When it comes to the surface you’re walking on every day in your home, you want it to be sturdy, durable, good-looking, and for it to feel comfortable underneath your feet.
Also, how easy it is to clean up these surfaces springs to mind as yet another parameter worth taking into consideration, as flooring options tend to vary quite considerably when maintenance is in question.
For example, some flooring options may require you to get special waxes, polishing kits, and other cleaning means, while some others may require only a damp rag and a scrubber to look as clean as a whistle.
In this article, we’re going to present to you some common flooring options you can use for your home. As you probably already know, all of these have their pros and cons, so we will be mentioning these, too.
Right then folks, without further ado, here’s the deal.
Hardwood Floor
Representing one of the most beloved flooring options for folks across the world, hardwood floors are a great option for living rooms, bedrooms, as well as kid’s rooms.
Dave from IB Flooring in Worthing says: “With many flooring companies out there, getting high-quality wooden floors that will accentuate any room in the house and increase value is easy.”
They are well-known for their durability, stability, and good looks. Indeed, many people opt for a hardwood floor simply because of how good it looks if it’s set up well.
On the other hand, hardwood floors do tend to not act the best, so to speak, when they come in contact with moisture. The thing is, while a common spillage every now and again won’t do them much harm, prolonged exposure to moisture can take quite a toll on them. (This is why it’s not recommended to install these in bathrooms without some sort of special protective coating.)
Carpet
Whether it’s an area rug or a large Persian carpet that spans the entire living room, carpeted surfaces have been used as flooring options for as long as humans have been making floors.
The thing is, they are soft, feel great under your feet, and can change the appearance of the whole room for the better.
Of course, the downside of carpets would certainly be that they are also incredibly sensitive to moisture, as mold and other microbes can start developing within its fibers. That said, the same is true of many other flooring surfaces, and carpets are the only ones that make walking comfortable and pleasurable without having to add anything on top of them.
Another good thing about carpets is that they come in all shapes, sizes, colors, patterns, you name it. They are made out of a wide variety of different materials nowadays, so you can rest assured that you’ll be able to choose from wool, cotton, nylon, and even silk rugs.
Also, modern solutions such as quality microfiber rugs, as well as those made out of olefin can be an excellent choice if you want to fashion your house décor so that it looks chic and avant-garde.
Ceramic Tiles
If you’re looking for a solid flooring option that can survive a nuclear blast (not literally, but you get the point) and that is not a nightmare to clean, look no further than ceramics.
The title of this section can be a tad confusing perhaps because tiles can be made out of any material (even carpet), but what we’re trying to say here is that getting ceramic tiles can be the easiest way to set them around the house.
So, even if you buy too many, you wouldn’t have wasted too much money. Plus, it’s always smart to have a couple of replacement tiles here and there, because you can always drop
something on them accidentally, such as your mobile phone or a mug.
This brings us to what is probably the biggest argument against ceramics and that is that this material is notoriously brittle. Still, if you take good care of it, and make sure not to drop anything heavy on it, ceramic tiles can last you for a decade before you’d need to change them.
Cork
Even though most people know cork as a material used mostly for wine bottles, it happens to make for an excellent flooring solution, too.
Thanks to its natural softness and non-slip properties, it can be a great solution for any sort of area where you want to relax, or where you work.
Another attractive property of cork would be that it represents a sustainable material because it’s harvested from cork trees – mostly from Portugal. A single tree can be ‘decorked’ every 8 to 10, years, and the tree doesn’t get hurt or damaged, either, so that’d be another plus if you care about the ecological aspect of procuring flooring materials.
All in all, each of the flooring options has its pros and cons, and each can work best in different areas of your house. You can use ceramic tiles for your bathroom, hardwood for your living room, and cork for your study, and then you can add carpets for aesthetic purposes, too. As long as you keep the moisture and other damage away, you’ll be alright.
