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Design Dilemma
emmelinewe

This or that - wooden floors or carpet?

Emmeline Westin
9 years ago
43% of UK homeowners have carpet in their living rooms, according to our Big UK Houzz Report. Wooden floors are a close second (solid wood and engineered), but haven't yet reached the same status as carpet.

Which one do you prefer?
Featured Answer
  • PRO
    Countryside Kitchens
    9 years ago
    Rustic wooden oak any day with a rug in front of the fire. Plus if its rustic and an oiled floor you don't need to worry about scratching!

    • Comments (30)

    • Luisa Rollenhagen
      9 years ago
      Wood for sure! So elegant, and much easier to clean!
    • alant1000
      9 years ago
      In this order:

      Parquet flooring
      Carpet
      Natural wood flooring
      Laminate flooring.

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      The poll was neck and neck but it seems like I just tipped it in favour of wood! I prefer wooden flooring, as that is what I am used to. I do like a carpeted landing space however and agree that a carpeted room has a greater element of cosiness to it, especially in colder months. But the big downside for me is that they are more susceptible to stains from spillages etc.
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      Sounds fine to me. You could always get a nice rug to cosy up the sitting room and carpeted stairs are still very popular. Some people paint their stairs. My kitchen is slate effect porcelein tiles, sitting room and hall is rustic oak laminate with a Persian rug in the sitting room. My stairs are carpeted. That’s variety for you!
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    • markcanning
      9 years ago
      But can you get cosy, in your lounge, with a wooden flooring? Wooden flooring may seem easier to clean but what about the high maintenance factor of wooden floors? You scratch your expensive oak flooring, then what?

      The Flooring Gurus at www.flooringmegastore.co.uk suggest resilient flooring (engineered/solid wood, laminates, luxury vinyl tiles, linoleum etc) in the really heavy traffic areas, like hallways, kitchens, utility rooms & bathrooms but with our climate, a cosy, silky soft carpet with squooshy underlay is surely the better option for your family lounge room.
    • Tom Flanagan
      9 years ago
      Wood every day. I like planks of it and white washed.
    • User
      9 years ago
      Hands down, wood.
    • Tony McIntyre
      9 years ago
      It think it depends on where the room is located. My front living room has carpets because I think carpets make the living room more 'snug'. In my rear living room i have wooden floors as the room has doors to the garden, so when the dog comes in from when it's been raining it is a lot easier to clean!
    • PRO
      RD Interior ReDesign & Home Staging
      9 years ago
      I love both wood and carpet. In the living areas of the house wood is warm underfoot, easy to clean, has great variety of pattern, light and shade and is hard to beat when dressed with either multiple rugs (large rooms) or one suitably sized rug. Oh and it is a boon for allergy suffers.
    • PRO
      Anthony Edwards Kitchens
      9 years ago
      I like wood , parquet, solid planks and engineered, but it is not always cosy in a snug or , sitting room room, the answer is big good quality rug !
    • lislondon
      9 years ago
      Would never ever have anything but wooden floors. They look great, they are easy to keep clean! They are cool in the summer warm in the winter! Only if you live in an apartment above others, a carpet might be a good thing. Good luck and Happy Christmas... ;)
    • soozmacrae
      9 years ago
      Carpet in living room and bedrooms. So warm and cosy. Also cuts down on noise from peoples feet. No Shoes on in the house though. (its the law!).
    • Sam Hill
      9 years ago
      I like a mixture of both floorboards and a nice rug.
    • Juds B
      9 years ago
      I'm bored of carpet. It only looks good for a few years, dirt gets trapped underneath and all sorts of creepy crawlies are attracted to it.
      Wooden floor, especially parquet. Although it gets scratched over time, I found this patina quite charming...
    • G H
      9 years ago
      Just changed the dining room and lounge carpets to walnut wood laminate floor (could not afford the hardwood) Looks amazing and as warm as the carpet was as the new underlay is higher spec. Still gave a massive rug on the lounge floor.
    • Tryphic
      9 years ago
      Depends on where it is! Our front room faces north, so we have carpet. In the back room, which is an open plan kitchen, dining area and family room, which has south facing windows, we have bamboo. Much more practical, given the use of the majority of the space. It's also carbonised, so is darker so looks warmer and cosier.
    • PRO
      Flooring Megastore
      9 years ago
      Judit B ... no ... no .... no!

      Sounds to us Flooring Gurus as though you've been receiving some very bad carpet advice over the years. No decent carpet will only look good for just a couple of years. Did you buy your carpet from a very well known multi-chain operation, by any chance?

      We, along with any decent retailer, will be able to show you how to make your carpet look good and last for ages (in fact, until you get bored and want to re-decorate the room). A balance between carpet and resilient flooring (laminates, luxury vinyl times, wooden floors, linoleum), in the end, is probably the best look as well as the best way for your flooring to perform but of course, we're all different and have our own views.

      Either way, we'll save you £100s off the High Street price, whether wood flooring, carpet, underlay, laminates, Amtico and Karndean etc, etc. We can get it all.

      We're the Flooring Gurus! https://flooringmegastore.co.uk/
    • Juds B
      9 years ago
      Flooring Megastore,

      I've tried both, cheap and expensive carpets. They looked dreadful after about 5 years. Of course, each to their own but I don't find carpets practical. I also find it incredibly annoying that the corners get a shade darker unless you call professional cleaners on a regular basis, which is expensive on the long run. The worst is the carpeted stairs and in the bathroom... (Gives me the shivers.)
      I find carpets dirty. It's time consuming and expensive to maintain them.

      I'll have a house project this coming year, so I give you a buzz to see if you have any suggestions. :)
    • markcanning
      9 years ago
      We'd love to offer some ideas, Judit. Have a fabulous Christmas and maybe talk when you're ready .... we're the Flooring Gurus!
    • lidia
      9 years ago
      Definitely solid wooden floors and only oiled, not waxed and not lacquered.
      Oiled wood feels warmer compare to lacquered, it's very easy to restore, maintain and it last forever. You don't need to sanded down just clean and apply new coat.

      As you are in London I recommend this shop. Good quality long boards even 6m ones in good prices. They can send samples.
      www.frenchforestfloors.com
    • Judit
      9 years ago
      Definitely wooden floor for the living room. Carpet can get very dirty even if you clean it regularly.
    • felixnanna
      9 years ago
      When we bought our house, over 40 years ago, our huge L-shaped living/dining room had parquet flooring throughout. We retained the parquet in the dining room end, sanded it back to its original colour and oiled it. We then built a wall of old London stock bricks to add some interest and to delineate the two areas, leaving a wide arch in between. The living room end has always been carpeted - using the best quality wool carpeting that we could afford. We have only needed it to be re-carpeted twice in all the years we have lived here, despite having an open fire, spaniels, cats, children and countless parties and it has never looked dirty or scruffy. I love the cosiness of a soft wool carpet and an open fire in the living room (especially in winter) and the practicality of the wooden flooring in the dining area. Apparently brick walls and parquet flooring are very popular at the moment, so by default we are also quite trendy! On this basis, I anticipate being trendy again in about 20 years time, as we have no intention of changing our current arrangement!
    • antoineguillaume
      9 years ago
      Personally I love the look and warmth of a wood floor, paired with a colourful rug to make the living room a little more cosy.
    • Catherine Hounslow
      8 years ago

      Wooden floors downstairs but carpets upstairs . Unfortunately though, we have engineered wooden floor that looks like laminate .


    • milfordmaid
      8 years ago

      Noise - all depends on the footfall thru the area. SIL has 2 Labradors who clip-clip + skid all day long. Like living with a troupe of tap-dancers! Now my cats are far quieter. Kids in soccer boots, high heels .... Bashing toys cars + tractors up + down a wooden floor ... can always thru a rug or mat over wooden floor - can be removed or changed

    • PRO
      Alternative Flooring
      7 years ago

      Tough one for us! Of course a carpet, especially a chunky one made from 100% wool, has that 'sink-your-toes-in' luxurious feel; but then again if you have a wooden floor, then the options for rugs, especially a custom made one, are endless and can really bring character to a room. We can take any one of our carpets, cut them to a specified size and put a border around the edge using our Make Me a Rug service. You can have fun and play with flooring and border combinations on our online rug designer, http://www.alternativeflooring.com/rugsrunners/make_me_a_rug

      Alternative Flooring - Wool Pebble Birdling Carpet · More Info

      Alternative Flooring - Made to Measure Rug · More Info

    • PRO
      Italian Design Ltd
      5 years ago

      Of course is a matter of taste and carpet can be a bit more cosy. However, carpet, any carpet no matter the cost will inevitably trap dirt and cannot be thoroughly cleaned every week. Corners are always dirtier and the air is always going to be a bit dustier with carpet around.


      Modern wood floors are perfectly suitable for kitchens and diners and even bathrooms and offer a vast range of design possibilities, from simple planks to herringbone parquet, Versailles panels and geometric patterns that are very popular right now.


      Ultimately is often the combination of wood flooring and quality rugs the gets the best of both worlds.



    • Laura Thomas
      5 years ago
      I love my luxury wool carpet in my living room, and hope it will last for many years. It has been down for 3 years and looks fab, despite 2 young children, a dog and several kids parties - and it is cream!
      My parents living room carpet is still going strong 40+ years later. The colour hasn’t quite come back in to fashion.
    • PRO
      Cormar Carpets
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Carpet for sure! As champions of carpet, here’s our top five reasons why you should have it in the home:

      1. It’s warm – When the mornings are cold, nothing beats the feel of a soft and snuggly carpet on icy toes. Coming in to a warm and welcoming house is the pinnacle of luxury. More people are now turning their back on the cool, sleek look of laminate flooring, for the natural warmth of carpet. Home owners are realising that in rooms such as the lounge, bedrooms and hallway, carpet really is the only option.

      2. It’s easy to clean – While you do need to whip the vacuum cleaner over your carpet, there is little other maintenance compared to the upkeep of hard wood floors or laminates. And if you buy one of our easy clean ranges (Sensation, Apollo and Primo collections), cleaning becomes less of a chore - plus you have the added reassurance of a 10 year stain and wear warranty. The key to good carpet maintenance is to vacuum once or twice a week, use a large doormat and avoid laying light coloured carpets next to external entrances.

      3. It’s quieter – Forget footsteps clacking against wooden floors, a large surround sound system vibrating or noisy children playing upstairs, one of the major benefits of having carpet in the home is that it absorbs sound. Not only does carpet absorb up to 10 times more sound than hard flooring but it generates less too.

      4. It’s good for allergies – Over the decades studies have shown that carpet reduces the number of allergens in the air as compared to hard flooring. Carpet prevents allergens from becoming airborne by trapping them in the fibres of the carpet, helping to keep them out of the air and out of your lungs. Vacuuming the carpet then removes the trapped allergens completely.

      5. There’s more choice – Carpet is super versatile. Fancy a more rustic look, opt for a textured loop pile. Want a deep snuggly pile, seek the super soft lustrous carpets out. And when it comes to colour, you can choose to play it safe with neutrals and cool greys or be bold with dark statement inky blues or even stripes! Any style you want to achieve can be done with carpet.

      Visit our site for more carpet advice and inspiration: www.cormarcarpets.co.uk


      Latest Ranges · More Info



      Apollo Comfort · More Info



      Latest Ranges · More Info



      Avebury · More Info


    • Anthony (Beano)
      5 years ago
      I like both tbh but now I’ve included large tiles too! I’ve the tiles in the kitchen/dining room, the sunroom and utility in one run, a wooden floor in the livingroom and hall and carpet in all the bedrooms! The thing about carpets for me is that’s it’s very hard to get a really contemporary feel from one unless it quite plain, also layering with a rug can also be difficult if you want to include on at a later date! I’m now pondering converting my roof space, tiles and wood floor will prob the what’s going down as it just going to be one massive bedroom and bathroom.
    • E D
      5 years ago

      Ancient post turned into spam, I’m afraid...

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