The Best Flooring for a Home Office

When you’re building or redecorating a home office, it’s important to focus on creating an atmosphere that encourages productivity and focus. You may also have to consider the needs of the space and how the office will be used – will the office be doubling as a guest room or a place for the kids to study? Or will it be a fully dedicated office space? Either way, you’ll need quality office flooring that holds up under the abuse of office equipment and rolling chairs.
Luckily, The Carpet Center has pulled together a list of office flooring options that are both functional and stylish so you can get your floors installed and get back to work!

Things To Consider When Choosing Office Flooring

To find the best flooring for a home office, you have to consider a few key factors, including:

How frequently the room will be used
Wear from furniture and office chairs
The level of noise/acoustics
Whether you’ll be standing or sitting most of the time
Style and atmosphere

Once you have a pretty good idea about your requirements, contact The Carpet Center and one of our flooring specialists will walk you through all of your office flooring options. We’ll help you find the flooring that suits your needs, home, and budget.

The Benefits of Installing Carpet Flooring In Your Home Office

Carpet is a popular choice for home offices for multiple reasons. Carpet absorbs heat which can help keep you warm and comfortable if you live somewhere with cold winters. This is especially important for those of us who refuse to wear shoes while we’re working from home!
Carpet also provides the most cushion of the flooring types. This means less stress on your joints and less likelihood of something breaking if you knock it off your desk or drop it. Carpet also provides the best soundproofing if you’re worried about disturbing your kids or partner with your video calls or pacing. This works both ways and carpet also provides excellent acoustics for your video calls because, unlike tile and hardwood, carpeting doesn’t bounce sound and cause echoes.
Carpet is also the most affordable option for office flooring, making it attractive to those of us on a budget. It’s also relatively easy to install if you’re doing your office remodel yourself.

The Cons of Carpet in Your Home Office

However, carpeting does tend to trap dirt and pollen and requires frequent vacuuming to keep it from becoming a hazard for people with allergies and/or breathing issues. It’s also much more difficult for rolling chairs and file cabinets to operate correctly on carpeting. You’ll likely have to invest in an antistatic mat made of plastic or vinyl.

The Benefits of Installing Hardwood Flooring in Your Home Office

If the rest of your home is done in hardwoods, or you like the timelessly stylish and warm look of wood flooring, you can’t go wrong with installing it in your home office. It’s easy to maintain, looks fantastic, and impresses guests and business partners alike.
Hardwood is also a seamless hard surface, which means rolling chairs and furniture won’t snag or become difficult to move. They also last for decades when they’re cared for properly and add to your home’s value, which means you’ll get a return on your investment.

The Cons of Hardwood Flooring in a Home Office

The biggest downside to using hardwood in your home office is the price tag attached. Most true hardwoods can be pretty pricey to install. And since they are made of varnished wood, they’re vulnerable to scratches and wear in heavily-trafficked areas.
If you’re worried about scratching the hardwoods you will definitely want to invest in mats to go under your office chair and put pads or rubber grips on the bottom of your office furniture.
It’s also very difficult to install on your own – we always recommend that you have a professional contractor lay your hardwood floors to avoid having to rip them out and start over, making it an even more expensive project.

The Benefits of Installing Vinyl Flooring in Your Home Office

If you love the look of hardwood floors but hate the maintenance, vinyl flooring comes in planks that look almost exactly like hardwood floors. Even if you’re not looking for hardwood look-alikes, vinyl can work for you. It comes in thousands of patterns and color variations.
Vinyl is much more resistant to scratching and discoloration than hardwood and most varieties are waterproof. This is an added bonus is you are remodeling your garage to become the home office or if your home office is at ground level – should there be any water seepage or leaks, you likely won’t lose all of your new flooring.
Vinyl flooring is also very easy to install – it comes in linkable planks that you basically snap into place. You can likely accomplish this yourself, or with minimal help.

Cons of Vinyl Flooring

You have to use special cleaners on vinyl flooring to ensure that you don’t melt or discolor it when you want to mop. It also can’t be repaired once it’s damaged, unlike hardwoods which can be refinished. They don’t last as long as hardwood or carpet generally, but you can still get a good decade out of them when they’re cared for properly. And because vinyl is made of hardened plastic, it will likely be less comfortable under bare feet than the cushion of carpet or the natural spring of hardwood.
Still need help choosing the best flooring for a home office in Arkansas? Contact The Carpet Center! We’re happy to schedule an appointment with one of our flooring specialists and help you find the perfect flooring for your home office.