What Is The Best Flooring For Busy Family Homes?

Finding a floor that can survive the everyday adventures family life brings might feel like a mammoth challenge. As we all know, children, whether big or small, bring happiness (and mess) to your home! Add pets and hobbies into the mix and you've got yourself a home that's busy and messy.

To combat the challenges daily family life brings, you need a floor that will stand the test of time as your family grows. It needs to be easy to clean and maintain, and ideally, a floor that won't break the bank.

Here, we'll reveal the pros and cons of the different flooring types we offer. This will help you to make the best decision when purchasing flooring for your family home.

Budget Flooring Ideal for Family Homes

Flooring is a necessary expense, but it doesn't mean that you need to pay over the odds for a beautiful space for your loved ones. There are hundreds of choices for ‘cheap' flooring, so how do you know when something is a good deal or just too good to be true when it comes to price?

There are some great brands on the market that we currently stock, each of which offers fantastic products at surprisingly low prices. When it comes to the cheapest family-friendly flooring, luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) are a good option.

LVT floors have surged in popularity thanks to massive innovative success in their manufacturing process. They provide fantastic value, hitting the mark in the style stakes without costing a fortune to buy or install. We stock a huge range of LVT floors from top brands such as Amtico, Karndean, Quick-Step Livyn and many more.

Which is the Warmest Flooring for Family Homes?

Surprisingly, engineered wood is one of the warmest flooring materials that you can choose for your home. Not only is it a stunning option for bringing wood textures and tones into your house, but its ability to retain heat means that you can keep energy costs lower. This type of flooring is fantastic at circulating heat around your property, reducing both your energy bills, and your carbon footprint at the same time.

Other flooring options that feel warm underfoot are vinyl flooring, carpet, and solid wood floors. Vinyl and solid wood flooring reside at opposite ends of the cost scale. Solid wood flooring, although it can be prone to warping, does retain heat. However, it is easily the most expensive type of flooring. You'll also find it requires a lot of maintenance, particularly if you plan to use it in busy areas.

Which Floor is Better in Terms of Durability?

All family homes need a floor that is going to stand the test of time as the years roll by. Therefore, you're going to want to choose a material that is going to give you a long lifespan for your floor. Nobody wants to be constantly repairing a floor or ripping out parts that have been damaged.

The best flooring for durability is arguably one that is going to give you a return on your investment. Solid wood flooring is fantastic for re-sanding and can be restored to new up to seven times, depending on the thickness of the planks. It does mark and scratch, which might be an issue if you have pets. If you do, it would be best to choose a wood that boasts a harder density. These are also well-suited to high traffic areas of the home.

You can read our guide on the best flooring for pet owners here. Vinyl flooring and laminate flooring are no longer the flimsy spongy tiles of the 1970s. The luxury vinyl options are now such a good quality that most have impressive warranties of anywhere up to 20 years. They've been designed to take the impact of high footfall in the home and are an amazing option for kitchen and living room floors.

Which Floors are Easier to Keep Clean?

Family life inevitably brings mess, and mess brings cleaning. Laminate flooring is a superb option for messy family life. It is moisture-resistant, scratch-resistant and most products are now coated and finished in stain-resistant technologies. This helps to keep your flooring looking incredible.

Vinyl flooring is also at the top of the list as one of the easiest floors to clean. It features most of the same benefits as laminate tiles. They can be mopped without fear of water damage, and dirt and dust are easier to pick up.

Engineered wood is moisture-resistant, but it is not very good when it gets wet. Therefore, any spills need to be cleaned as quickly as possible. Solid wood floors, whilst very beautiful, do require a lot of maintenance to keep them looking as good as possible. Solid wood does not like the wet and it risks becoming damaged if spills are not cleaned up as soon as possible. They also are prone to staining.

So, in terms of maintenance, luxury vinyl floors are the easiest to keep clean, followed closely by laminate.

Conclusion

The best flooring for busy family homes can be made from any material. It will last if you're committed to maintaining the flooring for the duration of its lifespan. With that being said, some types are better suited to family homes. Making sure you choose the right flooring will make your hectic family life so much easier.

Whichever material you choose, we have an amazing selection of engineered wood, luxury vinyl, solid wood, and laminate flooring to suit your home. With so many options available, you are sure to find something to match your budget and preferences.

Browse our engineered wood flooring range here

Browse our luxury vinyl flooring range here

Browse our solid wood flooring range here

Browse our laminate flooring range here