There is a lot to be said for wood floors
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- October 15, 2017
- 1213
Our current house has wall-to-wall carpet in most of her rooms. They are warm in winter, soft under foot and keep the house quieter than wood floors. They do not, however, do very well with pets and spills. Keeping them looking good requires weekly vacuuming with a very loud machine that terrifies our dogs. When it’s time for the annual carpet shampooing — with an even noisier machine — our dogs run and cower in the basement.
The very first house we lived in had very nice hardwood floors, and we couldn’t wait to have them covered with wall-to-wall carpet. That turned out to be a less than ideal choice because we had messy young children and a large messy dog.
One of our former houses had Mexican tile floors that were just beautiful, plus very easy to maintain. They were, however, very unforgiving of things dropped upon them. A falling mug, plate or vase was doomed to shatter and spread jagged shards all over the place.
In yet another house, we had vinyl plank floors that looked like wood. Those wonderful floors were impervious to spills and cleaned up with a damp mop. Even our dogs liked those floors. They didn’t slip about on them. And breakables had more of a chance of surviving a drop. Sometimes a mug would actually bounce. Though not popular then or now, those were the easiest floors bar none. And they didn’t get particularly cold in winter.
Floor styles come and go, and just as soon as you have one kind installed, another style comes into vogue. Currently, at least according to HGTV, hardwood floors are the rage. There is a lot to be said for wood floors. They are sturdy, easily cared for, add to resale value and can be warmed up with rugs.
Houses love them. Now that our children are grown and the dogs are nicely housebroken, we might choose wood floors once again. With nice, soft rugs on them of course.