May 25 2009
Flooring – it’s not just about carpet anymore
There was a time when wall-to-wall carpeting was the preferred luxury in homes.
Benton Realtor Denise Hyde said diversity is the best way to describe the flooring industry these days – people are looking for everything from carpet to hard surfaces such as stained concrete, hardwood floors and tile. In other words, carpet is still popular but it has competition.
“When it comes to comfort, they still want it. It hasn’t become obsolete,” Hyde said of carpet, adding that some people prefer hard surfaces. “I guess younger people tend to favor stained concrete, whereas hardwood floors and tile tend to appeal to everybody.”
She said hard surfaces are preferred by people worried about allergies and there seem to be a lot more of those people these days. Still, she said people focused on comfort and keeping down noise levels generally prefer carpet.
Hyde pointed out there was a time when it looked like carpeted bedrooms and hardwood floors throughout a home were going to be the norm. However, some other hard surfaces have gained in popularity over the past couple of years – stained concrete and tile.
What layout nets the most cash – hard flooring, carpeting or a combination of the two – on resale may be hard to determine as the value of flooring is subjective. Some good advice for people looking to remodel, then, might be to choose what they’re comfortable with and trust there will be buyers that will look favorably on those flooring choices when it’s time to sell the home.
Russ Halbert, owner of Premier Concrete Designs with offices in Benton and Fayetteville, is one of those people who have taken advantage of the increased popularity of stained concrete flooring over the past couple of years.
“I notice that a lot of people are getting on the allergy bandwagon now,” he said. “Also, a lot of people just want to know their alternative in remodeling – getting rid of what they have and getting something new.”
He said a lot can be done with stained concrete, ranging from single colors to complex, multilayered patterns that feature an array of colors and designs. Also, Halbert said it’s possible to have highly personalized designs such as school mascots, family crests and other custom details added to a stained concrete floor.
Of course, Halbert said too much customization may lead to something that will appeal to only a few people, thus cutting into the resale value of a home.
He pointed out that the use of stained concrete has evolved over the past few years to the point where intricate, polished surfaces are available for a reasonable price. To have a look at what Halbert’s company can do in the realm of stained concrete, visit his company’s portfolio by clicking right here .
Halbert said his company works throughout Arkansas and has been busy these past couple of years putting in stained concrete surfaces in both new and existing homes and businesses. His company has contracted to do both indoor and outdoor projects.
The housing industry, as a whole, has been moving toward more customization. It’s no surprise that a lot of companies have sprung up to meet individual tastes when it comes to flooring.
House to House is a weekly column I write on behalf of the Arkansas Realtors Association . It is picked up by about 20 newspapers and publications in Arkansas.
