Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Floors: Carpet, Wood, or Rug?

There has been some discussion around here lately about our flooring.

Interesting stuff, I know.

See, our kitchen needs some help. It is a little odd, being that it is U-shaped, and needs one arm of the U broken off so that it opens it up more to the rest of the house (which already has an open floor plan, so it all would just make sense).

But even though we agree on the remodel, one aspect that my husband and I have differing opinions on is the floor.

Currently the wood floor in the kitchen changes to carpeting when it enters the open room that serves as our living room and dining room. So if we open up and extend the kitchen a little bit, what happens to the floor?

My husband thinks we should leave it as is, while I think we should extend the wood throughout the rest of our first floor. Sure, we won't have the softness and the warmth of the carpeting, but hardwood is just so... nice.

And it's not like there is a shortage of ways to cover it, right? It takes only moments online to find anything from a seagrass rug to a bamboo rug that would give style and be green as well as provide a way to cover the chill of the hardwood. We could put something larger and more plush in the girls' playroom while they're still young but then get to enjoy the benefits of the wood later on... couldn't we?

I think that we should make the change at the same time that we have the kitchen remodeled but my husband wants to hold out and wait until some future home project... if ever. At the moment we haven't made the final decision (because we're procrastinators), but it will have to happen at some point and I'm not sure how strongly I should push for hardwood or not. Do the pros outweigh the cons?

What do you think? Do you have hardwood floors? Are they child-friendly or not?

9 comments:

*Mom's Best Bets said...

We have hard wood flooring downstairs and carpet upstairs. I LOVE the wood b/c it's easy to clean and looks rich. However, when my daughter was starting to crawl/walk I was always stressed that she would get hurt falling.
***It's also great for allergies

dannyscotland said...

Well, first I'll say I'm a carpet girl. I prefer it everywhere except the kitchen and bathroom. However, I do see your point about what would happen when you open up the kitchen. We installed laminate floors downstairs and also have marble tile that the previous homeowners installed. I hate them. They are so hard and cold, and they are at the bottom of the stairs, too. Talk about worry. I think as far as kids falling, yes, the wood is going to hurt more. But if you can cover most of it up while they're small at least, then I would probably agree that doing the wood is the way to go. Plus, if you ever want to sell your house, that's a real selling point. I actually think wood floors are a pain to clean (had them in my previous apt and no matter how many times I vacuumed or swept, I was always stepping on something). But like I said above, I'm a carpet girl! Good luck making your decision.

Valery (CEO Wanna Be) said...

Stopping by to say hi from Wednesday blog hop
my kids all got pillow pets and love them.
http://thisnthatboutiqueblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisanThatBoutique

Lauren said...

found you on the wednesday blog hop! will be getting a pillow pet for my son today!!!

Liz Mays said...

I have almost all hardwoods here, but honestly, I really like having carpet in the lived in rooms of the house. It's just cozy to me!

Rebecca said...

WOOD! NO contest! I lived 6 years with carpet (except for the kitchen). We now have all wood or tile and it's just a night and day difference in cleanliness (and easyness of cleaning). We have a small area rug for one place where the kids play on the floor a lot - but honestly, other than that I do not EVER again want to live in a house with a SPECK of carpet on the floor. It's so so nice with the hardwood. We always do wear socks or house slippers though...

mommadillard said...

We have all hardwood floors on the bottom level of our house and carpet on the stairs and the entire upstairs rooms of our house (except the two full size bathrooms). I would much rather have hardwood floors thru the whole house. I like the way it looks. We do have rugs laid under our furniture downstairs so that it doesn't scratch the floor, but we have 2 dogs and 2 cats so trying to get animal hair (no matter how much we brush them) out of carpet is torture. Hardwood is so easy to sweep and mop, no noise of the vaccum and such. I definitely vote HARDWOOD FLOORING!!!

lfhpueblo said...

I like wood everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms, then I prefer a quality lineoleum in those areas because I think it's easier to keep clean and I'm not so worried if water gets splashed on it in those areas.

Unknown said...

Our kitchen transitions into our dining room as well. We will be getting wood laminate floors for the kitchen but just had new carpet put in the dining room. I like the carpet a lot but it does require a lot of vacuuming, especially with the yucky weather we are having. So I would say go with the wood even though I LOVE my carpet!