Just as each room in your home serves a different purpose, so does the flooring in each room. Whether you are looking to make a space look larger, feel more inviting, or protect against high moisture, the right flooring plays a key role in how a room feels and functions.
Here are our top tips for selecting and maintaining the floors in each room in your home.
Entryway
As a room that connects the outside of your home to the interior, entryways are subjected to grit, grime, dust, water, sand, dirt, and more. This means entryway flooring needs to be durable and functional, while still looking great. Excellent options for entryways include hybrid flooring, water-resistant laminate, and luxury vinyl planks.
Durable flooring that can be easily cleaned is essential in an entryway.
Regardless of the flooring material you choose, it is important to care for it properly and prevent as much dirt from getting into the house in the first place. To protect your entryway floors, be sure to:
- Adopt a “no-shoes inside” policy where members of the household and guests remove their shoes immediately upon entering your home
- Have a high-quality mat or rug placed at the entry to help protect the flooring underneath and trap dirt particles
- Have a towel handy to wipe up any water drips immediately
Bedrooms
With its plush feel, cosy vibe, and warmth, it is no surprise that carpet is a popular choice for bedrooms. With a lower chance of spills than other rooms in the house, this can be a great area to play around with lighter colour choices. Regular vacuuming and the occasional deep clean will keep your carpet looking great with minimal effort.
Carpet is a popular choice in Australian bedrooms.
Timber floors also look fantastic in bedrooms, especially if you have timber floors throughout the rest of your house and want to create fluidity throughout your space. If you wish to cosy up timber floors, a high-quality rug placed beneath the bed adds warmth and softness while maintaining the flow of the flooring from room to room.
Since bedrooms do not endure as much dirt, grime, or foot traffic as other areas of the household, it is less likely for timber flooring to experience excessive wear and tear. However, it is still important to clean hardwood floors properly.
Another excellent option for bedroom flooring? Bamboo flooring.
Engineered bamboo is a versatile flooring solution that boasts more durability than the leading hardwood products without compromising on beauty. It is also an excellent choice if eco-friendly products are a high priority for you.
Hallways
Like entryways, hallways endure more foot traffic than other rooms in the home. Hard flooring can make a great choice here, especially when protected with a runner-style rug. Laminate or hybrid flooring can be particularly resilient and make a beautiful, durable flooring choice for this area.
Hybrid flooring is a suitable option for most hallways.
Living Areas
Open plans are becoming increasingly popular in modern Australian homes, meaning everything from hanging out to relaxing to entertaining often happens in one main area of the home. Flooring in these living areas should be inviting, comfortable, durable, and visually appealing.
It is important to consider what you plan to use these areas for. Is it simply for entertaining, reading, watching your favourite shows, or family game nights? If so, almost any flooring choice should perform well here. If the space merges into the kitchen where the flooring may be susceptible to spills, a water-resistant or waterproof option such as luxury vinyl planks or hybrid flooring may be the best choice.
Rugs can be an excellent addition to living areas, especially open living spaces. In a large room, rugs can help add cosiness, create a great play space for kids, and create an inviting, relaxing atmosphere.
Rugs are an excellent choice in living rooms as they liven up the space.
With all the time spent in living spaces, it is especially important to clean spills promptly and vacuum or sweep regularly to keep your flooring looking good.
Kitchens, Dining Rooms, Laundries, Basements, and Bathrooms
Wet areas such as bathrooms, laundries, dining rooms, basements, and kitchens, making it important to choose a flooring material specifically designed to withstand high moisture levels and spills.
While flooring options for wet surfaces used to be extremely limited, advancements in flooring technology have brought about a variety of excellent choices. These cutting-edge flooring materials such as luxury vinyl planks and hybrid flooring offer the visual appeal of hardwood along with waterproof or water-resistant properties that make them functional and beautiful.
Quality waterproof flooring is essential in bathrooms.
Playrooms
A kid’s playroom is their own special area where they can be messy, run around, play with their toys, and get creative. The flooring here needs to be comfortable, inviting, and durable. What flooring checks all these boxes? Carpet tiles.
Carpet tiles offer the warmth and comfort of carpet but with a huge advantage — you can remove single tiles in the event of a spill or damage! This versatile flooring option offers endless possibilities when it comes to combining different colours and patterns, so if you are looking to make a fun, colourful design for your playroom flooring, look no further than carpet tiles!
Hard flooring with a cosy rug also makes an excellent option for playrooms.
Hard flooring is popular in playrooms, as it’s easier to clean up messy spills.
Home Office
As more people find themselves working from home, home offices are becoming increasingly popular. Here, flooring should flow with the rest of the home, be comfortable, and create a work-friendly atmosphere.
The flooring in your home office should be comfortable underfoot.
Whatever flooring material your home office has, remember to protect it from desk chairs with a plastic protector mat or rug.
For more tips on setting up a home office, we have a separate blog with tips for creating the perfect space to work from home.
Looking For More Flooring Advice?
If you are having trouble deciding which flooring material would work best in a certain area in your home, our team would love to help you navigate the options and find a flooring material that fits your style, budget, and needs.
We also update our blog regularly, covering every aspect of flooring including topics such as:
- What flooring is best at cancelling noise?
- How to maximise space in a small home or apartment
- What is underlay and which floors need it?
- Tips for choosing new flooring
- And more!
