I do not love carpet and I do not love tile flooring, but boy do I love hardwood floors.
We just bought a home that came with beige linoleum floors in the kitchen. Once upon a time, linoleum floors were all the rage. They were affordable, practical and durable. I am not sure how the previous owner lived with the linoleum floors because I find they show every spec of dust, dirty paw and shoe print that walks across them. In the next few months, my husband and I will replace almost all the floors in our home with hardwoods. Yes, we will even put hardwoods in our kitchen.
Why do I love hardwood flooring?
Cleanliness
In our home we just sold, almost every square inch is covered with beautiful hand scraped hardwood floors. Only our bathrooms and laundry lack our hardwood floors. When we moved into our home, we had one child who had just graduated out of diapers. We had a second on the way. Hardwoods are easier to clean up liquid messes than carpet. While we potty trained our kids, we removed all our area rugs. Any time an accident occurred, it occurred on a hard surface that was easily wiped and sanitized.
With 3 kids and a dog, there is a lot of dirt that tracks through our home. Because our floors are a medium rich brown floor, little dirt shows, keeping me sane in between floor cleanings. Our Roomba vacuum robot makes cleaning most of the dirt on our floors a breeze when they need a good sweep.
Dust is not just something that settles on top of furniture. It is everywhere in our homes including our floors. I personally find it easier to maintain the dust in our home with hardwoods instead of carpet.
Durability
Depending on the wood you purchase for your floors, hardwoods are often more durable than other types of flooring. If cared for properly, a good hardwood covering can last in a home for decades. Carpets and linoleum floors do not last as long. In addition, tile flooring easily goes out of style. A good classic wood will never go out of style.
Hardwood Floors are Warm and Inviting
I find nothing more cold and uninviting than tile in a family room or kitchen. It is hard, cold and most often not my taste. A good stained hardwood floor can cozy up a room quickly and make it have a more inviting feeling. If you worry about water damage to hardwood floors in a kitchen, consider buying extra boxes of wood to store in your home.
If you are considering buying hardwood floors, check out this post.
