Mamas,
I would like your opinion on which flooring do you have or have seen that you like? Bamboo or hardwood? Currently we have stained concrete floors, which we love, but are currently going to be adding on and this won't look good once the add on is finished due to the end of one slab and the start of the other. Also we have had some trouble with the floors staying shiny, they develop this white film on them. I would love to keep our stained concrete floors, but I am just wanting opinions.
Also can or do you put hardwood floors in bathrooms or would you use tile?
Thanks for the advance.
I'm a big fan of hardwood floors (I've never had bamboo and don't know anyone who has). Hardwood in the bathroom is a bad idea, stick with tile. My personal opinion is not to put hardwood in the kitchen where water will slash from the sink and spills are likely. However, the latest trend seems to be putting hardwood in kitchens,.
We spent a ton of money putting bamboo into our office and it is beautiful and was easy to install ourselves and WE HATE IT. It shows every little mark from our chairs and scratches easily. We even had them come out and evaluate it because it was showing wear and tear before we even got the job done. This stuff was not cheap and turns out there is nothing we can do about it. So it was like throwing a thousand bucks away. We wish we'd paid more and gone with hard wood.
As for putting wood in the kitchen/bathroom, I would advise against it. My brother had gorgeous wood flooring in his kitchen and while he was on vacation his pipe under the sink broke and flooded the kitchen. The floor bucked with every board. It was like riding the ocean waves in there. Nothing was repairable and it had to be completely torn out and redone.
VickiS
We redid the top floor of our house and put in bamboo in the bedrooms. I like the look of it and the ease of cleaning, but it does scratch and dent. Esp. around the beds where my kids drop toys off the bed etc. The darker bamboo floor in my master bedroom seems to show the dents more than the "natural" bamboo stain in the kids rooms..... All floors dent, so there is no getting around that... and there's a lot to like about bamboo.... Good luck!
You may also want to consider tile instead of wood. They make tile now that looks like wood. Send me a note and I can send you some pictures of it installed, if you would like to see.
I love hardwood and have always had hardwood in my homes, but I have kids now and they are hard on it. We are building right now and I am going with tile throughout.
Good luck!
L.
We installed bamboo flooring when we bought our home two years ago instead of re-carpeting. We LOVE the look and ease of cleaning, but have found that it nicks and scratches way easier than we expected with our large dog. If we had to do it all over again, we would choose a harder wood. If you don't have big dogs running around, you may be fine with the bamboo. Again, our wood flooring is just as easy to clean as our carpeting and tile. With bamboo, you just need to carefully monitor the amount of water that you use. Good luck chosing!
we installed bamboo throughout our first floor (living room, dining room, family room, kitchen & powder bathroom) & absolutely love it.....bamboo is a soft wood (actually a grass) so it does scratch & dent easier but my friend has mahogany & she has a few nicks too. We just made sure to put felt pads on all our chairs. We have had it 5 yrs now & it still looks beautiful. We dont have animals but we have 4 kids. I totally disagree with the poster that said not to put bamboo in the kitchen or bathroom. Bamboo is completely safe with water or moisture its the only one that is safe. In fact designer Candice Olson remodeled a bathroom & put it on the wall & ceiling of a bathroom & it was stunning . I wash my floors with vinegar & water. i would put bamboo in the bathroom instead of tile, no maintenance, no grout, its warmer, its very pretty.
We put tile in our bathrooms and bamboo in the rest of the house. I LOVE our bamboo floors! We got a lighter color because so many people told me that the darker ones show more dirt. With young kids this was a no brainer. I really like the color and now that it's in the house I feel like the lighter color makes the house feel brighter. It's softer than the hardest hardwood flooring, but so much cheaper. And the only place ours shows any wear (after 2 years) is under the kitchen table. We should have put pads under on the bottom of our chair legs immediately and didn't. I think that would have solved the problem. Good luck with the choice!
Installers don't recommend wood (bamboo or hardwood) floors in bathrooms or kitchens. Any place that may at some point have an accumulation of water is not a good place for wood. We opted for high end laminate (Wilsonart) throughout our house because you can have it sealed and installed in bathrooms and kitchens.
I love our floors!! They look like wood, don't scratch, are easy to clean and I have them throughout the house. That being said, it is not 'current' in home decorating to put in laminates no matter how real they look apparently. So if you are going to sell your home any time in the near future, laminates are probably a no-go for most home buyers. We aren't about to sell any time soon... and for me, the easy of maintenance with the beautiful look is worth it!
Good luck with your choice!
We have hardwood in in the entry,kitchen, dining room, and living room. We put bamboo in the living room, and I agree with the other poster it scratches much easier. If I could do it again I would have just continued the hardwood. We had planned to do the bamboo in the office, but have decided on the hardwood instead. I would not do hardwood in the bathroom.
