When you have your own space, whether it is your home or a workplace, you may tend to obsess the smallest details. What kinds of furniture should you get? What colour should the drapes be? Small details like these affect both the aesthetics and functionality of your home or workplace. What about the big details, though? One of the biggest details in any space is the flooring. Just like with furniture or drapes, there are several flooring options. One that has been gaining ground (get it?) is laminate flooring.
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Feelings
Imagine entering a room with a plain, unpainted concrete floor. You can see all the streaks and strokes that spread of wet concrete. It can even be rough to walk on since the concrete can create traction between it and your shoes. How would that sight make you feel? How about a floor that is made completely from stainless steel? The first situation may feel unfinished, like more could have been done (though some spaces can pull off the unpainted concrete aesthetic). The second situation may feel cold and emotionless. The point is just as how furniture and drapes affect people’s feelings, so does the flooring. These emotional stimuli are important if your space is a workplace.
People may spend a fortune on wood flooring like oak or maple. However, laminate flooring can give you whatever aesthetics you want without you having to break the bank. Moreover, laminate flooring is better for the environment. Laminate flooring can mimic the look and feel of real wood, and it usually has recycled wood in its layers. No one has to cut down several precious trees so that you can have something pretty to walk on.
Function and Safety
You may be thinking, “It’s just a flat surface people walk and stand on. It can’t be that big of a deal”. Besides aesthetics, it becomes bigger of a deal if the space receives a lot of foot traffic. Because of the traction between a rough concrete floor and shoes, you can easily trip. Oppositely, a smooth stainless steel floor may be too slippery.
Since laminate flooring is synthetic, makers can match your specific specifications regarding smoothness, texture, etc. It does not have the inherent inconsistencies or flaws of, say, real wood. Plus, it is also durable. High-quality laminate flooring can last for years, even with frequent foot traffic.
Health
The flooring can affect indoor air quality. Dust and other allergens can accumulate on the floors. An unpainted concrete floor can have microscopic crevices that can gather these particulate matters. Thus, you need flooring that is easy to clean and maintain, and laminate flooring offers just that. You only need to do some easy sweeping to get rid of pesky particulate matter. If there are any stains or spills, wiping with a moist mop with detergent will do the trick.
Installation
When choosing a flooring material, you should also consider how much and how hard it is to install. Some materials like stone are not only pricey; it can be challenging because you would not want to damage those precious stones during the process. Meanwhile, any DIY homeowner can install laminate flooring. The simplest ones only need an adhesive. Some even have joining mechanisms that lock each plank onto each other.
Whether you are building a home or a workplace, the floor is something you cannot ignore. With the right material, such as laminate flooring, you can have both aesthetics and function on your floors.