Flooring for Families

When you’ve got young children and a family dog or cat, your floors cop a lot. From crumbs and drink spills, grubby feet and the odd crayon mark, your flooring needs to be forgiving and easy to clean. And with plenty of time spent sitting and playing on the floor, it also needs to be super comfortable. To find out which type of flooring suits you and your family Kylie Jackes has rounded up a guide to the best options.

In the Bedroom

In the bedroom, it’s hard to go past the softness and warmth of carpet. If you’re children are susceptible to allergies and asthma natural wool varieties which are hypoallergenic are a great option. As a long- term investment choose a colour and style you’ll love for years to come, yet keep in mind a short-pile or textured carpet in a darker shade will be easier to maintain. Great options include Highland Mountain Range and Liberton Steely Wool Plush.

Kitchen and Living

These days with open plan living, which ever flooring you choose for the kitchen will inevitably flow through to the living area. My favourite for these areas is timber as it complements any style and withstands the rigours of a busy household. For a particularly forgiving surface look for a beautiful timber variety with lots of natural wood grain colour variation and patterning like Plantino Engineered Oak Royale in Naturale or Cremona. It’s a flooring which will set a solid foundation for any interior updates in the future and will be enjoyed long after the kids have left home.

Playrooms

Home to a plethora of Lego, trikes, and perhaps an easel and paint, in playrooms opt for flooring which is easy to sweep up tiny toys and quickly wipe clean. A great option is luxury vinyl which is soft underfoot, affordable and if you’re renovating, can be easily installed over most existing hard floors. There’s no reason to skimp on style either with Choices Flooring luxury vinyl range replicating the beauty of genuine timber. For a warm look consider options like Karndean Looselay Longboard Embered Blackbutt or Genero Multi-lay Sanded Oak which will form a stunning foundation for colourful kids’ paraphernalia. Alternatively, for an on-trend Scandi inspired playroom, which could be converted into a sophisticated teen retreat, opt for a cooler toned look like Karndean Looselay Longboard Bleached Tasmanian Oak or Weathered Heart Pine which will pair beautifully with crisp white walls and durable black and grey furnishings.

To create separate play zones within the space, or define a reading nook, you may also want to add a rug. If you’re keen to disguise toys, opt for multi-coloured rug like the Bayliss Sweet Orange fun or go bold with a geometric design like Bayliss Hive Peacock which introduces an element of fun.

By Kylie Jackes

Kylie Jackes loves stepping inside a great house and meeting the people who have transformed it into a well loved - home. With a background in journalism, Kylie’s passion for interiors, architecture and landscape inspired her to specialise in the field of design, as a writer and stylish for Australian home and lifestyle magazines. When she is not styling other people’s home, styling or writing about what makes interiors tick, she’s immersed in her own beach house with a work in progress. View Kylie’s latest projects on her blog.