In renovating your home for sale one of the most important things a home owner will have to consider is what to do with the floors. Keeping one surface throughout the home is nice in terms of flow but there are also a few rooms where you may not want to have the laminate, hardwood, carpet or tile that inhabits the rest of the home. Typically high-use rooms like kitchens and bathrooms will have different surfaces than other rooms, as there is a real moisture concern with such areas. Carpets are a famously bad choice for these areas as any carpeted area is already an allergen holding area without adding the presence of moisture. I have never actually seen a carpeted kitchen but I have seen my share of carpeted bathrooms. These rooms are almost always musty smelling and the carpets provide a great breeding ground for mold.
Bathrooms and kitchens are best served by a waterproof surface like tile or linoleum. Many current kitchens are being built with the laminate floors from other rooms being carried through. This looks great but remember to be careful as you can stain or discolor a laminate if moisture is left to sit. Stone and slate are also gaining popularity as surfaces, especially in foyers and kitchens.
No matter what kind of floor you decide to put down, try to plan ahead and think of the traffic that will be using the surface on a daily basis. Tailor the floor to the use that it will serve and you will get much better use from the room and a longer life from the floor itself, As the largest and most utilized area of the home, the floor has real potential to feature largely into the home’s design scheme and into the overall felling of the home. Planning your floors carefully with other design aspects in mind can help to ensure that colors match and accentuate each other.
November 9, 2010
Home Flooring Choices
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