It is easy to fall for a particular type of flooring based purely on what it looks like, but it is also very important to bear more practical considerations in mind when choosing a new floor covering for your home.

One such consideration is how you will clean and maintain your floor, especially if you have pets. If you have a cat or a dog, you might think that you can’t have luxury floor products such as wood flooring, for fear that sharp claws, boisterous behaviour and little ‘accidents’ may damage the floor.

This isn’t strictly true, as there are things you can do to protect your wood floor from pet-related harm. For example:

• Lay down rugs. Choose area rugs made from organic fibres to match the natural look of the hardwood and lay them in strategic areas – i.e. in hallways or in places where your pets tend to go.

• Clip those nails. Ensuring your pets have their nails clipped on a regular basis makes it less likely that they will scratch or mark your wood floors when scampering about.

• Clean up accidents immediately. If your wood floor gets wet, mop up the spill immediately. Even better – make house training your pet a top priority.