Floors

dfollin I'll take wood or laminate any day over carpet that othrs have used. Now if the carpet is new and only my family will be the ones using it it is not so bad..but even then you never really get carpet as clean as a solid wood or tile or even vinyl floor. If there are dogs or cats in the house...no carpet for me..

I very much agree with you here. My husband wants to put hardwood floors down here in our house and I am against it. I have had hardwood floors in the past, your right they look beautiful but to me they are harder to keep clean than carpet. I had to sweep at least 6 times a day otherwise you could see sand and dog hair on the floor! Yuck! With my carpets I vacuum twice a day and it looks good that way. I am much happier with carpet than anything else...

I dislike carpeting. It is a dirt and allergen-trap. We do have carpeting in a couple of the rooms in our rental, but there won't be any carpeting when we own our own home. There will be rugs--nice, easily washable rugs--in any areas I deem it necessary, which will likely be very few.

Thanks for this discussion Here wood has become so costly, forests are vanishing, we make doors windows from wood, but i have not seen any house with wooden floor , my house has ceramic tiled floors, the central hall and dining hall is heavily carpeted..

Get some area rugs. This can help set what each room is used for, as well as giving you something to make your feet warm. Wood flooring IS nice, but there are areas that you want that warm, fuzzy carpet (like near your bed). This is where rugs can help a lot. As for cleaning, could you just use a Swiffer? Unless it's getting dirty, I don't think you'd have to wet mop it daily. I think vacuuming would work as well, but unless you get a Roomba, it will be a task to do still.

I know what you are saying and it makes a lot of sense, but I love the look of hardwood floors as well as tile floors. Probably because when I was young one of my chores was to hand polish the hardwood and tile floors. My mom was a perfectionist with the floors and waxed them. I loved to shine the black and white ashphalt tiles. But yes, I can tell you from that experience that it is hard work to maintain beautiful flooring. I loved to hand shine the floors, as she was a believer in hand and knee floor care, she was from that generation. Yes they do require maintenance.

We also have wood laminate all throughout the house and honestly I love them! We also have two smaller children (3 and 6) so cleaning up spilled juice, supper, or whatever they get themselves into washes off easy. I would hate to see what the floors would look like if they were carpet. I never wear shoes indoors so I love the cold floor on my bare feet in summer, and in winter I just make sure I wear socks! Sometimes I slip and slide around a bit (especially if the floors have just been done) but it's actually kind of fun!