Choosing The Right Type of Flooring

Whether you’ve recently moved into a new property or you’re looking to renew the flooring in your existing home, choosing what type of flooring to install is the most important decision you’ll make. After all, flooring is designed for long-term use; so as well as choosing flooring that matches your personal taste, you don’t want to be left with flooring that causes problems or is impractical for the room. Luckily, we have a huge selection to choose from here at Flooring Direct, and we’re here to point you in the right direction.

First Things First

Before you set off looking for flooring, you must ask yourself a few simple questions to get an idea of what type of floor is going to work best. First of all, what’s the room used for? If the room gets high amounts of traffic, such as the stairs or hallway, you’re going to need a hard wearing floor to ward off excessive wear. On the other hand, if the floor’s exposed to moisture either through spillages or condensation, such as the bathroom or kitchen, you’ll have to look at flooring which is waterproof and easily cleanable.

Living Area

For living areas such as your bedroom or living room, it’s all about personal choice. These rooms don’t have any specific requirements for flooring so you don’t need to go for a particular type of floor. You can choose between carpet, laminate flooring or wood flooring – although we’d steer clear from vinyl flooring in your living areas. Vinyl flooring can draw moisture up from the subfloor and make your room feel cool, not comfortable and cosy as you’d like. Carpet is excellent for the stairs, landing and bedroom, as the pile provides underfoot comfort and makes the room feel warmer – perfect for a good night’s sleep.

Good choice: Carpet, Laminate or Wood Flooring

Avoid: Vinyl Flooring

Kitchen

The main thing to remember with your kitchen is it’s going to receive a lot of traffic so it needs to be durable, and it should also be easy to clean. This makes it the perfect candidate for vinyl flooring. Premium quality vinyl flooring provides enough bounce to make it comfortable to walk on whilst providing a waterproof surface that’s easily cleanable with a damp mop or cloth. It’s also resistant to scratches and dents; so if you’re clumsy with the pots and pans, it’s no big deal.

What’s great about vinyl flooring is it comes in a huge variety of designs, including wood effect, tile effect and marble – so you can choose depending on your personal taste and room decor. Vinyl flooring also has a  non-slip surface, so it’s perfect if you have children who’ll be running riot around the place.

Good choice: Vinyl Flooring

Avoid: Carpet

Bathroom

Lastly, we’ll take a look at the bathroom. Your bathroom floor often gets very wet from getting out of the shower or bathtub, even if you’ve got a bath mat protecting your floor. That’s why there’s only one type of flooring that’s suitable for your bathroom, and that’s vinyl flooring. If you were to install carpet, it’s the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mould spores, which can carry significant health risks. Whereas if you were to install laminate or wood flooring, moisture can easily find its way through the joints; causing the wood or laminate to warp and lift up from the subfloor.

Good choice: Vinyl Flooring

Avoid: Carpet, Laminate and Wood Flooring