Carpet vs. Laminate Flooring: Which is for You?

Laminate flooring became trendy around ten or twelve years ago, with carpet being the obvious choice for flooring before that. Both of these flooring options can rack up to quite an expensive price once you factor in underlay, fitting and delivery and it’s not something you decide on on a whim. Because flooring is such a large part of the décor of your home and also because it is such a big part physically, you need to make sure that you think about the options available to you wisely. If the house isn’t yours for example, do you really want to spend loads of money on it by installing a new floor? You could make do with some pretty rugs. If the home is yours to do with as you wish, then it can be fun to look at the flooring options. Carpets these days can be funky and modern, and instead of making the walls the feature, you could always break the rules and make the floor the focal point with a striped carpet, or even a chevron carpet. As well, laminate flooring is now available in more than just your average wood shades. You can get grey laminate now, as well as black, white, or a mixture. Retailers and manufacturers have really moved with the times.

There are pros and cons to both carpet and laminate flooring, and it’s up to you to decided which is best for you and your needs. Both carpet and laminate can be neutral, so you don’t have to worry about clashing however the thing to bear in mind is, neutral shades such as cream and beige aren’t necessarily great for carpets as stains are harder to remove from the fibres whereas laminate flooring does not really stain. Laminate flooring is a lot easier to keep clean as it requires a sweep and a light mopping, whereas carpets require vacuuming and steaming is recommended once a year to keep it looking and smelling fresh. Laminate is also easy to work a room theme around as it is quite unobtrusive. It’s durable too, and can be dressed up with rugs and runners to switch up the design a little. It doesn’t attract and hold mites, dust and pollen either which makes it great for those with allergies.

Carpet however, is warm underfoot and more comfortable, and a lot safer for little ones. The downside is, whilst it works out a little cheaper for carpet in certain piles, stains as previously said can be a nightmare to remove, and while it absorbs sound and insulates your home somewhat more than laminate does, it needs to be a really durable carpet to prevent wear and tear, and also to make sure it doesn’t look shabby after a year or so. A good carpet should last around seven years with proper care, but good carpets don’t come cheap. That’s why we say you should give it a lot of thought before you part with your hard earned cash. It really depends on what you want for your home, the sort of look you are going for as to what type of flooring you choose.

Regardless of the floor, make sure you choose a trusted retailer and make sure that you shop around before you make a choice. Make sure that you know the full costs with anything added like fitting or delivery to avoid a shock when you receive the invoice, and then relax and wait for your new flooring to be delivered and installed!