For many years my wife and I believed that carpet was the idea floor covering and we did everything we could to use them. We bought remnant pieces when we could not afford finished area rugs. We drooled over our friend's oriental rug that you could absolutely not walk on with your shoes. After many years of this I helped my young daughter fix up her first apartment and saw firsthand how much better her room looked after she put down some very inexpensive laminate flooring. It was an amazing change and so easy to do. I decided to try it my home. We were just completing an addition that created a new kitchen and family room. We bought the left over laminate material that my daughter had and added some to it. I'll tell you how to install it in the next article but you would not believe how easy it really was. This floor is so easy to clean it is crazy. A quick dust mop across it and it is back to the original shine. I have become completely sold on hard floors after longing for carpet most of my life. We struggled to keep the carpet even half way clean. An entire industry has developed around helping you clean your carpets. I have bought 10 different vacuum cleaners hoping the next one will pull the dirt out with continuing disappointment. Spill something and you have a real disaster. I have actually spent time cutting out spots and trying desperately to tape a new square from one of the closets into the hole trying to make it look natural. I have my own carpet cleaner, complete with whirling brushes, two water tanks, hoses, attachments, measuring cups, etc. Wow – how did I get in this deep? My new laminate floor is so great. I can actually live on it and when it gets dirty, I get out the dust mop I bought at one of the home improvement stores and run it around quickly and it looks new again. Our house has that clean smell again. Writing this makes me remember something I heard during my stay in Okinawa. We could afford help around the house there and the lady who helped us fight the carpets to keep them clean was really puzzled why American's wanted those dusty, dirty rugs all over their floors. She just could not understand it and kept telling me so. Once again, I have learned that she was years ahead of my learning. Today we have only the master closet carpeted (ok, the warm floor does feel good in the morning). Oh, we do have a small sleeping loft that still has carpet. April will see this and get after me to replace it with hardwood, tile or laminate again. Anyway, I am a fan of hard surface floors; don't believe I will ever go back. If you have not considered this floor covering, I highly recommend you give it some thought. I was slow to recognize the value of really clean floors and the difference it makes in the feel of a room. In the next day or two I will write some about how easy it is to install. If you are interested, check back.
