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Original poster

living area flooring...

17 replies

Carameli · 05/05/2008 11:14

what do you have that you think it great for being under 5 child friendly.
Dh loves oak flooring which looks great I agree but he is worried about dd(4) and ds(16mnths) dropping heavy toys and marking it. They will have a play room but I think they should be able to bring a toy out at a time or else I will feel as though they have been sectioned off
but what else could we have for flooring that will look good in the living room, hall etc etc that will look good.

are there any laminates that look really like wood?? What do others think?

OP posts:
FluffyMummy123 · 05/05/2008 11:14

Message withdrawn

scarlettskye · 05/05/2008 11:19

I saw some really nice laminate in Focus I think it was - hardwearing and very nice to look at. its easier to clean than some carpets too. we have cream carpet (it was brand new when we boughtthe house 5 years ago so didnt' want to rip it out!) and its been mullered by 4 kids and 4 cats!

Pablop · 05/05/2008 11:22

we have oak flooring and it has a few dents but still looks great. Laminate will still get damaged if heavy things are dropped on it.

Chocolateteapot · 05/05/2008 11:23

We have oak in the kitchen and I really want to put it down in the living room as carpet has been a nightmare. Agree the oak still looks good with dents.

themildmanneredjanitor · 05/05/2008 11:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

peasoup · 05/05/2008 11:25

stone floor and rugs

bluefox · 05/05/2008 11:45

Hi we have just laminated throughout downstairs and really wanted real wood but would have cost too much. However after looking at laminates everywhere we finally settled on a Homebase oak coloured one, narrow board which looks like floorboards when laid. I have laminated floors before but this has been the easiest ever to work with and lay; in fact me and dd (15) did it all ourselves - the pieces slot together very easily. It was more expensive than most of the laminates we had looked at but worth it. Would still rather have had real wood but am very happy with what we chose.

BrummieOnTheRun · 05/05/2008 16:42

high end laminates look suprisingly good and are easy to care for.

marmoleum and bamboo are good, eco-friendly, natural alternatives.

rubber is fantastic, but expensive.

noddyholder · 05/05/2008 16:45

Oak is lovely Laminate never looks the same and teh fluff and dust just sits on it.Don't worrya bout scratches wood is meant to be lived in looking and gets better with wear and time.Carpet looks nice for 5 mins and then is unhygenic and fluffy.Agree re rubber if you have that look in your house.

Fizzylemonade · 05/05/2008 17:40

Don't put carpet down!!! I did and I regret it very badly.

Oak has character and a few dents adds to it.

With laminate you run the risk of chipping the laminate top (as my DS1 did when he dropped a bowl in the kitchen)

We are having engineered wood in the next house which is a few mm of solid wood top but MDF underneath so cheaper than solid wood.

Tortington · 05/05/2008 17:43

laminate is a pain in the arse and always needs cleaning.

don't know about oak

we have a wilton carpet - i think if you buy a good one that is hard wearing it will be great with spills etc - depending on the colour. white or cream or raffeta type stuff - i would assume no!

3littlefrogs · 05/05/2008 17:44

You can get laminate repair stuff that is easy to use and is fairly invisible.

My sister got very expensive vinyl type stuff, but it has got scratched almost immediately. It looked just like wood when it was first put down, but can't be repaired.

gooseegg · 05/05/2008 18:00

Terracotta earth coloured tiles and big rugs.

Fantastic.

We've got kids and a dog and I call it my cave floor.

One daily sweep and the odd wet wipe over it and it's as good as new.

BettySpaghetti · 05/05/2008 18:04

Reclaimed wood - has character, easy to clean and is only improved by the odd dent and scratch.

Add some rugs, looks fantastic.

nervousal · 06/05/2008 10:31

we had oak in our living room - brilliant stuff - so easy to clean and any scratches etc "add character". Definintely no to carpets

spudcounter · 07/05/2008 20:48

sorry to hijack, but where did you get your reclaimed wood from Bettyspaghetti?

BettySpaghetti · 07/05/2008 20:56

spudcounter -it varies, some was from a chapel/hall that was being knocked down locally, some were existing ones in the house .

You can get it from reclamation yards too -the parquet flooring in our bathroom was from a reclamation yard in Wales.

When you put it in it often needs a bit of elbow grease and TLC but looks fantastic once its done. The dirt that came off our parquet was horrendous but now its was cleaned and varnished its great and gets a lot of positive comments

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