Carpet or laminate in lounge

kathrynha

When we moved in to our house 12 years ago there was laminate down, and as it was what I wanted I was happy. The first winter put me off it though as it was very cold but we couldn't afford to change it so just had a large rug.

When daughter came along it was good as it was easily cleanable as it is a through lounge/dining room, so weaning mess was easy to clean up. Also easier to clean in potty training stage.
Was a problem at the learning to walk stage, due to slippiness, so she had to wear shoes inside to get grip.

Replaced it 2 years ago with carpet as laminate was looking old and worn, and daughter was older and less messy. It is so much warmer and nicer, but it wouldn't have been right for us with a pre-schooler

andrewf75

like others I'd say carpet or engineered wood

You can get nice laminate, but it costs as much as the cheaper engineered wood!

I'd avoid cheap laminate

Waterlily24

carpet for me.

EssexExile

Carpet, this strange fad for cold hard floors will pass, eventually, I hope.

DSmiffy

I've had laminate (inherited when I moved in), I found it noisy and made the room echo, sure I could get a rug, but they go in the middle of the room and don't really make much difference.

I ripped mine up and replaced with carpet. No noise, just feels cosier to me. But hey, that's just my personal preference.
Do you have any friends or family with laminate floors? go to their house and see what the difference feels like.

dave82_2

I would say live with the rubbish carpate and save to get something long lasting and quality. Unless you plan to only be in the propery short term then go for the cheapest option that will look good till you sell!

pollypenny

Carpet, for warmth and not breaking up room.

I'm in the same situation with hall at the moment. Our carpet, a Brinton is 27 years old and I'm fed up with it. I don't think we could afford the same quality again. Tempted by heavy laminate, but worry about cold.

burnsguitarman

Carpet. Especially if you are in a semi detached or terraced house. Laminate is too cold and too noisy! Perhaps ok in hallway and kitchen but definitely not bedrooms. We can hear our neighbours children running about upstairs.

movilogo

I am now inclined towards carpet

In my budget, I can get either

1. Good quality carpet or
2. Cheap laminate

The cheap laminate doesn't look good. Wish I could afford solid wood.

Laminate will incur more heating cost and the "thak-thak" sound while walking over it had put me off to some extent.

If properly decorated, even a moderate quality carpet can make a room cozy and sometimes gorgeous. I think this might be difficult with laminate unless it is expensive high end laminate. I understand this is probably a subjective opinion but that's how I felt.

I have spoken with many people (including who moved from carpet to laminate and vice versa) and realized there is no right or wrong answer for this. Just down to individual taste/budget.

But thanks for all your comments :cool:

[Deleted User]

Vinyl. We had a brand new carpet when we moved in which was nice but with babies and a dog it didn't take long before it got manky. We couldn't afford laminate or wood so we went with vinyl which is wood flooring pattern and quite soft to the touch, it looks very real. Cost us under £400 fitted from B and Q for a room size of 20 feet by 16 feet.
This was 7 years ago and is still as good as new as it's so easy to clean.
Wait for the easter holidays for sale prices as flooring is usually heavily discounted then.

The vinyl we got has a 10 year warranty so the manufacturer must have faith in it.