When you have children, it very quickly dawns on you that your beautiful home may not stay that way for long and that your interior design decisions may have to be more functional than fashionable from now on. Floors in particular can come in for some punishing treatment, from toddlers throwing food to armies of children with muddy feet, and a whole lot more besides. In this article we take a look at how well various types of flooring stand up to this onslaught.
Carpet
A carpeted floor provides a soft, warm, non-slip surface that is lovely to play on and gives good sound insulation, but it will have to be very hardwearing and preferably dark in colour to stand up to paint spills, juice stains, muddy feet and so on. Expect to have to deep clean once every year or two.
Solid wood flooring
Easy to clean, …