When choosing flooring for your home, it's important to focus on what the room is used for, what it's likely to come into contact with and what kind of maintenance it will need long term. For families, it's usually more important to find something child proof, that can be cleaned easily and won't get damaged when wet. We often need something budget friendly too, that will stand the test of time.
Here's five flooring options that are all suitable for family homes in different ways. Whatever your budget and requirements, this may just help you decide on the perfect flooring for your space. Before shopping for flooring, think about the following;
- What is your maximum budget per square meter?
- Does it need to be waterproof?
- Does it need to insulate or add warmth?
- Will you also need an underlay?
- Does it have a busy footfall?
- What is the room used for?
When you have a better idea of your specific needs, you can move on to looking into and pricing up your flooring options.
Carpet
Carpet is always a favourite choice, but thankfully no longer appearing in bathrooms! The bedroom is the perfect place for carpet, where you're most likely to be walking with bare feet and need that added warmth under foot. Even with carpet, it's not always straight forward. Think about the room it's going, if it's likely to have toddler accidents on, pet accidents or spillages. A more luxurious carpet may be suitable for adult bedrooms, with shorter pile easier To clean carpets for kid friendly spaces.
Laminate
Laminate flooring can be a super budget friendly option and can be very hard wearing. Laminate is pretty easy to fit yourself too and with some simple underlay it can give you extra warmth and comfort under foot. Laminate can be pretty easy to clean, but some cheaper options may swell with water spills, so it's worth choosing carefully and looking at what rooms they are labelled as suitable for before buying.
Luxury vinyl tiles
Vinyl tiles are super luxurious but don't cost the earth. You can get these tiles in lots of designs, mimicking real wood and stone tiles and it's nearly impossible to see the difference with the naked eye. These floors are very hard wearing though, like shop floors they can withstand even the busiest of families. These floors are easy to clean and if a tile gets damaged (which would take a lot!) it can be removed and replaced far easier than replacing a laminate strip or regular vinyl. In the long run, although this can be more costly than some other options, it will stand the test of time and as it can be fixed along the way, it's far less likely to look worn or tired any time soon.
Real wood
Real wood never fails to look amazing, but it can be tricky to look after. Real wood can often get worn with a heavy footfall and get scratched and damaged easily with an over load of moisture. If treated well, real wood flooring can be a good option, but if you have young children you may prefer to opt for a flooring with less upkeep and a more purse friendly price tag. Looks and feel wise though, wooden floors look stunning and can last a long long time.
Tiles
Real stone or ceramic tiles can look great, they wouldn't be my first choice with young children as they can crack with heavy objects landing on them, they are not very forgiving if you drop glass or crockery on them and they are pretty hard for any little ones having trips or falls as well as feeling cold. The upside to tiles though is that they can create a great look, work well with underfloor heating and are super easy to keep clean. You can even get wood effect tiles now, so if you want an easy tile with a wood look, it's definitely an option.
I hope this helps you choose the perfect floor for your family home, but if you're still struggling pop me a message and I'll see if I can help.
*Collaborative post