Chris Ubinger- Home DIY

I keep going on about not using carpets in a home. Why? Because unless you’re a single, obsessively tidy individual, carpets are impractical, unhygienic and require hard maintenance, as they get dirty/spoiled/ burned and wear out easily. So what is the alternative? The best material to use on floors is wood. In the following articles I’ll write about different type of wooden floors. But firstly, I briefly summarise the qualities and properties of wood and why it’s so suitable under our feet..

1,Wood is timeless

Whether you’ve got new or old wooden floor – wood brings warmth to a space. Some people get worried about scratching/marking a new timber floor. They shouldn’t. Wooden floors age just like wine – they mature and improve in time. In fact the weathered look gives character to a space. Wooden floors do not define a certain area or time – they’ve been around for a long time and they will stay around for even longer.

2, Wood is style-less

I don’t mean wood has no style – quite the opposite. But just as it doesn’t define a certain age, it doesn’t define a certain style either. It goes with anything and everything. Sometimes it fits within a style, sometimes it complements a style, sometimes it is the style. So style-wise, a wooden floor can be just the background, an amplifier, or the main feature… It also fits within all decoration schemes.. (well, perhaps not with high tech).

3, Wood is hardwearing

Unlike carpets, wooden floors can last a life time – or even generations. Of course solid hard wood, such as oak, lasts longer and wears better. Hard wood is also suitable in wet areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. The most hard wearing wooden floor is bamboo – it’s also water resistant and eco-friendly. Some believe bamboo will become the most used wood for flooring (and furniture for that matter). If you can’t afford solid wood, consider engineered floorboards or laminated floors. They are still better than carpets and will last longer. I’ll talk about this solution in the next chapter of my floor article and put a link here.

4, Wood is easy maintenance

If you have kids/pets, or you entertain a lot, or you’re clumsy or you don’t like cleaning… you have to become a wooden floor person. If your floor is properly treated in the first place, then maintenance is easy. You only need to sweep or vacuum once a week or so and lightly mop occasionally. Of course when you spill something, you should just wipe it up quickly. And that’s it. Every five years or so wooden floorboards should be re-sanded and varnished.

The Alternatives

Of course wood is not the only solution for a good-looking, timeless and hard wearing floor. I just believe it’s the best. It’s warm, it’s sensual, it has character, it’s easy to maintain. There are many other materials to use on floors such as polished concrete, tiles, rubber, leather etc - but they are not appropriate to every design style or climate or building. Generally speaking, they require more maintenance than wood. And if you just love the feeling of a carpet under your feet, why don’t you switch to rugs? I’ll write about these possibilities later.