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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think laminate floor is not naff?

219 replies

Laquitar · 14/03/2011 07:03

This snobbery about laminate floor and leather sofas gets on my nerves.

They are not naff, they are PRACTICAL. You can keep the floor clean, really clean.

Carpets are filthy and they smell.

We had a lovely -and clean- decade when laminate floor was 'trendy'. Now someone has decided that it is 'naf' Hmm and i fear we are going back to smelly carpets.

AIBU to think they are ok and should stay?

OP posts:
noddyholder · 14/03/2011 08:08

Why is it ok to say its not naff but not the other way round? Both opinions valid but only one correct Wink

BalloonSlayer · 14/03/2011 08:09

I like my laminate. We have had it for ages.

I remember being astonished when we got it at how much baby food and juice was "suddenly" getting dropped on the floor. Then the penny dropped that the thick carpet we had had before had been dealing with all that for me very nicely. Ugh.

I need to decorate the room but the laminate will stay. as it still looks fine after about 9 years.

It's made my Richard Burbidge if anyone wanted a recommendation.

sonearsofar · 14/03/2011 08:18

I don't care if it's naff, the only drawback I found is that, if you have a lot of people in the room, the hard floor makes the room much more noisy. Otherwise it's brilliant.

TattyDevine · 14/03/2011 08:28

I think it would be like saying all carpet is naff. Some of the hideous patterened varieties are pretty naffola. Others are not.

There is wood flooring that looks naff, just because its wood doesn't excuse it. But not all wood floor is naff.

Ditto tiles

Hell, even lino has a place, and like all things there is lino and there is lino.

I just think there are good and bad versions of just about everything, its blinkered to say otherwise.

I dont think its wrong to say laminate is naff, it depends on the laminate and the space it has filled.

My father in law's DIY laminate is truly naff, without a doubt.

My friend's hallway is not.

Its that kind of thing really, for me...

Mobly · 14/03/2011 08:28

Laminate is really prectical with young children, so I'm sticking with it for the foreseeable future. If you buy a high grade one, it is much harder wearing than real wood which scratches easily and ends up looking a little tatty IMO. Although I don't deny oak is lovely.

I too have a lovely, soft, simple, brown leather sofa. It's battered and well worn and perfect for my 2 toddlers.

I like lovely soft thick pile carpet and old fashioned fabric sofas but just not prectical with small children.

Each to their own.

Original poster
Laquitar · 14/03/2011 08:28

Tatty the Quickstep looks nice.

noddy they do smell to me sorry Grin (see Baloons post Wink

OP posts:
Mobly · 14/03/2011 08:35

practical

DuplicitousBitch · 14/03/2011 08:36

i think leather sofas are bleurgh, laminate is practical but doesn't make my heart sing.

noddyholder · 14/03/2011 08:41

Some leather sofas are lovely but it is very hard to get a nice one.

CharlotteBronteSaurus · 14/03/2011 08:45

we've got quickstep too, in the dining room.
the floor of our victorian house was far too uneven for wood, and IMVHO the engineered wood did not look as good as decent laminate. we've got lots of carpets too though, so what do i know?

Psammead · 14/03/2011 08:46

Reality I don't think I have ever agreed with any post I have seen on MN as much as I agree with yours.

It is not in any way cool or 'better' to criticise others' taste! It does not make you look like a terribly posh and delicate butterfly. It makes you look like a total pleb. Class (not in the arbitrary social division sense) has nothing to do with putting others down, and everything to do with manners and making others feel good, not bad. Irony noted and bloody well ignored.

lovecorrie · 14/03/2011 08:50

We've got laminate and brown leather sofas in our front room, carpet tiles in the study/dining room, a rug chucked on the floor on the conservatory/playroom stripped wooden floors in our bedroom and on the landing and carpet in the kids rooms! I am clearly very confused

expatinscotland · 14/03/2011 08:50

I sooo agree, Laquitar. Of course, you knew that Wink.

fedupofnamechanging · 14/03/2011 09:05

I bought my house partly because it had laminate and tiled flooring. The previous owner had bought good quality laminate and I think it suits the house (1980's build).

I really love cream carpets, but only when they are new and fluffy looking. With 3 messy boys and one messy baby girl, I figured cream carpets and carrot puree/mud are not compatible.

I also have a leather sofa (and it's a corner unit, so double naff points Grin ), but I have been ever so grateful when people have dropped drinks and when my son got a nosebleed!

About to buy some Billy bookcases too. I have tons of books and they have to somewhere. People may criticise, but imo, bookcases that reach the ceiling are a good idea.

Having read threads about twigs and pebbly shit, I admit to feeling a twinge regarding my clear lack of taste, but have come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter if interior design is not my strong point.

bupcakesandcunting · 14/03/2011 09:12

YANBU.

We had real wood floors in our old house and they got wrecked by toys/shoes/furniture. I didn't want carpet downstairs on my new house as I have an aversion to vacuuming every day so I went on the hunt for some decent laminate and I found some that fools everyone into thinking it's real wood. Each plank has a variace so doesn't look flat and it isn't shiny. It wasn't the cheapest though, I do admit.

I love carpets in the bedroom though.

lesley33 · 14/03/2011 09:19

I think its up to you what you have in your house and yes leather and laminate is practical. But don't be snobby about carpets! If you criticise other people's choices in their house in such a judgemental way, then you kind of deserve it back.

TattyDevine · 14/03/2011 09:35

Noddy what carpets or carpety type floor coverings do you really like at the moment? Any links? Interested to see what is "now" from an interior designer's point of view Grin thanks in advance...

thepoweroflunch · 14/03/2011 09:43

We had a lush cream wool carpet in our old house but it was a nightmare to keep clean with a toddler, baby and a dog, even though it was scotchguarded. I used to have palpitations about getting red wine or tea on it and it was really stressful.

Our new house has solid wood floors throughout the ground floor and I do miss the cosiness of carpets so I can understand why people like them. We've got a fluffy rug in the lounge for the time being and when the children are older we'll carpet the lounge.

Had laminate in the bedrooms in our old house (not our choice, already there) and it was very good quality but not cosy at all, specially getting out of bed on a cold winter's day!

Chil1234 · 14/03/2011 09:43

I fitted IKEA laminate flooring to my lounge and hall after the cat brought home fleas one week and I spent £££s and got all Shock, Angry and Angry!!!! getting rid of the bastard things out of the carpets. It probably is naff but it cleans easily, isn't cold (or squeaky?) and, apart from that, I'm long past caring what anyone thinks of my taste in decor...

thepoweroflunch · 14/03/2011 09:44

Oh, we have brown leather sofas too. They're practical with small children and I LIKE the way they look. So there!

vj32 · 14/03/2011 09:44

Leather is disgusting. (strict vegetarian) Yuk yuk yuk.

Laminate is practical but cold, and can be slippery if you have the shiny stuff - don't think I would want it with small children.

Carpet in bathrooms is disgusting though - very unhygienic.

lovecorrie · 14/03/2011 09:46

Thank you thepoweroflunch! Ours are lovely and squishy and wipeable - ooh and all sorts!

PURPLESWAN · 14/03/2011 09:50

Cheap laminate floor looks fake but if that is the look you like its no one elses business is it anyway?

I know someone who runs a high end joiners shop and he openly admits he would never have solid wood flooring in his house - wood shrinks buckles and moves - a really good quality top layer laminate floor cannot be visually distinguished from a "proper" wood floor but is WAY more stable.

Honestly its the same people who snort down their noses at laminate floors and leather sofas that take the piss out of those of us who like lakeland. Part of growing up is realising that, despite what you thought at 15, your personal taste isnt the final word on what is right and tasteful.

PURPLESWAN · 14/03/2011 09:52

I meant good quality wood top layer laminate floor!

Original poster
Laquitar · 14/03/2011 09:53

MrsSchadenfreude and Karma, i've got them allGrin.

Laminate floor - check
Leather sofas - check
Ikea storage - check
Billy bookcases - check
Plus some things from poundland like big plastic boxes, airers etc.

lesley point taken but the difference is that when i criticise carpets i give a reason, a practical reason. I'm not saying 'they don't look right', or 'they are so 90s' or 'they are tacky'. I'm saying they are not practical and not easy to keep them clean. Now those who criticise laminate floor they usually just say its 'naff'. (although one poster in this thread said about noise, thats a valid point imo).

OP posts: