When we first moved into our house we were ‘blessed’ with 70’s inspired patterned carpet that ran the length of our ground floor. It was truly hideous, no matter how we dressed the living and dining room your eyes were drawn to the colourful print.
Laminate flooring
So when we came to change the flooring we opted for a cheap laminate floor as money was tight. Living in a small terrace house where you step into the living room from the front door, especially getting a pram in and out we needed something that was easy to keep clean. For the first few months the laminate was great, I could wipe it over when wet and muddy pram wheels made a mess. It was great when Roo started weaning as any spilled (or thrown) food was easy to scoop up and wipe away. However after about a year of having the laminate it became obvious why it was so cheap as it has started to scratch, chip and even swell where water had gotten into the cracks.
Carpet
Eventually we decided to ditch the laminate had switch back to carpet. However as our living and dining room attracts the most traffic of the house it wasn’t long before you could see the familiar dirt track marks on the carpet despite trying to enforce a no shoes in the house rule. It didn’t help that we chose a beige carpet in order to make the rooms look as light as possible. Now the carpets have well and truly been worn in by the family, with a mixture of dirt tracks, stains and general wear and tear they look awful.
With our renovation plans for the summer it has once again come time for us to start searching for flooring solutions. We have seen a couple of hard-wearing carpets that could possibly withstand the main thoroughfare of daily life however they aren’t exactly soft underfoot and welcome the children to sit on the floor and play with their toys. So we’ve been looking for alternatives. Having had our fingers burnt with laminate flooring albeit the cheap variety we are weary that we would encounter similar problems.
Engineered wood flooring
One of our friends has just had an extension built where they chose to install engineered wood flooring. Having seen engineered wood flooring on DIY programmes on the TV we’ve always assumed that we wouldn’t be able to afford it as it looks and feels expensive. However after some research it doesn’t cost as much as we though and actually is on par with a good quality carpet.
With the warm wood tones available it looks like it would still give us the warm feeling we are looking for in our living and dining area with the added ease of being able to clean the floor as needed (essential with a new baby on the way). I think the addition of a nice rug will really make the living room feel cosy.
What type of flooring do you have in your living and dining rooms?
Disclosure: This post is brought to you in collaboration with Luxury Flooring & Furnishings
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