Although carpet has traditionally been a favourite living room flooring choice, today hard surface materials such as wood, rigid LVT, and laminate are often the preferred choice. These flooring materials are all much easier to clean and maintain than carpet, and more resistant to stains.
If you're looking for warmth and a cosy feel to the room, carpet would be your best option. If you're looking to add a rustic, high-end look then hardwood flooring would be better suited. Or, if you're looking for a modern floor, laminate might be the best choice.
Carpeting. Overview: With so many styles, colors and patterns to choose from, it's no mystery why carpeting remains one of the most popular flooring options for many new homeowners.
While new styles of luxury laminate flooring look beautiful, hardwood tends to be the best flooring to increase home value. Made of natural materials, hardwood exudes a luxurious aesthetic in any home whether it's old or brand new.
Best for Durability and Maintenance: Hardwood
Hardwood flooring holds a major advantage over carpet when it comes to durability and maintenance.
Though hardwood is incredibly popular, carpeting is making a comeback, in part due to the innovative new options on the market. Carpet is a great choice for bedrooms, dens, or basements where hardwood can feel too cold and sterile, or any room where there is a risk of water damage.
Carpeting is a poor choice in any room that frequently sees water, food remnants, or dirt. These elements will quickly damage carpet. These rooms include but are not limited to, kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, mudrooms, and laundry rooms. Kitchens are a poor choice to install carpeting because of food, dirt, and water.
Vinyl in demand
Choices for resilient vinyl flooring include a spectrum of styles, colors, textures and patterns. Add in vinyl's easy-to-clean characteristics, comfort under foot and family-friendly stain-resistance, and the result is increasing popularity with value-hungry shoppers.
Vinyl stands up the best against excess moisture and spills, and it can be less expensive than laminate. However, laminate gives a more realistic wood look to enhance the design aesthetic in your home.
Tile Flooring
Porcelain and ceramic are some of the longest lasting flooring materials available, and they require little maintenance. Tile flooring is also moisture resistant, making it the perfect choice for areas where spills are common like bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.
Concrete is the most durable floor you can have in your home. Concrete floors are typically stained to order and can look quite lovely.
The Basics:
Carpet tiles are perhaps the easiest to install DIY flooring. Regular old broadloom carpet (think large rolls that need a pad under them and have to be stretched and tacked down) still should be left for the pros.
Many home experts agree that the floor color should be darker than the walls. The rule generally applies because lighter walls and a dark floor make the room seem larger. Most homeowners prefer a spacious looking interior. However, the rule can change with low ceilings.
Like LVT, vinyl roll is durable, warm underfoot, sound-absorbing, and easy to clean and maintain, making it an excellent flooring choice for living rooms and bedrooms.
Both flooring types are compatible with underfloor heating, although vinyl is slightly more efficient. Vinyl floors have the lowest thermal resistance of all Pergo flooring solutions and act as excellent thermal conductors.
Luxury vinyl planks, or LVP, are built in layers, similar to hardwood laminate flooring planks, with a protective finish over multiple layers of pressed vinyl, sealed into a hardboard core, and finished with an underlayment backing.
To keep your laminate floors fresh, mop them every two months. Damp mops (a.k.a. microfiber mops) are gentle enough to use on laminate floors. If you're going to use a regular mop, just wring it out until it's almost completely dry.
Mid-tone woods. It seems as though 2021 will see people moving somewhat away from the light wood of the past few years and into a medium, Goldilocks shade of wood. “We've seen the uptick in light, white oak European wood floors for years,” says designer Whittney Parkinson.
There is absolutely no need to change flooring from room to room. We often work with homeowners who feel the urge to pick a different flooring for every room of their home, but there is absolutely no need to do this. Your home will look best if you create one consistent look that travels from room to room.
Carpet technology has improved over the years, and modern carpets have stain-resistant qualities. It's also the most cost-effective flooring option on the market. Carpet installation varies in price, depending on the type of material and thickness of the carpet padding.
Under carpet, the next layer is usually a sheet of what's known as 'underlay'. The underlay can be made of foam, rubber or felt padding, and will act as additional cushioning and sound buffering. Floating floors may also sit on a bed of underlay.
When you have a hardwood floor, it's better to install a carpet because it protects the floor and gives an aesthetic style to the room. Some people opt to have area rugs, but carpets are better. Besides, it is crucial to be aware of the maintenance because you won't install a carpet on the floor if it's damaged.