Should I get Carpet or Hardwood Floors?

Time to replace the old, worn flooring that’s cramping the style of your home? If you’re like a lot of Atlanta homeowners, you’re wondering “Should I get carpet or hardwood floors?” As two of the most popular flooring options in Atlanta, the carpet versus hardwood flooring debate is often on the minds of our customers.

Both types of flooring have their benefits and their downfalls, and it’s up to you to decide with flooring option best meets your needs, style and budget. Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of hardwood flooring and carpet, so you can choose the perfect option to make your home inviting and beautiful.

Pros and Cons of Hardwood Floors 

Hardwood flooring is known for its beauty and durability, but also, its cost. Hardwoods can be the most expensive option for floor covering, but the benefits of wood floors often outweighs the costs.

Pros of Hardwood Floors 

• Long lasting – Hardwood floors can last for centuries. They can be refinished again and again, bringing them back to “like-new” for generations.
• Classic style – Hardwoods always look great, no matter the style of the home. From ultra-modern to classic Victorian, hardwoods always look like they belong.
• Allergy friendly – Where carpet tends to trap allergens, hardwood floors are easy to keep clean and can contribute to better indoor air quality.
• Adds value to the home – Installing hardwoods in your home can increase its value by 3-5%.
• Easy to clean – Spills, pet accidents, mud, and other materials are easily cleaned up with a broom or mop.

Cons of Hardwood Floors 

• Expensive – For all the bonuses listed above, there is a price. Hardwoods tend to be one of the most expensive flooring options.
• Hard and cold – In frigid winters, cold wood doesn’t feel great underfoot if you’re barefoot. That can, however, be mitigated by underfloor heating.
• Does not muffle sound – The hard surface of wood flooring does not absorb sound, which can contribute to a louder overall volume of ambient noise in your home.
• Not appropriate for wet spaces – Even though hardwoods are sealed, standing water can still seep through the cracks and damage the wood. This makes hardwood flooring not appropriate for bathrooms and laundry rooms.

Pros and Cons of Carpet

America’s favorite flooring adds softness and warmth to any room. A less expensive option than hardwoods, carpet is a great choice for many families, but it does come with its downsides.

Pros of Carpet

• Softness – Nothing beats the softness of carpet. From walking barefoot in your home to lounging on the floor doing art projects with your kids, carpet keeps you comfortable. Parents of young children often prefer carpet to hardwoods because it adds a layer of protection against the scrapes and falls inherent to childhood.
• Warmth – Even in the depths of winter, carpet stays room temperature.
• Lower cost – Carpet comes in all levels of price and quality and is almost always less expensive that hardwoods.
• Muffles sound – The soft fibers of carpet absorb ambient noise, making it a great choice for families with children as well as in bedrooms, where quiet is at a premium.

Cons of Carpet 

• Shorter lifespan – Where hardwoods can last for centuries, the typical life of wall-to-wall carpeting is between 5 and 15 years.
• Hard to clean – Spot cleaning and yearly steam cleaning is necessary to keep carpet from absorbing stains.
• Odorous – Carpet hangs on to smells without regular steam cleaning.
• Bad choice for allergy sufferers – Pollen, dust, pet dander and other allergens can hide in carpet fibers, decreasing indoor air quality.

Need help choosing between carpet and hardwoods? 

Let the flooring experts at M&W Restorations help you decide which flooring option is the right choice for your family. Give us a call today!