Carpet vs Hardwood Flooring - which is best?

Carpet and hardwood are two of the most common and contrasting flooring materials. While carpet is soft, quiet, and inexpensive, hardwood is natural, clean, and long-lasting. Deciding which is best for you can be difficult, and different rooms suit different floors for differing atmospheres!

So, what are the key differences?

Firstly, carpet is soft and warm under your feet which is great for playing with young children or creating a cosy atmosphere for a living room or bedroom, whereas hardwood is firm under foot and can be loud and cold. Having said this, hardwood floors are much more hygienic, they do not hold debris or pollen like carpets, which could cause problems for allergy sufferers, and they’re much easier to keep clean. Hardwood floors are also much more durable and can last 100 years or more, which will add value to your property. Carpets usually last around 10 years, however, this gives a great opportunity to change up a room’s style or colour theme.

Choosing which is best for you

The floor is the biggest surface in your home or business and therefore picking the best type is very important. Your decision will be reliant on a few different factors, including budget, use of the room, location, lifestyle, and personal taste.

Hardwood

Hardwood floors are generally regarded as premium flooring for almost any room in the house. Yet there are some exceptions. Some kitchens, bathrooms, and other damp areas like laundry rooms are not ideal for all types of hardwood, due to the risk of watermarks and rotting if continually exposed to moisture. Nevertheless, most rooms are welcoming to a solid hardwood floor. The visual warmth and natural look of real wood makes it appealing and eye-catching from a design perspective and creates a look that won’t go out of style!

There are also many options for hardwood floors, differing in colour, type of wood and patterns. Hardwood floors are also very versatile and if you feel like a change, you can simply throw down a rug to add character to a room, which you can mix up anytime! Finally, hardwood is very advantageous when considering hygiene. Unlike carpet, hardwood doesn’t absorb smells, dust, bacteria, or pollen, which is great for allergy suffers, pet owners and cleanliness in general. A simple sweep, vacuum, or mop (with the correct cleaning solution) keeps the floor dirt-free, and when the floor looks worn, you can simply refinish to bring back that elegant, spotless look without needing to be replace it.

Carpets

Carpets are warm, comfortable, soft floors, which create a welcoming and cosy atmosphere. Yet like hardwood, they’re not suitable for everywhere! For example, a carpeted kitchen would look very unusual and very impractical! The soft, comfy material of carpets is perfect for walking around bare foot in bedrooms and living rooms and offers an element of safety for playing children who run through the house. Having said that, getting playdough or juice out of a carpet could be tricky! Carpets are also great insulators. They absorb sound, creating a peaceful and quieter atmosphere. Carpets on stairs reduce the noise of footsteps and used in flats it can decrease the noise travelling between each floor. Carpet also acts as a thermal insulator, keeping the heat in a room, which saves energy!

When it comes to cleaning, carpets are very easy, no need to faff around with getting out the mop and bucket, a simple vacuum will do the trick, and for a more thorough clean, carpet washers are readily available and easy to use. Finally, carpets come in hundreds of different patterns, colours, materials, depths, fibres and of course, fluffiness (pile height and thickness)!

Both carpets and hardwood floors have many advantages. Choosing which is best for you is a very personal decision. Whether you love the chic look of a natural wooden floor, would prefer to cosy up on a soft carpet, or have no idea what’s best for you, we can help!

We hope that you found this blog useful and informative. If you want our professional help in deciding which is best for you then feel free to get in touch for an initial consultation or come and visit us in our Winchcombe Showroom where we have a fantastic range of samples. Also why not look at our page dedicated to Carpets and Hard Flooring .