Carpet or Hardwood Floors in Living Room? (Wooden Floor)

When building a new home or remodeling your existing home, the question of whether to use carpet vs. hardwood living room floors is a crucial decision that has to be made. Your lifestyle, as well as maintenance, needs to be considered when making this flooring decision.

Hardwood Floor Pros

Wooden flooring has been used for centuries throughout the house. When installed properly, they are beautiful and long-lasting. They add warmth to any room visually, but maybe harder casual than you would want in a formal living room vs. the plush look of a carpet.

If your living room is a high traffic area of the home, hardwood floors are ideal. They are easy to clean and designed for the wear of heavy foot traffic. The wood has a grained appearance that does not show dirt as easily as a solid tone surface. A lightly damp mop will have the floor looking like new quickly.

Hardwood Floor Cons

To maintain the beauty of the floor, hardwood floors that are not sealed will need to be waxed regularly to keep the wood from drying out. Wear will show if there is furniture having casters or wheels that roll over the wooden floor often. Vacuum cleaners tend to push dust away instead of sucking it into the machine.

Hardwood floors should be installed properly by a professional to ensure there are no problems in the future. Over time, humidity can cause warping that will need to be corrected. Sanding and retaining will need to be done to eliminate stains and scratches. Also, hardwood flooring tends to be slippery if wearing socks or hosiery.

Carpet Pros

Who doesn’t love to sink their bare toes into a plush carpet? Having carpet in the living room gives the area a very inviting softness. Carpet comes in many colors, designs, and weaves that play a major role in the visual element of the room. Having the floor covered in a carpet adds insulation to help with the electric bill.

Carpet Cons

Vacuum cleaners are used to clean surface dirt from carpets, but the rug can hold odors, mildew, mold, and deep pounded in grime that vacuum cleaner cannot reach. Stains occur as well that form a footpath in traveled areas and need to be shampooed regularly.

Carpets can aggravate health issues that pertain to allergies and breathing issues as they can hold hidden dust. When pets are allowed into the carpeted area, the rug can retain their dander. By the way, carpets should be installed professionally to prevent future buckling that could cause falls.

What to Know About a Wooden Floor

This guy explains the long term effects of living with hardwood floors more than he goes into carpets. However, he gives a heads-up on carpet use in the bedroom and lower travel use areas.