Living Room Flooring

The ideal floor for a living room will be attractive, comfortable to walk on, inviting and luxurious. The living room, family room or den is where most homeowners and their loved ones spend the majority of their time when at home, so the flooring you choose must be able to withstand heavy traffic and be fairly easy to clean. With many modern homes being built with two living areas, you may have the option of having two completely different styles of room and choosing appropriate flooring for each one.

What Types of Flooring Work Well for Living Rooms?

Carpet is undeniably the most popular flooring option for living rooms. A deep cut pile plush carpet is soft underfoot and retains warmth better. Properly installed and maintained carpet can have a long life; protective substances can be applied before or after installation to improve stain resistance. Hardwood floors accented by large area rugs run a close second as the flooring of choice for living rooms. Many different species of wood are available to choose from, and either a linear layout or a parquet style floor will make a room look larger. Bamboo flooring is a ‘green’ alternative for the environmentally aware. Even tile is becoming increasingly popular as a flooring choice for living areas, especially if radiant heat is installed to warm the floor from below.

Linoleum as well as other types of resilient sheet flooring and many lightweight laminates are not generally considered suitable for living rooms, simply because an extra degree of comfort is expected from this area of the house. In some cases, however, heavier imitation wood laminates or even engineered wood flooring may be used simply to cut costs.

Things to Consider When Purchasing Living Room Flooring

Carpet can generally be laid over any type of slab or sub floor - a thicker pad is needed for cushioning and warmth if carpet is laid over concrete as opposed to wood. Tile can be laid on a clean, prepped concrete floor, or on a cement board underlayment over a wooden sub floor. Hardwood flooring options need a wood base for proper installation. Ideal Floor’s experts will be able to help you not only decide which flooring option works for you, but can assist you in designing the living room of your dreams.