Are you sick of the sight of pastel donning the walls and floors of your home or business? Perhaps it’s time for a revamp, but all you can find is safe, neutral colours haunting the shelves in shops, fashion websites, and pages of style magazines. You want to upgrade your space with something different, something unique, but not sure what to go for - you’re not even sure of your options!

​Beiges and browns are in, as are natural wood looks and stone. But you want something else, something with a little shazam!

Bright colours and daring patterns may very well be your cup of tea, but what will others think? What if you want to sell in the future - do you really want to jeopardize your investment with a ‘marmite’ carpet that you will most probably have to replace?

​For those of you daring DIY designers out there, I have great news - Black & White is Back! That’s right, you can give your interiors a new lease on life with a floor covering that is eye-catching and unique, bold and beautiful, and which will certainly compliment your own individual style.

​Celebrate your space by choosing a floor that never goes out of fashion, yet one which makes an outrageously artist statement. Black and white is a classic combination that is timeless and looks decadent on any floor, but now, designers and manufacturers alike are experimenting with details, patterns, textures, and shapes to create a plethora of intricate and powerful floor motifs to tickle your fancy. 

​Whether you’re into the classic look, magnificent gothic tone, vintage shabby-chic or ultra-modern style, black and white will always sync to your specific design and taste. This simple yet effective scheme brought to you by Polyflor also flatters any other splash of colour you wish to introduce to your walls, ceiling, furniture, appliances or art! 

Are you inspired to go back to black & white? Or have you already taken the plunge into light and darkness? Let us know your thoughts, plans, ideas, and outcomes - we’d love you to share your black & white masterpieces!  

​We love our four-legged friends. Countless hours of cuddles and walks, playing games and training. They bring us so much joy, light, and laughter - but when it comes to flooring, our pets play an important role in choosing the right coverage as they have a tremendous impact on the wear and tear of your ground and a ‘good boy’ can very easily become a ‘bad boy’ when it comes to claws, dirt, fur, and accidents!
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To get the most out of your flooring in your animal-friendly home, we will guide you through the options to help you find the best type of flooring that will withstand the lifestyle and habits of your furry friends.

​​The four most important concerns for any pet owner looking to spruce up their floor should be;

• Is the new floor scratch resistant?
• Is the new floor durable?
• Is the new floor stain-resistant?
• Is the new floor safe for my pet to walk on?

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Any pet in the house with claws is inevitably going to cause some degree of marking. A dog may accidentally scratch a wooden floor with her claws, whereas a cat may claw at the carpet and cause tears. Some floors are more scratch-resistant than others, so it’s useful to keep this in mind when shopping around. Furthermore, a good, solid, durable floor will more likely stand the test of time with pets who are active around the house. All animals have the occasional accident, so consider ease of mopping up any urine, feces or vomit. Lastly, some floor types are difficult for animals to gain traction on and this can be stressful for our pets to move around. 

Let’s take a look at the various kinds of flooring available, and any pros and cons!

Hardwood
Hardwood flooring is stunning and is a possible option for pet owners because it is easy to sweep or vacuum up fur and dirt. However, real timber has many downsides - not only in general but in particular for homes with pets. Wood is prone to staining and water damage as well as being susceptible to sharp claws.

​If your heart is truly set on hardwood, your best bet is to go with an extremely hard hardwood like mahogany, oak or bamboo. Softer hardwoods such as pine, chestnut, and fir, are not recommended for homes with animals.  

​To keep your new hardwood floor looking beautiful, you will need to be fully committed to taking great care of it. Urine will stain very easily, and the odour can remain for years to come. It could be worth splashing out some extra cash on special coating for your boards if you do choose hardwood flooring.

Carpet and Carpet Tiles
Carpet is a luxury for both us humans and our pets. Soft and cushiony to walk and lay on, pets love this type of flooring! Contrary to belief, carpets aren’t such a big no-no anymore when it comes to pets. New fibre technologies mean that a lot of carpets are now highly stain and odour resistant - although you’d typically expect to spend a decent amount of money for a carpet that is highly pet proof! 

​Cut pile carpet is your best option of pile because fur and dirt can be hoovered up easily (and the cute pile will not rip due to busy claws). Carpet tiles are super handy - you can always replace an individual section if it gets ruined! However, no carpet is 100% immune to wear and tear so keep this in mind if considering this flooring option. 

Cork 
Cork flooring is water-resistant and requires little maintenance. This eco-friendly floor covering is warm underfoot and can withstand heavy foot and paw traffic. However, it is not impervious to sharp claws. Despite this, cork is one of the most naturally occurring and renewable resources that copes well with dog and cat inhabitants.  

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Laminate
You can get the look of hardwood but without the hassle. Laminate mimics a range of materials and offers a much easier cleanup ritual than the real thing, plus the scratches tend to be less noticeable. Choosing a textured laminate floor covering is best for pets as it allows them to gain traction, whereas high-gloss, polished surfaces can be slippery. 

Vinyl 
Vinyl flooring is the number 1 choice for the majority of pet owners. It is highly affordable compared with other flooring options and can be installed practically anywhere in the home. It provides excellent traction for your furry friend, is scratch and stain-resistant, durable, easy to clean and comes in a wide variety of designs and styles.

Of course, no floor covering is ever going to stay perfect forever, but there are some useful strategies to keep your floor looking flash for longer. 

​We hope that this article has been useful in deciding on the right floor for you and your pet! Feel free to contact us for more in depth and personal advise for for you, your pets and your flooring. Let us know in the comments about what you decide to go with and how you and your pet like your new floor! We’d love to see pictures too :) 

Wood flooring is certainly a bold statement in any home or public space, with endless possibilities of colours, unique patterns and brimming with character, it is a flooring option to be truly proud of. Stunning and timeless, wood is a popular choice for many and serves to suit any interior space promising to last a lifetime - but only if properly maintained. It is not only warm underfoot, but it can also stand the time of heavy traffic, spills, accidents, knocks, and scratches with a considerable amount of TLC in return.

​On the downside, however, natural wood flooring is very costly when compared to other flooring materials. It is also considerably more high-maintenance than other options on the flooring market. Despite being able to be repaired by sanding - scratches and dents can be a hassle to remove and if spills are not cleaned up quickly, staining will incur. 

Professional advice on termite prevention is highly recommended as well as serious consideration of the wood's tendency to expand and contract throughout the seasonal changes. Wood flooring is also not favourable in wet areas as it can become weak and rot over time when in contact with moisture.

If you like a quiet lifestyle, then wood may not be the greatest choice for you as walking on a wooden floor is noisy business and the sound travels far! Furthermore, wood is a huge fire-risk for all those safety-conscious folk out there and non-enviro friendly for our precious trees. 

​Have you got your heart set on the wood look but don’t want all that hassle of natural timber? Other alternatives such as laminate, vinyl plank, hybrid or engineered timbre may be the perfect compromise you are looking for. Let’s take a look at the Hard Flooring options available on the market.

​Laminate Flooring
Laminate floors are all the rage at the moment, available in a collection of outstanding and unique designs and colours, they look and feel just like real wood. Laminate flooring is the ultimate choice for heavy-traffic areas, sun-exposed spots, and wet spaces as they have a water-resistant surface that protects the photographic applique layer underneath, also preventing staining! Unlike wood, which can dent and chip, laminate flooring is almost impervious to scrapes and scratches. Moreover, laminate flooring is affordable, quick and fairly simple to install and is very low-maintenance, requiring no special polishing or cleaning processes. 

Vinyl Plank Flooring
Gracefully designed and skillfully constructed, the vinyl plank realistically mimics natural timber creating a spectacular focal point in any space. This type of floor covering is ideal for heavy traffic as it is hard-wearing, but it also is incredibly quiet for a hard floor option. If you’re looking for value for money, then vinyl plank flooring could be a nice match as it is one of the more pocket-friendly options for solid floor material. Not only does the vinyl plank boast water resistance, but it also has a textured surface giving you the sensation of real timber! Like laminate, vinyl is easy to vacuum, sweep and mop and is generally easy to maintain.​

Hybrid Flooring
This high performance, relatively new product is being praised for being 100% waterproof, meaning that it can be installed in any interior space both domestically and commercially. Easy to clean and maintain, Hybrid Flooring demands little time and energy, yet it looks exactly like real wood flooring! This is a truly exciting hard floor product as it has minimal expansion and contraction in our extreme New Zealand climate, resisting the rays of our penetrating sun and maintaining its colour as well as withstanding the heaviest foot traffic both at home and in commercial spaces. 

Engineered Timber
Natural and sustainable, engineered timber flooring is made from real oak meaning that every board is 100% unique. It is far more stable than solid timber flooring and much less likely to have issues such as shrinkage, cupping or warping. If you choose this type of floor covering then you can rest assured that you are being environmentally friendly; veneer is sliced instead of cut using a saw. This means that there’s no sawdust resulting in the entirety of the tree’s wood being used. When hardwood boards are created, a significant amount of the tree is wasted and this is detrimental to our environment as traditional trees grow much slower than the trees used to make engineered wood. 

So, which wood choice is the one for you? When it comes to deciding on the best hard flooring option, MeasureUp Flooring is here to help. We understand that choosing the right floor for your needs is important, so we can help you determine exactly what you need in terms of appearance, texture, durability, ease of maintenance and longevity.