Flooring

I got rid of carpets eberywhere a few years ago and I have nevwer regretted ikt. You can see if there is dust on the floor, never with a carpet. So easy to clean.

I have tiles in kitchen, hall, downstairs loo and bathroom. Laminate everywhere else except one bedroom where I tried upmarket lino and I can't tell the difference. A tradesman can but he isn't living here.

I have one rug at the side of my bed.

I'm planning to get rid of my remaining carpets and replace with wood-effect luxury vinyl tiles. The ones in the kitchen have a warm feel to bare feet even in the depths of winter whereas I always feel laminate is cold underfoot.
Laminate is also quite noisy if you have dogs as their claws "click" against it as they walk.

We have stripped floor boards most of downstairs which are sealed. I would prefer we took up the old carpet in the sitting room and had the boards stripped and sealed. Upstairs mostly floor boards,, but some carpet.

I am hoping...if I stay long term in the house, to paint them and just have rugs.

You do see the dust on floorboards so I suppose it would be the same on any hard floor. Carpet does absorb the dust!

If we didnt have the floorboards and had a solid floor I would tile or laminate such as Karndean which looks good innthe pictures. I would personally get rid of carpet and have matching laminate or tiles throughout.

Oh I agree now reading Scribbles post. Luxury vinyl would be good. We hsve just had a good quality vinyl in the bathroom and I do like it. Quiet and easy to clean.
However take a while to choose and look at whatever in lots of different lights. The pattern on the bathroom floor catches the light and in patches looks as though it is not completely flat...but it is. It is the light on the shaded pattern. In a bsthroom it doesnt matter, but it would on a bigger floor space.

We've got LVT in the bathroom and have just had it fitted in the new kitchen - brilliant stuff

I'd probably do away with my laminate and go for a really good quality vinyl flooring, if I could.
Some are so realistic you can't tall they're vinyl at all.

Laminate is quite loud - its a bit offputting feeling like an extra in Riverdance each time you walk on it.

I have a good quality laminate throughout the downstairs and it doesn’t make any noise, even when people wear shoes in the house. We had a special underlay put down that is supposed to stop that.

If you can afford it, go for Karndeen. It’s absolutely bombproof and always looks beautiful.

LVT for me too next time.

We have a kitchen/bathroom quality laminate throughout the house but do have to be careful to mop up any water spillages quickly, otherwise the joints can swell.

We have luxury vinyl tiles in the hall and cloakroom, glued to the concrete floor, and they are much harder wearing.

Both are easy to vacuum or sweep.

We have floor-length full-width lined curtains at each end of the open-plan room, so we don't get any adverse noise/echo issues.

We have engineered oak throughout downstairs. It’s so easy to clean and doesn’t have that repeat pattern that some laminates have.
DSs have Karndeenin their open plan areas and it wears and looks very good.

https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202606/medium-daovnv-1000025268.jpg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202606/medium-e78dqc-1000025269.jpg%3C/span%3E

A word of warning about Karndean.
Be aware of the likelihood of it fading in areas that have high exposure to direct sunlight.
Also, it scratches horribly if you have large, boisterous dogs.
Mine is Karndean White Painted Oak, and has been down about 5 years.
I'll be replacing it shortly with ceramic tiles, which won't fade or scratch.

You might want to consider that a quality carpet+underlay offers heat and sound insulation. For older people , a smooth/hard surface can be a slip hazard ( especially if wet).

Pee on the carpet or spill your gin, and at least you won't fall over in it....

I like the look and feel of a carpet in the lounge, which we currently have. It does need a good hoover though.

The bathroom has Karndean, the hall has wood flooring and the kitchen has oak laminate strips which we like.

I had engineered oak over the whole house when I moved in bar all the bathrooms which are tiled floors and the landings and stairs. Flat rugs in a couple of rooms but the flooring is so easy to clean this way just a quick hoovsr and occasional wash with a flat mop more often in Winter but honestly it never even looks dirty I love it, so much less work than carpets.

butterandjam

You might want to consider that a quality carpet+underlay offers heat and sound insulation. For older people , a smooth/hard surface can be a slip hazard ( especially if wet).

Pee on the carpet or spill your gin, and at least you won't fall over in it....

😆
Did you do both those things?

I like all the types of flooring mentioned, but carpets are quiet and cosy to walk on and keep the rooms warmer in Winter.
I think I like the idea of hard floors more than the reality.

Karndean is not great compared with Amtico.
It's worth paying more.

We have LVT flooring too……..so easy to maintain but on no account should it be cleaned with a steam mop!

Oreo

butterandjam

You might want to consider that a quality carpet+underlay offers heat and sound insulation. For older people , a smooth/hard surface can be a slip hazard ( especially if wet).

Pee on the carpet or spill your gin, and at least you won't fall over in it....

😆
Did you do both those things?

Not yet, but we're well prepared for our decrepitude.

I can tell you that if you drop your phone / empty glass/ remote control on carpet it's unlikely to break.

Years ago we had a country house (fatally described as "designed by an architect for his own use") with extensive quarry tile flooring laid over a (broken,non functioning) underfloor heating system.

Quarry tiles are indestructible, unlike anything hard dropped on them.

In my last house, which I moved from on 2019, I had beautiful Amtico tiling laid in the through lounge. It looked like the original parquet flooring. It was wonderful, survived pets, and small g.children, opening directly on the garden. So easy to keep clean and looked as good when I left as it had when I had it laid 16 years earlier.

Came to my fully carpeted flat. Gave it a year - during that time knocked over a glass of milk shake, and it took me over a week to get the stale milk smell out. Mopped it up straight away, steam cleaned daily, nothing worked. That decided me.

Karndean flooring laid throughout that big Living/Dining Room and hallway. Absolutely beautiful to look at (people always comment when visiting me for the first time), so very easy to keep clean, occasional run round with vacuum, and very occasional wipe over with spray mop. It has a lifetime guarantee, which can be passed on to whoever purchases the flat when it sold. Warm underfoot in winter, cool in summer. Okay when I knock over my glass of water, I do have to mop it up immediately - not that difficult.

Both my bathrooms, and kitchen have Amtico flooring, totally non-slip even when wet. All have a really good underlay to provide extra warmth and to ensure no noise to anyone underneath me.

Only room I have a carpet is my own bedroom.

Would never, ever want to return to carpeted living areas.

Just going to mention the flooring here (downstairs). Not to be recommended. Concrete "raft" base covered in tiles (with 2% asbestos so nearly impossible to get rid of) in a delightful shade of poo with decorative streaks of "blood" and "vomit".

I go for carpets myself. I can't walk on "hard" floors barefoot, it is too painful, and they do help stop the cold coming up from below in Winter.

We have engineered Oak, in our living room.Looks just as good as when new, fifteen years ago,

I do like carpet (warm, quiet, and the dust doesn’t show!) but the moths have been at ours with a vengeance. Underneath is parquet flooring (covered up 40 years ago!) but it’s fairly dark, which is why I didn’t like it.

But I’m now thinking of ditching the carpet and getting the wood sanded, but we have some very heavy items of furniture that would need shifting, so how to even start going about it I haven’t really thought as yet. Theres no way dh and I will be shifting that furniture.

I have Karndean tiles in my extension, which is also the route to the garden. Very practical.
Karndean herringbone tiles in the hall are still like new after 12 years and much admired by visitors.
But I have carpets in the living room and bedrooms for warmth and comfort underfoot.
I am soon to have the smallest bedroom, now a study, redecorated. I can’t decide what flooring to have. It will have to accommodate a swivel desk chair. Any thoughts?

Witzend Sanded and sealed parquet would look wonderful. How lucky.
I am loving this thread. I had forgotten about Amtico.

Our floor boards..wide Victorian..were sanded and sealed by DH and friend when we moved in 45 years ago. The sealant was something they used on school gym floors. Still hardly a mark. It has withstood roller skating DDs and friends. The only place where it could do with a resand is around the kitchen sink floor area.

At the patio windows end where there was a concreted area already we have red quarry tiles. That is an unforgiving area to drop anything breakable. This concreted area was separated from the kitchen by a wall which we had taken down and was a toilet, coal hole/bunker and single back door all on concrete.

The side gate under the end. of the house was tall enough to let a horse through. There could have been a small stable in the back garden.
Sorry to have gone off subject.