The Perfect Flooring For Your Home: Children And Pets

Choosing the ideal flooring for your home is an important decision to make as the flooring you choose may be a part of your home for years.

Along with the hues and grains, having children and pets in your home is something you should consider when picking out wood flooring.

Claws are a big problem when it comes to wooden floors as it can scratch and damage your beautiful flooring in a moment and not to mention any dirt tracked in or little accidents that could happen.

Which is why, for a start you should steer clear of softer wood types, like pine and fir, and opt for hardwood flooring instead.

Bamboo

Bamboo flooring is a simple solution for homes with pets or children as this grass flooring, that looks like hardwood, is mixed with hard resins to create a tough and durable flooring, that will last longer than some traditional wooden flooring.

Brazilian Walnut

Brazilian Walnut is often used as outdoor flooring as it is a naturally hard wearing and dense material. Another option is Oak, a popular choice for homes with pets and kids, as the lighter colouring will hide scratches and damage more than darker hardwoods.

Hard Maple

Hard maple is a perfect choice for homes that see a lot of foot traffic, also called Sugar Maple and Rock Maple this type of wood is grown during short seasons and the grain is more compressed than other types, making it more sustainable to wear and tear.

Alternatively, having distressed look flooring will cover any scratches or wear and tear easily as it will add to the design of the flooring to a certain extent, but will not cope well with any spills.

Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring is a possibility, but then again, this type can only take so much damage repair. You can sand down engineered wood flooring to repair it, but only a certain amount of times before the manufactured board underneath starts to show, spoiling the look of your flooring.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring may seem like the perfect choice for your home as the wooden planks can be replaced easily, and is available in an extensive range of wood types and grains, yet is fairly inexpensive.

Although this flooring is not manufactured from real wood, the image printed onto the high density fibre board replicates that of any wood flooring you like, and is then sealed with a protective layer, resistant to pets, furniture and heels.

Although carpet may be a popular choice for homes with children and pets, carpets are particularly susceptible to spills and staining, which is why wood flooring is a better choice for your home long term. They are relatively inexpensive and can be repaired or replaced by plank rather than having to re-carpet an entire room.