Floor choices.....need ideas

[Ottakee]

We like to replace the carpet in our 12 year old foster son's room. Several things to consider:

 

1. He is foster so might move, but doubtful

 

2. He is currently using what was our living room for a bedroom. We out up an accordion door in the doorway to make it legal. IF he were to move or move to another bedroom later, weight want to reclaim this as a living room....used to house our TV and piano and couches.

 

Carpet would absorb the sound better but also show dirt, etc quickly (we are rural and have a hobby farm and he doesn't always get his shoes off for those quick dashes in and out to grab things).

 

Premium vinyl planks would look nice, be easy to care for, but not a great look for a living room if we convert it back.

 

Laminate is ok for a living space bit doesn't help with noise levels at all.

 

Cost is another factor as Dh can lay laminate or vinyl planks but we would have to pay for carpet installation.

 

Any grand ideas for me?

[StephanieZ]

Wood look tile planks? If you can DIY, it'd be cost effective. And they'd last forever, and they look good. An area rug can add the cozy factor. 

[zoobie]

Core-tec vinyl planks that look like wood would be great in a busy living space.

[lexi]

Wood look tile planks? If you can DIY, it'd be cost effective. And they'd last forever, and they look good. An area rug can add the cozy factor.

This! I love these and wish I had them in my house.

[happypamama]

Laminate with some throw rugs?

[ktgrok]

Vinyl planks that look like wood. 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Engineered Hardwood.  Installs like laminate, and has a hard, clear, durable finish over beautiful real wood.  Look at Kahrs brand.  I have it in my kitchen, living room, and dining room (which is used as a school room and office), and it's beautiful, even after 11 years.

 

[samba]

We have hardwood in our living room with an area rug. In a previous home we had vinyl wood planks with an area rug. Both look nice years later and are comfortable to walk even on w/o the rug. I think it's the furnishings that make the room look like a living room, not the flooring. We've also had both with no area rug and I actually prefer it.

[hornblower]

I'm planning to redo our entire living space with vinyl plank so I'm not sure why it wouldn't look like living room? 

I'm leaning towards a white oak right now - like this https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d7/f7/a1/d7f7a13b137d22fc995de8253eb9bf6b.jpg



 

[TammyS]

Put in whatever hard floor that you would like it to have as your living room, eventually.  Then add throw rugs to dampen sound, a few medium sized rugs is better than a very large one, because then he can just take it outside to shake it out, or even hose it out to dry on a sunny day.  If you have an Ollies near you, or something like it, they have throw rugs that are very inexpensive.

 

If noise is an issue, skip laminate.  It's loud.  I have it in parts of my house (was here when we bought the house).  I hate the stuff.  It's loud, it's cold, and frankly, it's ugly. It does not look like hard wood.  It looks like paneling on the floor.

[idnib]

Cork?

[prairiewindmomma]

luxury vinyl plank--particularly the Armstrong resilient stuff that's for sale at Home Depot.

 

Having lived on a working farm, being able to mop comes in handy.  (Mud, poo, and other unsanitary things tend to get tracked in.) Likewise if you have a subsequent placement with issues like incontinence or food hoarding (spilled liquids, etc.), there's a lot less likelihood of permanent damage.

 

 

[mamakelly]

We just did wood look porcelain tile. It's extremely durable and looks fabulous.

[Spryte]

I wouldn't go with carpet either. I like wood, maybe the engineered woods?

 

We have cork in our bedrooms and upstairs. I don't know how durable it will be, but we love it. It's very quiet, too.

[nd293]

Engineered wood or wood look vinyl planks, with a large area rug. Just be absolutely sure the rug is large and heavy enough to be vacuumed/ hoovered (without getting sucked up) - if they aren't they become a nightmare to maintain.

[plansrme]

I would make sure whatever I put down is the same thickness as the carpet that is coming up so that you don't have to remove and lower or raise all of the baseboards.  That's just going to double your work load for no good reason.  Removing baseboard means making new holes in the wall, breaking some baseboard (some of it always breaks), beating up both the wall and the baseboard so that they both need to be repainted, new caulk--it just never ends.  So as long as the entire flooring universe is open to you, I would make baseboard consistency one of my highest priorities.

 

ETA:  I am looking at replacing carpet in my basement school room this summer, and the first thing I do with my samples is stick them under the baseboard to see how they fit.  A lot of vinyl has been rejected as too thin.

Edited June 5, 2016 by plansrme

[TammyS]

I would make sure whatever I put down is the same thickness as the carpet that is coming up so that you don't have to remove and lower or raise all of the baseboards.  That's just going to double your work load for no good reason.  Removing baseboard means making new holes in the wall, breaking some baseboard (some of it always breaks), beating up both the wall and the baseboard so that they both need to be repainted, new caulk--it just never ends.  So as long as the entire flooring universe is open to you, I would make baseboard consistency one of my highest priorities.

 

ETA:  I am looking at replacing carpet in my basement school room this summer, and the first thing I do with my samples is stick them under the baseboard to see how they fit.  A lot of vinyl has been rejected as too thin.

 

If you end up with a gap under your baseboard, the easiest thing to do is add a toe molding. It's a little bit of work, but easier than replacing everything that is there.

[plansrme]

If you end up with a gap under your baseboard, the easiest thing to do is add a toe molding. It's a little bit of work, but easier than replacing everything that is there.

 

Yes, but you don't see quarter-round on new floors much any more.  It is a pain to paint (or stain), and it looks shifty, like you're trying to hide something.   :sneaky2: