A lot of us have children and pets – they bring joy to our lives in many ways. However, they both have a tendency for unpredictable, often times rambunctious behavior. For those with hardwood floors, this could be slightly problematic. Fortunately, there are plenty of hardwood floor options that are tough enough to support families who have children and pets.
Best Types/Features of Hardwood Floors for Children & Pets
Pre-finished
Pre-finished engineered wood floors are the absolute best for managing households with children and pets. Pre-finished engineered hardwood usually comes with aluminum oxide layers that give the wood a harder, more durable finish as opposed to site finished. The strong coating works very well for children and pets.
Handscraped
Handscraped floors are widely popular nowadays for a variety of reasons, but they also happen to be a great choice for the accidental damage that results from children and pets. The reason being because the imperfect beauty of handscraped floors leave a distressed look that makes it appear as if the floor has been used for a while. This helps hide scratches and dents very well. Even from large dogs that dig their nails into the floors.
If you’re not a fan of handscraped flooring, then an alternative surface texture to consider would be chiseled edge hardwood floors due to having similar features.
Light Colors
Light colors aid in hiding scratches that result from your pet’s paws or dents caused by children who drop toys on the flooring, etc. We offer a lot of different light hardwood flooring options.
Matte Finishes
Matte finishes, as opposed to glossy finishes, do not feature much shine to them. The shine of a floor has a tendency to reveal any abnormalities if present. But because matte floors do not feature that glossy shine to them, they work well for masking scratches and dents.
Janka Hardness
Floors that have a higher rating on the Janka Hardness Test will be better suited for homeowners with pets & children. The Janka Rating measures how drastic a dent is on specific types of floor, which translates into a numerical rating. Brazilian options are generally the strongest, but they not light-colored. Maple is both reasonably strong and can be offered in many lighter colors.
