Hello everyone. We have a dilemma. We are thinking of putting harwood floor in our living room , stairs and loft area in our home. We currently have hardwood floor in our basement. We just finished putting it there. So I loved how easy it is to clean and looks. So I thought why not replace upstairs as well, not the bedrooms, only the common areas and stairs. I would leave the bedrooms with carpet. But the more I research or talk to people, it seems like its not the best idea with young children. We have a 6 and 2 year old, and we are not done having children. Im concerned about falls , or head injuries when babies start crawling or walking.Also, how cold it is in the winter. We live in Utah so it gets pretty cold. In the basement I dont feel it as much because this past winter, we used the fireplace alot down there and heats it up pretty quickly. We have priced it out to do heated floors, but really we dont have the money for that. Like I said, we just finished our basement my youngest daughter was walking already, so I dont have experience with our basement and babies.Plus, we use our basement, but not all day every day. My husband grew up with hardwood, I didnt. He says he wouldnt mind it, but the softness of the carpet is what he thinks I and the girls would miss.I am always feeling cold in the winter. But the look and the easiness added to the fact that you dont have to replace it but sand it draws me to it. Any thoughts experiences you have with the coldness of the floor or young children and hardwood?. I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks again, Ruth
Ruth, my entire house with the exception of the family room, is hardwood. It is easy to keep clean, easy for mopping up spills, and I have never had a problem with my babies falling down. Is is cooler in the winter, but we have slippers and they generally have no slip bottoms. Having said that, I wouldn't give up the carpet in the family room for anything! It gives a warm, cozy feel and is soft. I do not allow food/drink on the carpet and it stays clean.
Thanks Netty, I appreciate your comments. My carpet too is write clean, for being 9 tests old it spent really need to be replaced. We just think the timing is right. When our girls are older, and am none with potty training. My little break before the next one. I do have an open concept from the kitchen into the living room, the variety there is not bad. I spot clean it as messes happen,. My main floor really, is the nation entry, living room kitchen and l laundry room. Would you recommend leaving the carpet in the livi ng room?, thanks again, ruth
I've had all carpet before, and now all hardwood and I'll never go back. It's so much easier to clean. Our carpets were always getting spills from the kids and I'm not convinced they were ever really clean. Now I know I should have had the carpet professionally steam cleaned yearly, especially when I moved. Who knows what was in those carpets from the former owner. The stuff we discovered in the carpets in our current home when we removed them were gross (mainly pet urine from former owner's dog).
Ruth, I grew up pretty mean. We had no carpet, no heat upstairs in the bedrooms, no insulation in the walls or windows and survived to tell about it. Most winters there was frost on the inside of the walls when it was really cold. We slept with our heads under the covers most nights. Children are much hardier than we think. Slippers are a great addition to the wardrobe and sliding on the floors is ever so much more fun than walking through the house.....that being said carpet is a bit more comfortable, but much dirtier. If you could see all the disgusting junk underneath the carpet you would be grossed out. Hardwood floors are much healthier especially if anyone has allergies in your family. The allergens are not trapped in the carpet.
I have no kids nor, unfortunately, grand kids and when we renovated our home, we put in all knotty pine on the floors. Carpet is much harder to keep clean. I will say that wood floors show dirt and get dusty but are easily cleaned often. Even with water and disinfectant.
I like having ONE room in the house carpeted, but that doesn't mean that is right for YOU. You could always do the last room in hardwood and have a large area rug...that might be easier to clean. If allergies aren't a problem you might be happier with carpet
thanks everyone for your responses. Question Carolyn, do you recall any accident or fall growing up or if you have children of happening as the floors are slippery or harder to land on? One concern I have is the stairs being wood too.
I'd go with the hardwood floor. A large carpet is hard to clean and my nephew who was 2 years old back then tripped right on the edge of the carpet but thankfully he wasn't hurt. I got rid of the carpet and it's staying in our attic as long as there are kids roaming around the household.
Hi, I have two young children and decided to stick to the hardwood floors as they are so much easier to keep clean and are much more hygienic than carpet. However we did come up with a great solution and bought ourselves a couple of cowhide rugs which are available to buy online or from specialist rug suppliers such as this one:http://www.citycows.co.uk/categories/Cowhide-Rugs/. They help to cushion the floors against any inevitable falls and are hypo-allergenic so are great for young children. The one we bought is very easy to keep clean and any dirt or stains wipe away pretty easily. I bought one to go under my coffee table and so feel comfortable knowing there is a little extra cushioning around there when my toddler starts exploring.
Ruth, I am so sorry, I missed your question from a long time ago...but no, I don't remember any falls from any of my siblings or me during my childhood. All of the accidents involved being out of doors.
I missed this thread when it was happening. I am guessing that Ruth has made her decision re carpet vs. wood. If you read this Ruth, I hope you are happy with your floors. We have always had wood in our houses & I have loved it. We never had a problem with our kids falling & getting hurt on floors. Coffee tables and end tables were more the issue. In our current house, the floors were hard wood (oak) but covered with wall to wall carpeting! We pulled up the carpeting to discover floors in perfect condition! They were unfortunately stained dark brown, so we have gradually been refinishing them to lighten the look of the rooms.
Hi there everyone! Still with the dilemma, but we are getting ready with these years tax return.so we will be deciding in the next few weeks .We do feel that if we will put them , this is a good year. So I thank your all for your posts. Carolyn and Cayugas posts today made me think of it again. We are waiting on our contractors pricing .Any idea of how much it costs for oak wood maybe 3/4 inch tongue and groove about 150 sq feet with one flight of stairs and a landing. Thanks for your ideas and experience. I appreciate it. Ruth
