Carpet vs. Hardwood

flojo973 · January 2014

Looking for some input here. We have carpet throughout our house including in the family room. I anticipate we'll be spending most of our time in the family room with the baby when she's not in her room or our bedroom. I got an estimate on replacing the carpet with hardwood floors for the family room because I think it might be easier to clean and just cleaner over all (e.g., if the baby spits up, changing diapers in that room, etc.). My mom thinks I'm crazy and that carpet would be more comfortable for the baby during tummy time and when she starts crawling/walking.

Anyone want to weigh in? Also, we on moving within the next 2 years so I'm wondering if its worth it financially or we should spend that money redoing our kitchen which is horrible, but that might be another issue. Thanks!

MamaTree17 · January 2014

When we moved into our new house we replaced the carpet with wood in our family room (which was the only room that didn't have wood at the time). Most likely you'll want to put down a throw rug of some sort anyway and I love having the wood in there. Even with carpet you'll put down a mat or blanket or one of those play things with toys hanging (the technical term obvi) for tummy time so I don't think that's an issue. And plus also, I think wood would help with resale for sure.

abastian00 · January 2014

FTM, so I can't give you any feedback re: what is good for the baby - but I will always pick hardwood over carpet. IMO, it always looks better and (at least where I live) will give you better resale value on your home.

this1life · January 2014

I opened this thread thinking it was a reference to personal grooming... Clearly my husband's been away too long.

As for your real question, we have hard woods in our house. Our house is an 1800'd farm house, so the wood floors are amazing, I couldn't bare to cover them with wall to wall. We do have lots of runners and area rugs though for our dog. They warm the place up a bit, but still make cleaning which I think will be good for baby as well.

In your case I'd leave the carpet if you plan to sell, I'm not sure what the return on your investment is there. The return on a kitchen remodel, however, is very good, though exponentially more expensive.

Valie18 · January 2014

FTM here. Cleaning between the planks in my parents floor is not fun. Cleaning things out of carpet is also not fun. Can it wait until the baby stops pooping it's pants? Otherwise I agree with PP in putting LO on a mat or throw rug that is comfortable and can be more easily cleaned.

lellymine · January 2014

We had hardwood through our house, the bedrooms had carpet, growing up and I hated it. It was cold and even with the rugs it was hard so we never wanted to play or lay on the ground. It was really pretty for a few years but then scratches from the dog's claws and dings from a plate or toy dropped would show up. My parents had to have it resurfaced about every 5yrs. Plus, depending on the color (ours was on the darker side) every footprint showed up so my mom was constantly having to mop.

k2k2tog · January 2014

Hardwood, definitely. I've lived with far too much dirty carpet during my university days. Hardwood is definitely easier to clean, though it can be a pain when things get in the cracks. Also, we have very very dark - almost black - bamboo floors and, while they're easier to clean and look great for about 2 seconds after they've been scrubbed, every little dog hair, speck of dust, and salt mark shows up in stark contrast. We've got two dogs... mostly we've just given up on our floors. 5 more months to slack, right?

As for softness for baby and tummy-time, area rugs are awesome, as are play mats and thick baby blankets.

justme04 · January 2014

We just replaced carpeting in our dining an living room with faux wood since we ended up deciding to two rooms on the budget we had for one. I wasn't convinced about the living room but DH talked me into it. We plan on having a throw blanket for baby to play on or maybe those foam block things and so far the boys don't seem to mind the change. I'll also get some baby legs for when she starts crawling.

hollygb22 · January 2014

we jsut replaced all our carpet with hardwoods. I like them better and if you plan on moving I bet you'll get a good return on the investment.

I should add..we do have area rugs in the big rooms so theres something on the floor

abastian00 · January 2014

joules235 said:

Wood is not my first choice though. When we build our house (in a few years) we are going to put down marmoleum for the high traffic areas and we will use a compacted dirt floor for bedrooms. It's non toxic bio based flooring that is easy to clean and comes in a ton of colors and styles. Wood is too unsustainable for me, unless its bamboo.

Agreed!!

Dharmatron · January 2014

I grew up in a house with carpet and ending up buying a house with hardwood throughout. It is definitely most aesthetically pleasing, but I find it harder to keep up with the cleaning. Also, I have two dogs who have scratched the floor considerably with their nails and by dropping toys/bones from the couch. When we move on to another home, I will be looking for a mix - carpet in living room and bedrooms, hardwood in dining room, front room.

Pepper6 · January 2014

For resale, I'd skip replacing the carpet and invest in the kitchen because that's where you'll see a bigger ROI. However, if you really hate the flooring you have now, maybe you can opt for a laminate, which will give you the look of hardwood without the expense and you can invest in real hardwood in your next home.

momof5sept18 · January 2014

I hate carpet because its a pain to clean, when I had carpet I was shampooing my carpets 2x a week which was way too time consuming.

I have ceramic tile now throughout my house, and I constanty have to sweep and mop (3-4x a day).

I love hard wood flooring. I wish my whole house was hard wood, or at the very least linoleum.

The next house we get I'm hoping its all hardwood flooring I'd rather deal with it than ceramic tile. I'd probably like my floor a lot more if I had area rugs laid out throughout the house and bedrooms. But I must say ceramic tiles are nice if the kids spill something, though every and any thing that hits these floors shatters.

Lynnja616 · January 2014

So we have hardwood floors on our entire first floor (so foyer, formal dining room, kitchen, hallways, half bath) with the exception of our family room and DH's office/study which is carpet, and I love it that way. Personally I think your Mom is right, it won't be as comfy for hanging out and playing on the floor. My inlaws recently put hardwood floors in their family room where they used to have carpet, and yes they have a large area rug with rug pad underneath- but I just don't think it's cozy/comfy. I liked it better with carpet at least in that room.

tbmadeamistake · January 2014

Hardwood. We have it in our downstairs and just put it in upstairs as well. We have a white carpet that we bought before C was born for the living room and it is in a sad, sad state. We managed to keep it clean when she was virtually immobile, like PP said, we put a blanket or towel under her anyway. The moment she became mobile, well, there goes the neighborhood. Non-leaking sippy cups leak, pieces of dinner get stuck to her hair/hands/pants/who knows and end up attached to the rug, a piece of snack falls out of her mouth and gets lost under the ottoman for a week...it's gross. We've decided that this is our "we have a baby" rug and will continue to be used, stained and all, until this LO is old enough to not be so messy. Then we will get a nice new rug for the older children to destroy .

If you are going to buy a rug to put on hardwoods, I strongly suggest a pattern of somesort to hide the messes!

Read247 · January 2014

Hate hardwood. My feet are always cold and cleaning is a bitch to keep up with. Every speck of dust and every piece of dog hair shows. I sweep every day, swiffer mop every other day and do a mop and bucket at least once a week for deep cleaning. (Between cracks) never fails after scrubbing, a random chunk of dog hair will blow past me like a tumble weed. I miss carpet!!!!! I'd rather vacuum once than sweep and then mop. (Double the work)

LadyMacaron · January 2014

As far as cleanliness goes, carpeting is probably the dirtiest thing in your entire house. Unless the carpeting is treated to have anti microbial protection, there are literally pounds of dead skin cells in there, and no matter how much you vacuum, some of the mold and bacteria in that carpet will never go away. It's actually the biggest reason people suffer from allergies in their home. And they trap odors. I would much rather have baby crawl on a wood floor than a carpet.

As far as re-sell value, homes sell a lot better and faster when there are wood floors in the common areas (living/dining/hallways). Bedrooms are usually dependant on the buyer, it's personal preference. No, it won't give you as much return as re doing your kitchen (which you can almost double your return on), but your house will show better and you will make your money back when selling.

As a designer, to me there is no contest. Wood floors all the way. If you go dark, you will be swiffering a lot (dust shows), but it's much more appealing than carpet. Or like PPs have suggested, cork flooring, or tile made to look like wood floors, are easier to clean.

coffee89 · January 2014

My sister put the bamboo planks down in her bedrooms right before her baby was born and they love it. I personally hate the sound of the fake wood/bamboo when its walked on but that is a less expensive option for you.

Personally I'd go wood any day as long as it has been taken care of. My last place had wood floors that was never taken care of and the planks were separating so getting it clean was a pain, but at my parents hose it was super easy. They have had it for over 10 years with no need to redo the top of it because of any scratches. They did throw a big rug across the living room to reduce echo and keep it a bit warmer. Whenever my niece was on the floor as a baby she was on a blanket. When she started walking she did slip and slide a bit but caught on to it quite quickly with no major smacks on the floor.

I don't like the idea of dirt, bacteria or pet dander in my carpets and I just don't have the time or money to rent a carpet cleaner to keep it deep cleaned.

amackattack · January 2014

If it were up to my H, no one would ever have wood floors, and every floor would have carpet, even the bathroom! He hates how cold they are and how cold they make a room look. We also do sit on the floor a good amount when friends are over and we gather around the coffee table and such and it is much cozier in my opinion. I do think hard wood floors look really nice.

We would love to get cork flooring someday! When we finish the basement we are considering cork flooring.

As far as cleaning, I do think carpets are much harder. I actually asked for a carpet shampooer for Christmas. I think if I keep up with the shampooing I can keep them looking okay, but it's much more time consuming.

katiebartton · January 2014

I have 2 dogs and hate carpet. I do have to say if you are moving in 2 years it's a hard call, your ROI on the kitchen would probably be better.

If you do get hardwood I love having the irobot roomba, I hit a bottom and it vacuums the whole first floor for me

hotsaucencake@live.com · January 2014

We built our house a little over a year ago and I didn't want carpet anywhere. Here's my reasoning:

1. Wood (or even linoleum or similar) is so much easier to clean. I sweep and use a steam mop.

2. The reason that dirt shows up less on carpet is because it works its way into the fibers, making it nearly impossible to clean totally. Just because you can't see the dirt does not mean it's not there. And remember, once your baby is mobile, they're going to be all over that floor, not just where you put down a blanket.

3. All the dirt, dust and, if you have pets, dander is right there where your baby will be spending a lot of time, breathing. Also, I have allergies myself, and carpet is no good for that.

4. Yes, it may be harder and less comfortable, but you can always use area rugs that can easily be replaced, or even taken out and washed thoroughly.

As for selling in a couple years, it would probably depend on the condition of the current carpet. If it's getting bad, it might be worth it to replace for the resale value. If you want wood, look into engineered or laminate instead of hardwood. Most hardwood is not very scratch resistant and requires maintenance. Also, hardwood is more expensive. We got our flooring from Home Depot. We found some laminate patterns that we liked (ours look just like hardwood, no repeating grain patters and slightly rounded edges like real wood) and brought home samples to do scratch tests on. We have a black lab who has his moments of tearing through the house, and over a year later, we can't see a single scratch.

ETA: Also, price-wise carpet and laminate hardwood run about the same, solid hardwood is almost double per sq ft.

nikki0808 · January 2014

My husband and I have hardwood throughout the entire house (except kitchen is tile). When we were looking we were looking for hardwood. Now that we have it, we HATE it. Sure it looks nice but as others have said unless you are sweeping and mopping several times a day there is always something found on the floor. I especially hate it with our 2 dogs. I will sweep, mop, put it away and there's always that gritty feeling under my feet. We have an area rug in the living room and I'm still not a fan. We are planning on carpeting the living room, hallway, and bedrooms before baby arrives.

wolson1988 · January 2014

I didn't read all the comments but here's my input.

We went from carpet to hardwood. I miss the carpet. DS falls a lot and has seizures and has had many fat lips and bumps from falls. Carpet would be a lot softer. Also, we have two dogs and even sweeping twice a day, there are clumps of dog hair everywhere.

That being said... I choose carpet over hardwood any day.

MrsCase1 · January 2014

If you carpet is nasty I would replace with hardwood to increase selling value. We do not have an inch of carpet in our entire house and it is fine. When Lincoln did tummy time he was on a blanket anyway, not bare carpet.

bmfell · January 2014

We just replaced the carpet in the bedrooms with hardwoods and I love it! We now have them throughout the house. I think it looks so much cleaner than our builder carpet (the cheap stuff) ever did. I grew up with carpet in my bedroom and I never thought I would like it without but it's great! Highly recommend it. Also, we received a robot vacuum for Christmas and it has made a tremendous difference with how much I have to clean the floors.

lucreciac · January 2014

We have hardwood throughout our whole house and I love it. We just used rugs and blankets for tummy time with my son. Cleanup is so much easier - I can't imagine the pain it would have been getting spit-up, poop, pee out if carpet. Or puke. And it all happens! My DH really wants carpet but not until the kids are older (like out of the house!)

FutureMrsW9 · January 2014

I will always say hardwood. Aesthetically it's just so much nicer - definitely more maintenance and cleaning, but just looks nicer. It's also colder, but that's only been a problem in our living room where we have high ceilings so it's tough to keep the room warm in the winter even when the heat it up. That said, if you're planning to sell your house in the next couple years you should consider how much your want to spend. They make some really nice laminate that looks exactly like hardwood now, it's super nice. We have real hardwood in our house for the most part, but we have one room with that pergo or whatever it's called and we're thinking of replacing it with the laminate wood. It's cheaper but still looks really nice. ETA: This also depends on the value of your house. Think about where you live and consider the buyers you'll have for the price range of your house and decide if it's worth it.

flojo973 · January 2014

Such a tough decision - you all make good points! I am so indecisive! Maybe I'll wait and see if we're getting money back on our tax return to make my decision

obscurereference · January 2014

My advice is to do what everyone else in your neighborhood does, particularly if you are selling in two years. Even better - get a realtor in and ask what they think.

Personally, I like a mix of carpet and hard surfaces. Obviously each has their own cleaning problems but you could replace carpeting completely a couple of times for the cost of hardwood.

TheMrs820 · January 2014

I am partial to hardwood in family areas. We are actually replacing all of our carpet on the main floor with hardwood, but are going to keep carpet in the bedrooms.

ncbelle · January 2014

I despise carpet...it's really so gross! So I vote hardwood

fsumom · January 2014

We had carpet in our old house when DD was a baby and I hated it. Yes, it was softer but carpet is so dirty. We bought a new house last June and have hardwood floors in all common areas including kitchen. At least with hardwood you can see the dirt to clean.

jldcjs · January 2014

I MUCH prefer hardwood. It is easier to clean and looks nicer. I think it is fine with a baby, you can just get an area rug!

owlcup · January 2014

I love how hardwood looks but as I type this DH is laying carpet in the living room. Its so much cozier looking already. We are planning on tearing up the carpet when we ssell though as it will add value to our house. Most houses here are carpeted throughout so wood is definitely a luxury.

lest12 · January 2014

When we moved in, the open floor-plan on the first floor was laminate in the kitchen, carpet in the dining & living room. I despised it so much. Laminate in general is so ok, but the color of this one was NMS and it looked terrible with the rug. Some stroke of luck happened about 6 months in and the hose to the ice maker broke, flooding the floors/basement. Total nightmare, but we had no choice but to rip everything up and replace it with hardwood. Having a dog, I would vote hardwood, no question. Carpets get filthy. Floors are at least easy to wash... I don't have time to scrub carpets every week. I also think hardwood looks nicer and adds value to the house. In this area at least. Even if it's not a ton of $ towards the home's appraisal, it's a nice selling point. That being said, we did just replace the carpet in the nursery. It was gross when we moved in. My brother knows someone who hooked it up and the whole thing only cost $200, so, good enough. I really want to rip out all the carpets upstairs and do hardwood, but we weren't in the mood to take it on this spring, with so much other stuff going on. So this is fine for now, but I wouldn't have spent too much more on it since it's not what I want.

Puka99 · January 2014

Honestly, if you are planning on moving, I would not spend the money. There are a lot of realtors by us who say not to spend the money. The market is still not good by us so it could be our area. You could ask a realtor in your area to give you some advice.

As for the softness issue, we have laminate and we just put rugs down.

temursgirl · January 2014

We have hardwood, as does my dad's house, both grandparents' houses, aunt's house, etc. so I'm really used to it. I prefer it and find it easier to keep clean and easier on allergies. It is colder, so you may want some area rugs (curtains can also help). As some PPs have mentioned, scratches and dust show whereas it takes much longer to notice dust on a carpet. Personally, I'd rather see it and know I'm cleaning it up even if it doesn't look perfect all the time than let it sink invisibly into the carpet! Because I'm used to it I never considered it as a problem for babies or kids. I plan on just putting down something first for them to play on, for comfort and cleanup ease.

We have bamboo flooring on our lower floor (we have an inverted floor plan, so bedrooms and study). The previous owner put it in because he thinks it is better than wood for warmth without the cleanliness issues of carpet. I don't know if it's true, but it is much warmer than our upper floor so it might be worth researching.

As far as the financial value in new flooring, that's really hard to say not knowing your area. In our area a kitchen remodel would be super expensive and you would probably just recap the cost, whereas cosmetic changes might up the appeal for much less. Or it may not be worth it to put any money into it if you know it's only for a couple or years. A real estate agent would be the ideal person to ask, but if you know anyone who recently sold in your area they might also be helpful.

Hairstylist16 · January 2014

We have wall to wall carpet and then (previous owners installed) white tile in kitchen and I can't stand it. It always looks dirty and is hard and cold so when we get or tax return were gonna do hardwood laminate in the kitchen and living room. That way the bedrooms still have carpet but I can get rid of the ugly tile. Plus when my 2 yr old was a baby I always put down a big blanket for him to play on.

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