Over the last decade, there has been a trend towards hard surfaces such as hardwood and laminate for the living areas of homes (for example, the living room, dining room, family room and even bedrooms).
Both hardwood and laminate have a cleaner, almost sterile (and sometimes cold) look. Maintaining these types of floors is easy with the right cleaning products, but they can suffer and show more of the progressive wear-and-tear of a busy home: pets, accidental spills, and dropping heavy, hard objects can damage these floors.