Looking for new flooring? Have a furry friend with claws, paws, or occasional accidents? We would guess yes, considering you’re looking up what kind of flooring is best for pets…
While we love our furry friends, you may be concerned about the shedding, tracking dirt from their outdoor excursions, scratching the floor’s surface with their slightly overgrown nails, or worse - we won’t get into that.
What you need is a flooring option that fits your style and your comfort preferences while rising to the challenge of your pet-friendly needs.
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So Which Flooring Should I Choose for my Pets?
So let’s get down to business. What kind of flooring is best for you and your pet?
We wouldn’t say that there’s any one kind of flooring that is always perfect. Everyone has different preferences and different pets! You might have a hyperactive husky that thinks it’s a lapdog, or you maybe you have a cat that prefers hiding in cardboard boxes that fit just right.
We’ll walk through the different options, and leave it up to you to decide which one best fits your needs. Our personal recommendation though: visit a showroom and talk to an expert!
Carpet: Classically Comfortable - Surprisingly Innovative
There’s not anything quite like carpet. It’s warmth and softness make it a favorite among comfort lovers.
To your pets it will be a warm, cushiony heaven where they can (and will) lay all day long. But carpet can trap large amounts of their fur as well as the dust, dirt, fleas and ticks that they track into the house.
As far as stains go, you’d probably assume that carpet is the biggest risk. In past years, you’d probably be right, but in recent years, there have been incredible advancements in life-resistant carpeting.
Brands like Tigressa and Mohawk now provide carpet options that are so soft, it’s surreal, yet they are “pet proof”! They feature incredible durability and stain resistance, you may need to see it to believe it.
So, if you’re set on carpet, make sure you look into “pet-proof” options!
Hardwood: Beautiful But Risky
As beautiful as the result might be, hardwood floors and pets do not mix well. When you’re spending top dollar on your wood floors, you want them to last.
The last thing you want to do is spend time and energy worrying about scratches, dents and partially-trained puppies. If you’re set on hardwood floors however, take these tips into account.
- Avoid the soft woods like pine, fir, cedar, cherry and walnut. They tend to cost more despite the fact that they dent easily even without dogs or kids.
- Consider distressed hardwoods. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea and understandably so, but the scratches and dents your pet leaves will blend in a lot easier on floor that is meant to have a distressed look.
- Don’t go with a glossy finish. Instead go with a matte or satin finish as light will reflect off the scratches less on these surfaces.
- Pick your color carefully. It’s a great idea to go with a wood color that matches your dog so its shedding will blend into the floor. If that’s not appealing to you, consider that lighter colors show less scratches than darker woods.
Laminate: Strong, Stylish, and Possibly Slippery
Laminate flooring is hard, durable, easy to clean and stain resistant, making it a great option for pet owners. It also comes in amazing visual options, another plus especially if you’re serious about style.
Resource: What’s the difference between hardwood and laminate?
Its one potential drawback for your furry friends is that it can be slippery for furry paws but choosing a laminate with a slightly textured surface can help to alleviate that problem by adding a bit of traction for your pet.
Tile: Easy to Clean with Great Style Options
Tile is long-lasting, durable and timeless and because of the combination of the grout between the tiles and the texture of the surface, it provides a measure of traction for your pets.
It’s easily cleaned and maintained plus it’s an easy surface to sweep, vacuum or wipe up accidents. Its biggest drawback is that it is a cold and hard surface, therefore not ideal for pets to lay for extended periods of time, but that could be easily solved with a dog bed. And you can some extra warm socks if that’s your style.
Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT): Easy on the Eyes and the Pets
Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is affordable, waterproof, scratch and stain resistant, and you can find some incredibly realistic-looking wood and stone options, making it a great choice for pet owners.
We commonly recommend this flooring option for people who want the incredible style of hardwood or stone but also have lots of foot traffic, sliding furniture, and of course, a furry friend or two.
Browse Luxury Vinyl Tile Styles
