Art-ology

If you have children, you already know that they change the way you look at home decor. You want to have a home that looks nice, and you also want it to be kid friendly. Some types of flooring are better suited to homes with children than others. Although you probably won’t carpet your entire home, most families do have carpet in several rooms. This type of flooring gives a nice warm feeling, and can keep noise down in your home. It is also nice when you have kids since they have a soft surface to land on if they fall, and it isn’t slippery so it will be easier for them to walk. However, kids can make a lot of mess, so you want to choose carpet and area rugs that will be easy to clean and less likely to show stains.

There are a number of issues to consider when you are choosing flooring with kids in mind. With carpeting, you want to make sure that you choose a good quality carpet, such as wool or a good synthetic that has Stainmaster technology. These will be easier to keep clean. carpet with a denser pile is better than that with a looser pile.

When you decide to use carpet as your flooring, you also need to make sure to get the right type of pad underneath. It is well worth your while to pay a bit more for well-made pad rather than using a cheaper model that will wear out quickly. You want to make sure to get the right thickness to go with your carpet as well. Having padding that is not the right thickness can cause you plenty of hassle, whether it is too thin or too thick. Some warranties are even void if you choose pad that is too thick, and thick pad can make it harder to walk on the carpet, especially for people with balance issues.

Choose flooring colors wisely. If you select a carpet that is too light, it will show the inevitable stains. You also don’t want to get a really dark carpet since pet hairs, dust and other light colored things will be more likely to show. Carpet with patterns and texture will do the best job, especially if the texture is a mix of loops and cut pile. Neutral colors like taupe or mushroom can work well if you really don’t want a pattern, though even a little color variation in the carpet will help keep stains from showing.

If you are planning to put area rugs over another type of flooring, such as hardwood or laminate, you will need to make sure to put down some sort of non-slip material underneath, especially if you have kids. You don’t want people to step on the area rug and have it slip out from underfoot. Larger area rugs are less likely to have a problem with this than smaller rugs.