How To Choose Flooring For Your Home

Timber, vinyl, bamboo, cork floorings … the possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to choosing flooring for your home. And given that floors are an important investment and play such a big part in the look, feel and atmosphere of virtually your entire home, it’s important to take some time to consider your options. Many factors can also influence what type of flooring you choose, from lifestyle and location to maintenance and budget, so you’d better get it right! Here are some tips on how to choose flooring for your home.

Tip #1 – Consider your lifestyle and whether you need strong, durable or stain-resistant flooring

How you live and how you use your home is one of the biggest factors to bear in mind when choosing flooring options. If you are choosing flooring for high movement zones and/or you have pets or children, you should consider hardier, durable, wear and stain-resistant materials that won’t mark or scratch.

Bamboo flooring is strong and flexible, easy to maintain and slightly more resistant to water damage and stains than most timber flooring. Vinyl plank flooring is durable, versatile, stain resistant, safer for small children, and a popular choice for kitchens and bathrooms. Timber flooring is modern, easy to maintain and perfect for areas where spills are unlikely, and it can be refinished or stained several times if you are considering changing its look in the future.

Tip #2 – The right flooring can resist water and stains, up the comfort factor or impress guests!

Think about where your flooring will be situated and what the specific purpose of that area will be. Different areas of your house will no doubt need different flooring options, dependent on their location and use and the type of flooring you choose should have the right combination of practicality and aesthetic value.

Kitchens are ideally suited to vinyl plank flooring because of its durability and stain resistance, softer floorings like cork tiles can enhance the comfort factor, and certain types of timber can also work, provided they have the ability to resist stains. Vinyl, porcelain or ceramic tiles are recommended for high moisture areas like bathrooms, and kids’ playrooms simply beg for hardwearing flooring like cork or vinyl tiles.

Carpet is often seen as king in bedrooms, however, it does have its downsides including needing lots of vacuuming to keep dust at bay and allergen levels low. Timber flooring is probably the next most popular choice – it looks fantastic, is easy to care for and the addition of a few floor rugs will up the insulation factor.

The same goes for living and dining rooms – timber floors can add a beautiful finish to ‘on show’ areas, and for a breathtaking feature in entry areas, consider using parquetry to really impress visiting guests.

Tip #3 – Different flooring requires different maintenance and cleaning methods

Knowing how to look after your flooring properly will go a long way towards keeping it maintained and extending its life, but if you’re not one who likes spending too much time cleaning, it’s worth knowing how much work is involved with the type of flooring you choose before you invest a whole lot of money into installing it!

Timber floors and parquetry should be vacuumed regularly to remove abrasives, and then subjected to a barely-damp mopping once a week. Gloss-finished floors may also need a quick dry afterwards with a towel to avoid water marks.

Bamboo floors and timber floors do need quite a bit of regular love and attention – they should be dry-mopped (no water, please!) or vacuumed daily and water-soluble dirt removed with a specialised wooden floor cleaner.

Cork tile floorings should be swept or vacuumed regularly, damp-mopped at least once a week, and spills should be removed immediately. To clean cork floors more thoroughly, it’s recommended that you only use a mild wood-floor detergent.

Tip #4 – Texture, colour and construction – flooring offers you a world of choice

Another factor to consider when choosing flooring is the style of your home, and redesigning your flooring is a fantastic way to revitalise the interior design and atmosphere of just about any room. Think about your home’s personality – are you a minimalist who prefers clean lines and muted colours, or are you out to make a statement with your flooring’s texture, colour or construction?

Dark-stained timber floors can create striking contrasts, blonde wooden floors can enhance a room’s space, and the ever-popular grey floor can add a neutral, calming effect to modern homes. Bamboo flooring is always a popular choice due to its durability, and a diverse colour palette that can range from gorgeous shades of bronze and coffee through to champagne and natural timber finishes.

Hardwoods with inherent aesthetics like grain, knots and distinctly hand-crafted finishes are highly desirable, and this trend also carries through to laminate preferences, with many flooring options mimicking a rustic and unique timber look.

Tip #5 – Timber, vinyl, bamboo, parquetry, cork tiles – there are options to suit all budgets

Probably the cheapest option when considering the purchase of flooring is laminate, which may not have the ‘wow’ factor of timber flooring, but certainly makes up for it in the maintenance department. Tiles are also around this price range, with a huge range of beautiful colours and designs available, however, bear in mind the installation process is quite labour intensive.

Up another level, you’ll find higher priced laminates as well as luxury vinyl tiles, bamboo flooring and cork tiles, and for the crème de la crème of flooring, look no further than hardwood floors.

Need some helpful advice on how to choose flooring for your home? Contact the experts at Brisbanes Finest Floors today on 0411 220 488.