Carpet or wooden laminate floors?

[AaronPurr]

Apologies for the really boring thread.

I finally have enough time and money to redecorate and wondered which I should go with in the living room.

I've always had carpet, but wondered if wooden laminate floors might be an easier option for keeping clean.

So if you were redecorating which would you go for, and why?

4 years and our laminate is showing signs of wear. Dread replacing, covers a large area.

Carpet. Our laminate is over a decade old, still looks great but it's cold and gets very dusty.

can you reach to wood or does it have to be laminate? We've had wood (though since been told solid wood isnt as great as wood composite) for about 10 years or so. You realise how dirty you have been when you get this, You do have to be careful with furniture.......if you push it across the floor it can scratch. so we do have tiny scratches but thats ok its not really noticeable.

do you have kids/a dog? in which case i would say they are much easier to keep clean. you do have to wipe any spills up quickly....eg if you left a glass of red wine on it i believe it stains. I've had dog poo/wee on ours and it just wipes off whereas carpet????

Laminate shows up dust really quickly. You can sweep it /noodle mop it, everyday and within a hour you can see dust settle, and feel bits on the floor. Carpet all the way for me!

i agree about it showing dust, but i'd prefer to be able to sweep the dust up rather than living with it (which is what you do with carpet)

We have solid wood parquet and laminate downstairs. Also have a dog and a cat, it’s easy to clean. I let roomba roam around it.

Much prefer it to carpet in old house.

How about engineered wood? Better than laminate, cheaper than all wood (and less prone to warping).

It's lifestyle dependent I think. Carpet is lovely but if you have children/pets then laminate is easier to clean

What about vinyl? Top quality ones. It's great!

Difficult one and have had both over the years.
I currently have laminate throughout but carpet on the stairs. Laminate feels great underfoot in Summer as it is nice and cool, but in Winter it feels very cold.
I guess it depends on your house, for instance is it draughty? I have fitted draught excluders on to the internal doors because there is always a larger gap between door and floor with laminate.
If you have children who perhaps lie on the floor playing I would say carpet gives greater comfort.
Essentially I would consider wear and tear, laminate is the more cost effective option in the long run.
Basically I went with laminate in my current house as I was thinking about the future and if I decided to rent it out I would not be having to replace the carpets.

We replaced the laminate in our hall with carpet, and the house became instantly quieter and cosier because noise stopped echoing up the stairs.

We have a mud-scraping coir doormat outside the front door and an absorbent doormat inside the front door, and keep a rechargeable stick vac behind the kitchen door. It gets run over the hall carpet most days, which takes less time than sweeping used to.

Have never regretted the carpets.

Depends what you prioritise, each has pros and cons.

Personally I like carpet as comfort and warmth is my top priority.

I find laminate too cold and hard underfoot.

Engineered is better but still hard and it's ££.

I've had both and laminate shows up the dirt and dust more. However, with four dirty paws in and out I prefer it.

The lino/laminate stuff we have at the moment is brilliant and may be cheaper?

I have both but much prefer carpet. Laminate is easier to keep clean in the long term though, so your preference really.

Seems pretty unanimous for carpet. No pets or children to worry about, so now I just need to decide which colour carpet. 😅

Engineered wood looks lovely, but scratches very easily. Not a fan of laminate because it looks cheap unless you get really good quality, in which case you may as well have the real thing.

If you have a hard floorin the kitchen, I don’t see a problem with carpet in the living room.

Don't do laminate. If you want it to look like laminate and be able to sweep / mop clean then vinyl flooring is way better. Most people assume ours is laminate; 8 years old and it's as good as new.

Examples

I don't like carpet downstairs, because we have a cat who doesn't wipe his paws, and a DH who likes to garden and then walk in the house with his shoes on. We're quite an outdoorsy family, and carpet just doesn't work for us. Plus I get the ick when I think about how filthy it really is. But I wouldn't have laminate, solid wood for us (previously we've used reclaimed wood which was great value).

We've got carpet in all the downstairs rooms except the hall, dining room and kitchen, and I hate constantly having to shampoo them! The dining room has oak flooring which I love and I'm trying to persuade my husband to do the other rooms in oak too. It looks and feels lovely, and can be lightly sanded (although we've only had to oil ours so far, and we've had it about 8 years)

@AaronPurr

Seems pretty unanimous for carpet. No pets or children to worry about, so now I just need to decide which colour carpet. 😅

Get a colour that matches the thing you spill most often

Wood or carpet. I like wood best. Not laminate! If you want a cheap hard floor option you could try cork tiles like you get in cheap bathrooms - would look ok with a rug I guess, though may not last longer than laminate.

We live in a country where the weather dictates the need for carpet underfoot for about 11 months of the year if you ask me