The struggle to choose between carpet and hardwood flooring isn’t something new and has remained a debatable subject among homeowners for decades.
While hardwood has gained much popularity in the past few years, carpets haven’t lost their longstanding charm either.
You cannot really have an absolute answer about which floor covering option is the ultimate best.
Both carpeting and hardwood flooring have their own pros and cons and they both are suited for your home in their own way.
If you’re looking for an option that would allow you to retain the quietness in a place, your bedroom, for instance, carpeting is the best option to go for.
You won’t hear a single sound of something thudding on the floor or walking in.
However, if you want to have a more sophisticated and elegant look of your interior, hardwood flooring can give you that. It can add more character to your home and give it a luxurious look from the inside.
Hardwood flooring and carpeting come with their own set of virtues and demerits.
To help you know what they are, we’ve tried to consolidate maximum information in the section below to give you a clear idea about what to expect from each of them.
Merits of Carpet Flooring
If you’re looking for a flooring option that would add more warmth and coziness to your house or bedroom, carpeting is definitely the answer.
The softness, warmth and sanctuary-like feeling are offered by the carpet which makes your bedroom the ultimate private heaven.
Some of the benefits of carpeting are:
1. It Maintains Peacefulness
The last thing you want while sleeping is to hear every single noise whenever your partner, child or someone else walks into your room.
Carpet muffles all the sounds to ensure nothing disrupts your sleep and space is kept quieter.
Carpets have the ability to absorb sound and prevent the voices from reflecting and making them louder.
If you have a different schedule than your partner or share the room or house with someone who has a habit of coming in late, carpet can help you enjoy uninterrupted sleep.
2. Cushioned Floor to Walk On
On a cold morning, the thought of staying in bed is more comforting and appealing than stepping on the stone hard and cold floor.
Having carpeted flooring can save you from this. You can have high-quality padding to insulate your floor well and keep it well-warmed to enhance the coziness and giving you a comfortable space to move around. Carpet can give you an easy transition from the bed to the floor and make a nice start of your day.
3. Safe for Your Kids
If you have kids, especially toddlers, carpets are safest flooring option you should consider. They are soft and comfortable to walk on which curbs the possibilities of your child suffering and serious fall or injury.
They provide protection to your children, especially if they’ve got a habit of rolling out of bed during sleep or crawl around.
Demerits of Carpet Flooring
There are several demerits of this flooring option too that you need to know about before making the final call.
When you know the best and the worst both, you are more prepared for the expected events. Here are a few cons of carpeting:
They’re difficult to maintain. You’ll to put in substantial effort to clean them. Neglecting cleanliness can evoke allergies and pest problems.
You’ll have to steam the carpet at least once a year to get rid of the dirt gathering inside it.
They’re easy to stain and leave an unpleasant look that curbs the appeal of the entire area.
Carpets are often erroneously associated with the possibility of developing asthma and allergies.
You may experience some minor health problems related to dust and pests if you don’t maintain carpet cleanliness, but nothing too serious.
According to a research, there’s no link between asthma and allergies in those people who have carpeted floors at home.
The study states that when the usage of carpet was dropped by 70%, there was a 30% increase in allergic reactions!
Merits of Hardwood Flooring
If you’re looking for a flooring option that would add more style, richness, and character to your home, hardwood floorboards are the ideal.
From oak floorboards and timber flooring to parquetry flooring, you can choose from a diverse range of options to select the one that goes well with your interior and preference.
Here are some known benefits of hardwood floorboards for flooring:
1. Easy to Maintain
Unlike carpets, hardwood floorboards are far easier to maintain and clean. It takes no time in sweeping off the floor no matter how much dust and dirt it has.
You don’t have to worry about dust getting stuck in corners and affecting the quality of air in your living space.
2. Better Endurance and Durability
Hardwood flooring, mainly of timber or oak floorboards, are engineered to have greater life and endurance. They don’t get damaged for a long time. If you choose the right floorboard, it can retain its color for decades and wouldn’t require any replacement.
3. Add More Value to Your Home
If you want to increase the property value of your home, floorboards are a good investment to make. They add more value to your home and increase its real estate worth.
If you go for more modern options like parquetry flooring in Melbourne, the aesthetic appeal that comes with it also makes a positive contribution to the real estate value of your house.
Demerits of Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring isn’t without some cons. They have their fair share of demerits just like carpeting or any other flooring alternative. Here are some of them for you to know:
- They make quite some noise. You’ll always know when anyone’s walking inside the room or if anything falls on the floor.
- Despite the long life and greater endurance, your floorboards can still incur scratches and warping. Especially if you have pets, you’ll have to remain extremely active in cleaning up to avoid any permanent staining or scratches messing up the look.
What to Do?
Looking at the pros and cons of both the flooring options above, it is best that you use a combination of the two.
They both are efficiently functional in specific areas. You can choose to have carpeting in your room and floorboards in the rest of the house.
This will keep your private space warm and cosy, while making your overall house look prestigious and elegant.
Hardwood flooring and carpeting both can give you good value for your money. The fact that they are so low-maintenance makes having carpeted floors an even more feasible option!
You can choose either of them, or combine them both to give an appealing look to your house’s interior.
About Author:
Simon is an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed jack of all trades. Simon has experience in the building and home renovation industry and he knows what it takes to knock out a successful project whether it be commercial or residential. At present, Simon is working for Smarter Timber Flooring, a family owned and operated business that has been providing traditional floorboards, grey floorboards, recycled & reclaimed floorboards in Melbourne for over 40 years. A big kid at heart if it goes fast, bounces, slides or you can climb it Simon has put it to the test.
