traffic through the area, your budget constraints, and future requirements of the area (you might not have kids now but if that's on the cards, you might want to think about how to remove stains from soft furnishings!)
What are the different flooring options?
There are generally several options to choose from, including soft flooring like carpet, and hard floorings such as timber, tiles, laminate and of course, concrete! In this blog, we'll discuss the pros and cons of the most popular flooring options, as well as their suitability for certain rooms in the home.
Carpet
Generally speaking, carpet is often chosen as the floor covering for bedrooms as it is comfortable underfoot, non-slip, good for sound insulation and is relatively durable. Carpet is also available in a huge range of textures and colours and can be used to compliment most styles.
However, for families with young children (or even teenagers), carpet can fall victim to stubborn stains like Texta, makeup and coffee. Pets can also wreak havoc on carpet. Not only can your furry friend leave pesky stains but carpet often hold hair from shedding pets so needs to be vacuumed regularly to reduce allergens like asthma.
If you like the feel of soft carpet underfoot but don't like the idea of maintaining it - have you considered a harder flooring option with layered rugs?
Tiles
Tiles are durable, easy to maintain and cool underfoot (which is a nice relief in summer but not so welcome in winter!) Tiles are also available in a large range of colours however light shades are often preferred as they help to make a room look bigger and brighter.
Although tiles may appear maintenance-free, they're not! It's important to keep floor tiles clean and regularly vacuumed to remove any dirt, debris, grime before it embeds itself in the grout. Otherwise you'll have some back-breaking work ahead - scrubbing grout lines with a toothbrush!
Laminate
Laminate wood flooring is made from composite wood pressed together at high temperatures. Not only are the materials themselves cheaper, installation of laminate flooring is, on average, 50% cheaper than timber floor installation.
Since laminate is made from pressed wood, it is more durable and resists scratches, moisture and wear and tear. Laminate flooring is also easier to clean. However, if you do damage your laminate flooring, it is not easy to repair! The flooring comes in individual pieces that interlock with each other so removing and replacing one piece of flooring usually means removing the entire area.
Timber
There's no denying it, timber floors are absolutely beautiful. But timber floors do require maintenance in order to age well. High traffic areas require buffing and resealing every four years or so, and larger scratches will need to be re-sanded, which can become rather costly.
Polished Concrete
Our favourite floor covering!
While we might be a little biased, there is no denying that polished concrete is extremely durable, low maintenance, versatile, family friendly and allergen free.
To learn more about what's involved with polishing concrete floors, click here.
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