Your home and your children are two of the most important things in the world, so it’s only natural to want to protect them. For any homeowners that are also parents, there are certain factors to consider when redecorating your home. The main consideration is flooring; you need to determine which type of floor is best for you, your children and your home.
Determining which floor covering will suit your property and your lifestyle can seem like a daunting task,so instead of diving in at the deep end, take a look at which types of flooring are actually the most impractical for homes that house young, busy families.
Marble
Cold, hard and relatively slippery, marble is a terrible choice for a living environment that’s home to young children. Kids are prone to slipping and falling and marble surfaces are extremely unforgiving and can cause some nasty injuries if hit with impact.
As one of the most luxurious flooring types available to contemporary homeowners, marble is also one of the most expensive options out there. Installing costly marble floors in an area that’s heavily trafficked by young kids defies all common sense, as it can easily become scratched and will cost a fortune to repair.
Carpets
Carpets may appear to be a sensible option for family homes and are often the first port of call for most parents.However, carpets are easily ruined by spillages (especially lighter coloured ones), so can be a nightmare to keep clean if your children are particularly accident-prone. Carpets are also notorious for harbouring dust and dirt which, besides its unpleasant appearance, is bad news for the delicate lungs of developing children, especially those who already suffer from breathing difficulties. No matter how often you vow to vacuum the floor, fighting away dust particles can seem like a losing battle, especially if you or another family member suffers from an allergy.
Unfinished wooden floors
Unfinished wooden floors are also not a practical choice for homes with young children, either. For starters, these types of floors are not the most affordable, and the unfinished nature of the timber means that the grain is exposed, making it more susceptible to scuffs, scratches and other kinds of surface damage.Should the floor become particularly badly scratched or dented, the whole surface will need to be sanded over, resulting in high maintenance costs and a lot of unnecessary upheaval in the home as specialist floor installers carry out the necessary repairs.
Unfinished wooden floors are also renowned for concealing splinters, which can of course cause harm to your children whilst they are playing on the floor.
Cork floors
Cork floors may seem to be a sensible flooring choice for the family home because they offer a spongy feel underfoot, which of course provides some cushioning for the little ones. However,cork can show even the slightest bit of damage if a sharp object (such as a chair or table leg) is dragged across it.Cork floors have a relatively thin protective coating which can easily be removed and therefore ruined with relatively little force.
Lacquered wooden floors
Lacquered wooden floors are less likely to possess harmful splinters than unfinished wooden floors, but they can be damaged relatively easily. Lacquered wooden floors are similar to cork floors in that they both have a protective coating on the top of the surface which can be easily but severely damaged by sharp objects. Once damaged, the lacquer no longer protects the wood and further dirt or spillages will cause the floor to appear grey, regardless of how much care and effort is put into maintaining it.
Conclusion
So now you know a little more about which options to avoid, but how do you go about choosing the right floor covering for any given room? Well, the web is a great place to start, and doing a little research online will help you to become familiar with what’s on offer from different manufacturers. Be sure to look on home improvement forums for help and take note of other customers’ experiences, especially those who have previously had a certain type of flooring installed and have discovered its pros and cons for themselves over time. In our opinion, though, there’s really no substitute for taking a trip down to a local flooring supplier and asking for professional advice. Most retailers will be happy to talk you through their product range and you shouldn’t feel any pressure to buy until you’re confident that you’ve made the right decision.
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
