Carpet vs LVT vs Wood: Which Flooring Should You Choose?
Buying Guides · October 2026
The three most popular flooring types, compared on comfort, durability, maintenance and cost, so you can make the right call before you buy.
There is no single best floor, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling one thing. The right answer changes room by room, and most of the houses we fit end up with a mix. Here is how we would talk it through with you across the counter.
Carpet — warmth, quiet, and stairs
Carpet is the warmest thing underfoot and much the quietest, which is why bedrooms and living rooms stay carpeted in most homes long after the hallway has changed. It is also the most forgiving on stairs and landings — a job we do a great deal of, and one where the fitting matters more than the product.
We work with ranges from Cormar, Brintons and Furlong, and you can see and feel them in the showroom before you commit to anything.
LVT — kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, pets
LVT is vinyl made to look like wood or stone, in planks or tiles. It handles water, it takes a scratch better than real wood, and it suits exactly the rooms carpet does not: kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms and hallways. It is also the floor we would point most people with dogs towards.
We are a formally recognised Moduleo retailer and we fit a lot of Karndean. Amtico can be ordered in if that is what you have set your heart on, though we don't hold it in the showroom. Herringbone is the pattern we are asked for most, and we fit it regularly.
Wood — the long game
Real wood is the one floor that can be sanded back and refinished rather than replaced, which is what makes it worth the money over a long enough stretch. It belongs in living and dining rooms. It does not belong in a bathroom, and we would talk you out of it in a kitchen that sees real use.
What's the difference between LVT and laminate?
They look similar in a showroom and behave very differently in a house. LVT is vinyl all the way through, so water sits on it without doing harm. Laminate is a photographic layer over a fibreboard core — get water into a joint and the core swells, and a swollen board cannot be repaired, only replaced. LVT is also quieter and warmer underfoot. Laminate is usually the cheaper of the two, and in a dry room it does a perfectly good job.
Which is best with children or pets?
LVT, for anywhere claws and spills happen, and carpet in the bedrooms where nobody minds. It is the most common split we fit.
Which is warmest?
Carpet, with a decent underlay doing as much work as the carpet itself. LVT and wood both feel cooler to bare feet, though both sit happily over underfloor heating if you have it.
What does it cost?
It depends on the room, the product and what the floor underneath needs, which is why we measure before quoting. As a rough anchor, a standard bedroom averages around £400.
Worth being straight about what that does and doesn't cover: underlay, gripper and door bars, taking up and disposing of the old floor, moving furniture, and any latex or levelling the subfloor needs are each priced separately at the quote, rather than assumed. You see them as lines, not surprises.
If you have a written quote from somewhere else for the same product and specification, bring it in and we will match it.
How long does it take?
Usually one to two weeks from order to fitting. We measure free of charge within about ten miles of the showroom.
So what would we suggest?
For most houses: carpet in the bedrooms and up the stairs, LVT through the kitchen, hall and bathroom, and wood in the living room if the budget reaches. That is not a rule, it is just what works most often — and the only way to settle it properly is to stand on the samples.
Call in at Jubilee End, Lawford, Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, or ring 01206 395163.