I need to replace Mom's floors. Any advice whether to get carpeting vs. flooring?
In mom's kitchen, dining room and living room due to wear and tear. The kitchen is vinyl sheetingthe dining room and living room have a plush wall to wall carpeting. These 3 rooms are all kind of open and parallel to one another. Currently there is a metal "transition" piece between the kitchen flooring and dining room carpet which I would love to get rid of somehow in the process. My dilemma is while mom likes the idea of having carpeting in some of her rooms in the event of a fall, I am concerned about the transition piece which on one occasion contributed to a fall when she was distracted. (This resulted in hip repair surgery.) I would love to hear opinions about carpeting verses flooring for seniors with weak legs, post stroke residual weakness . She uses a 4 wheeled rollator. I have heard that there is flooring that can be purchased with some padding under it. I am wondering if this is a better route to go so that all 3 rooms are one flat level with no transitional metal pieces? She has some degree of vascular dementia as well, some days more apparent than others.
I would prefer the looks of hardwood flooring in my bedroom, but I think I'm going to leave it carpeted because I'd rather fall on carpet, and I'm heading for that age when falls are a bigger risk. Of course, when I get there I'd reconsider if the carpet makes me less steady on my feet. My husband seemed to do equally well with his walker on carpet, hardwood, vinyl, or ceramic tile. Vinyl or hardwood were easier for pushing him in a wheelchair, but not by much.
With dementia (at least with Lewy bodies) the transition from one surface to another seems to be most confusing. The person may see the slightly raised threshold cover as a huge step.
I remember visiting a home that had extra thick padding on the carpeted stairs, I felt like I was going to fall.
I would look at your choices from the perspective of your mom's needs, which are only going to increase over time.