Studio Flooring Survey
I’ll be having a new studio soon and was looking at my current flooring, pictured above (magnified). I’ve been dissatisfied with this particular floor covering, but unable to change it for a few reasons. I have promised myself that it won’t be the same in the new space!
What is your studio flooring? Carpet? Hardwood? Concrete? Plywood? Laminate? Bamboo? Some other thing entirely? Please leave a comment and help with this informal survey. Thanks!
Feb 21, 2010 @ 03:11:22
Laminate!
Feb 21, 2010 @ 09:44:45
My floor is carpet. I wish it was something easier to clean, but I made my studio out of a bedroom. Good luck finding the right floor for you.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 11:02:04
Cynthia, I have carpet now and would love to change it! I’ve been thinking about laminate. Since I paint and dye fabrics, what is spilled will be an easier cleanup than carpet. I’ve also thought about the cushioned tiles that snap together (but I think that gets pricy).
Glad your doing this survey, anxious to see what other’s think!
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:26:49
I had laminate installed in my studio four years ago. It looks good and it’s wonderfully care free – a quick cleanup with a dry ‘swiffer’ most of the time and with a wet one occasionally. The studio is mainly used for dry projects (with lots of lint) but also sees some wet use for dying/painting and the laminate holds up well to that as well (have had no major mishaps with spills during this time, just minor spatters and such)
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:27:51
When we built our house 5 years ago we put in very expensive travertine on the floor EXCEPT in my studio. I went for cheap, easy to clean, vinyl sheet flooring. You can just wipe it up or sweep it. It is a breeze to clean up. For resale, you can always easily pull it up and replace with carpeting. It has gotten a lot of wear and tear in 5 years… I am in here every day and it looks as good as new.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:27:55
I have continuous loop nylon carpet, a good carpet for those of us with allergies and asthma. It does shampoo well, but I will be replacing it with engineered wood flooring as soon as I save up the money.
I do not do any wet work in that room. If I were going to, I’d probably look for an industrial vinyl, something in a speckled design, perhaps.
Some people are moving to concrete floors, but it kills my legs to stand on concrete, so that wouldn’t be my first choice.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:42:12
In the sewing part of my studio I have laminate. I love that I can easily sweep up thread and fabric snips (and cat fur) and they don’t stick as they do in carpet. Wish it was heated floor though. In the dyeing room (which many of my friends think is a dying room) where I dye, paint etc. I had unfinished concrete flooring with rag rugs and a floor drain at one end. I now have 3 ft x 10 ft strips of old carpeting that is in front of the tables where I stand. These were cut when I was replacing my carpet in my whole house for laminate and had them cut some strips. The first piece is now dripped and spilled on a number of times and is soon going to be thrown away to be replaced by a new piece of old carpet.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:46:59
Vinyl composition floor tiles
Easy to pick up pins with a magnet, easy to pick up stuff with a Swiffer type thing, easy to see dust bunnies (the sign it’s time to vacuum), easier to remove dye spots.
You don’t have to clean grout (as with tile). And best of all, it comes is cool colors now.
Easy to DIY.
http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/products/vct/standard-excelon-imperial-texture/_/N-75hZ1z141ye
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:55:09
CORK!
Feb 21, 2010 @ 12:57:55
I have wood, as through out the rest of my home. it’s great. But I had laminate in the last house, which was also great. We will be building a new home next year, along with my own detached dream studio. I am thinking I’ll do concrete with rugs or pads where I stand. I am tired of worrying about wiping up and I figure it will save on cost to just not put in a floor on top of the slab (I’m in TX, so it’s usually warm enough to not worry about a freezing cold floor in the winter).
Feb 21, 2010 @ 13:00:30
I have commercial grade linoleum floor tiles from Lowes. They were .50 a square foot. They come in many colors and have a retro feel to them. I love them . They were easy to install and sweep and mop up easily. I tape quilts to the floor to assemble them and the tile works great for the that. I also use temporary spary adhesives quite a lot and they clean up easily from the tile.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 13:22:15
Congratulations on your new studio! Bare concrete here. I suppose I could paint it, but (a) it needs to support heavy machinery and (b) with all the “stuff” I have flying around not much else would hold up
Feb 21, 2010 @ 13:33:34
had old (stained) carpet when we moved into house. Studio is in the basement. Just redid studio and had vinyl flooring installed…goes in like strips of wood, looks like wood, and is “floating”. It’s installed over concrete, and the more hours I spend standing on it, the harder it is on my body. I’m just about to order a gel-mat to put in front of my ironing-composition table, where I do most of my standing.
Hope this helps.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 14:03:07
Hi Cynthia,
I have a 70′s era ‘vomitous’ – as in patterned carpet in most of my studio area! As much as I despise it I can’t see spots and spills and threads! I have ceramic tiles around the slow combustion heater and the kitchen area is sheet vinyl. When I redecorate – hopefully soon; I will replace the carpet with sheet vinyl for ease of care. (If there were nice floorboards under the carpet I would polish them but being a 70′s era extension to the main house, the underfloor is chipboard and would need at least painting to make it liveable. I may need to use a rug near the computer for warmth underfoot in winter.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 14:03:06
My plan is to rip out the 30-year old builder’s grade carpet that has seen too many years of dogs and other assorted wear and replace it with bamboo. When the DH had to re-do the closet after a leaky roof that went undiscovered for several months, he put down bamboo on the floor. It is lovely, and not artificial looking and sounding as laminate can be. When we eventually move out and sell this house, the studio will have to revert to a bedroom and I think the bamboo will be a nicer selling point than any other floor covering.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 14:03:44
I have two separate rooms; one with carpeting (not desirable) the other is the laundry with concrete. The first room should be laminate or linoleum; but the wet room is just fine. I bought some really inexpensive composite interlocking (black) floor pads at Home Depot or Loews. They are nice in that you can fit the 6-8 pieces together in any pattern you need. Easy to wash, nice to stand on.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 14:09:25
I will definitely get a commercial grade linoleum next time. You need something you can wash and is safe enough if you drop something that would damage carpet, etc. This would also make finding pins, etc. easier and much easier than trying to vacuum up strings from a carpet. You would need to have protective caps or wheels on your furniture. Having a gel mat in front of your cutting or ironing board would work really well.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 14:45:38
I moved a little over a year ago and went from old carpet over concrete, which was awful with or without the carpet, to a house that has linoleum tile. I really like it for cleanup and it comes in lots more varieties now than what was put in this house years ago. However, what is here was done many years ago and is still in great shape. I have a carpeted area that I would like to replace with laminate, but I don’t sew there so it’s not a pressing issue!
Feb 21, 2010 @ 15:31:16
right now I have hardwood flooring which is easy to clean threads and fabric up off of but not great for painting and dyeing projects. My new studio will have tile. A matte finish tile so it won’t be slippery when wet, will be easy to vacuum and easy to clean paint spills off of.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 15:38:55
Mine is large slate tiles and it’s the best. I don’t sweat any drops, even open face down permanent ink pads, which happens weekly – everything comes right off, and it’s beautiful. My whole house is this stone.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 16:44:52
I have had cork on my studio floor for 4 years. I love it. It is comfortable for long periods of standing and sweeps up easily. It cannot take big puddles of water, so I would not put it in a wet studio, although it is fine in our bathroom. It does dent if you drop something heavy on it, but I just think that adds to the character! And, of course, it’s a renewable resource, so very green.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 16:47:58
I am rehabing a newly purchased condo and I am putting in manufactured hardwood. I wish I had thought to use cork instead, but the wood flooring is coming tomorrow and it is too late to change now. I hear cork is easier on the feet and really easy to clean. When I replace the tile in the kitchen, cork is what I am going to have installed. Have had both carpet and hardwood in previous studio, and the wood wins out hands down.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 17:28:48
I have laminate in my studio. It’s fine for the steam from the iron & spraying stuff, but wouldn’t be what I would consider good for wet work.
It is really easy to clean, find pins, but is a little hard on the legs. Had I to do over again… heated floors, maybe cork.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 17:55:54
concrete – stained or just waxed. I have concrete all over the house and it is fabulous! I don’t have to worry when the pets throw up on it. I don’t have to worry about it cracking if I drop something heavy on it (like tile). I don’t have to worry about water sitting on it (like wood). I don’t have to worry about gouging it when I move my equipment (like lineoleum). It cleans very easily – vacuuming, sweeping or mopping. There are many finishes you can get and many colors of concrete. It is the most durable, no fuss flooring to live with. and – it can be beautiful.
Feb 21, 2010 @ 22:53:20
Currently building a new house with the studio (2nd floor) having cork in main area with tile in dye/utility room. But probably the best feature is my Hida-a-Hose central vac system…am so excited!
Feb 22, 2010 @ 10:01:43
Never Carpet….hard to pick up pins and seed beads.
I have a 40 x 20 foot space and a tight budget. I put in a collection of commercial tile leftovers (ask your floring guy what he has in the back room, he will be glad to get rid of them) installed randomly. I lucked out and got a very contemporary installer (spiked hair with blond tips!) and just told him to have fun. Result, a beautiful floor that you cannot see because my studio and stash is installed on top of it. lol It is easy to sweep clean, just remember to pick the goodies out of the dustpan before disposal.
Feb 22, 2010 @ 10:02:41
I had laminate in my last kitchen. When the refrigerator leaked, the laminate lifted, and we had to replace about $500 worth. Same thing happened when the dishwasher leaked. So, if there’s a chance that water would be spilled, or accidentally leak, it’s not a good choice. To me, after maintenance, comfort comes to the top of the list. My studio is a converted small barn, and I wanted to be sure I could work for hours without my back killing me. Our budget was also quite stretched at that point. My contractor put down a “floating floor” which I’m not sure I can explain, but a carpenter could. It keeps the floor slightly flexible so it gives for your feet, legs and back. The floor is plywood, which I had painted periwinkle, my favorite color. If the studio was in the house, and people were going to be seeing it regularly, I’d use a vinyl or laminate of good quality. And those black foam squares can be very helpful if you’re standing for long periods. I have them in my dye studio, which is on concrete. Hope this helps!
Feb 22, 2010 @ 11:39:15
My studio floor is Marmoleum. It was in the room when we purchased the house. I like it for a variety of reasons. Number one, I have been able to clean up dried paint and dye without a problem. It does scratch if you pull something over it that has a rough surface. I can use it to square up quilts. It is easy to stand on for hours at a time. I would have selected different colrors, but c’est la vie.
Feb 22, 2010 @ 21:57:21
I have peel and stick laminate flooring, it cleans up with a swiffer and if I totally mess up a section I can pull it up and replace it..I purchased a few extra boxes so that i had spare parts….I have not had this happen yet but am prepared if it does.
It is easy to dust with the dry swiffer and any damp cloth pulls up the paints that are destine to hit the floor.
I was able to lay 500 square feet in just a few hours…simple, cheap and easy to maintain…
Good Luck and have fun.
Feb 25, 2010 @ 11:52:26
My studio, recently redone, is a wonderful (inexpensive from Lumber Liquidators) laminate that has the padding attached. Easy on the legs and feet, and wonderful to keep neat and clean. My dye room is sheet goods, vinyl, which is also easy to clean up with a wet mop and I could care less if I make a mess. Now is the time to get exactly what you want, have fun!