October 3, 2009
Flooring Choices: Hardwood, Area Rugs, and Ceramic vs. Vinyl
When decorating or re-decorating a home, flooring is one of the most significant selections to be made. Flooring is one of the most costly facets of any decorating, re-decorating, and building project. It is meant to last avery long time, so it’s imperative to make good choices the 1st time around. What are some available flooring options, and what are the benefits and disadvantages of those choices? Keep reading for some valuable info that will help anyone in making smart choices about their floors.
One highly well-liked choice these days is hardwood flooring. Hardwood is gorgeous and durable, lasting generations if it’s’s properly cared for. With a wide variety of styles and finishes, hardwood can be a perfect choice for nearly any room. On the negative side, it is costly. Exotic hardwoods are perhaps the most expensive flooring choices on the market. Installation is laborious, which adds to the already high cost. Additionally, hardwood must be correctly cared for in order to be truly enjoyed as intended. Moisture is the enemy of hardwood, and most hardwood floors also must be refinished occasionally. It’s best to have a professional take care of this.
Adding to the expense of hardwood is the provenfact that most of the people use it together with area rugs. However, this combo is a tested winner, for lots of reasons. Area rugs supply the heat and comfort of carpet, which hardwood lacks, and they can be comparatively inexpensive compared to carpeting acomplete room. Area rugs provide the chance to make a statement with flooring that carpet doesn’t permit, because they’re smaller and can easily be modified. Area rugs are quite helpful; even in a carpeted room, they work to add color and outline separate areas of the room like conversation areas and TV areas, for example.
In rooms where hardwood and carpet aren’t options,eg bathrooms and laundry rooms, a preferred debate goes on between two choices, vinyl and ceramic tile. Each has it’s positive and negative qualities. Ceramic is costlier, but is also more sturdy. Vinyl, while significantly less pricey, has a tendency to blacken easily, and if not installed properly, it can roll at the edges, leaving a particularly disheveled appearance. Ceramic can also feel really cold underfoot, especially during winter. Technology has come a long way in making vinyl flooring look more like ceramic tile, and in a few cases, the difference isn’t immediately noticeable without a closer inspection.
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