I sew in the kitchen and have a light blond wood PERGO flooring... Hubby and I did do it yourself installation... Even though it is 10 years old it looks new. Very easy to clean just damp mop. I also use the lightweight vacuum to keep it cleaned.

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Hello friends -
The final choice was a light honey colored commercial tile. It looks great (at first glance, you can't even tell that it isn't carpet) and seems to be indestructible. Thanks for the great advice!
Best wishes,
Mike

OK Mike. It's obvious that there are a wide variety of opinions....

What did you pick?

Carpet, carpet, carpet!

I HATE bare floors, and would never have anything in my studio except wall-to-wall carpet. I spend a lot of time in there sitting on the floor, flipping through books and magazines in front of my bookcases, and the carpet is comfortable. It's homey. It's comforting. The cats like it. And it poses no problems for me.

Of course, you have to understand that I also have carpet in my ensuite bathroom (which NO man is allowed to enter!), and I've had it in two of my kitchens. No creepy old bare floors for me!

I have a friend in Ottawa that has cork flooring and it has really stood up well for years now. It can be expensive though...
My sister-in-law has bamboo in her studio and she loves it - noscratching, is renewable and environmentally green and easy to install
good luck!!

When we redid my sewing room a few years back, I wanted to put down a large black-and-white checkerboard vinyl like Caryl Bryer Fallert has in her studio. My husband was very adamant that we needed to have something that blended more with the rest of the house, which has wood floors. I chose a striated bamboo, which is really strips of bamboo that have been compressed with some sort of bonding agent (epoxy?). It looks great, cleans up easily, is not expensive, is a renewable wood and dropping scissors and the like does not make even the tiniest mark. It is also relatively soft underfoot. I would think that a laminate or a vinyl would work well, too. Just don't get a really light color vinyl or you will find yourself constantly cleaning it, since your studio will be heavily-trafficked area.

I have carpet and it works just fine, except my chair doesn't roll easily unless I put a mat under it. If I had it to do over, I would use laminate.

Can't wait to see what you're up to Mike!

I have carpet at the moment which, to be honest, is a pain but then my room is our upstairs dressing room too. When I have the room on the side extended for me I will either have tile or continue the solid oak I have throughout the downstairs. Whichever it will be heated! The floor downstairs is so easy to keep clean and move around on my operators saddle chair. Solid floor everytime.

As a practical girl, I would also look at whether or not this room would be considered a bedroom, office, etc for a future resell. Besides nixing the carpet idea, which you already know, if you have the funds, go hardwood floor. It is a long tern purchase but any future buyer would want hardwood over tile. Hardwood also will stand up to the wear and tear of a sewing room and be refurbish-able for any future use. Hardwood flooring really cuts down on allergies, comes prefinished now and easily cleans with a vinegar/water mixture. I use a microfiber rag dipped in a vinegar/water solution and wring it out until almost dry, and run it across my floor. There are also roller wheels for chairs and furniture that are meant for use on wood surfaces.

If you are in a basement, then tile would be great. You will have lots of choices. post a pic when you're finished!

I would go for laminate flooring every time in preference

definitely vinyl. Mine has a thick backing or underlay which is warm enough most of the time, i just need a small mat where i iron because my legs can ache. the vinyl is so easy to clean and is easy to see when pins etc are dropped
Jenny in Oz

I have carpet in my sewing room as it is in a basement and I haven't had trouble with it--I usually know when I drop pins. So far so good.

The new Studios magazine has an article on floorings for sewing rooms. I'm interested in everyone's comments about carpeting. In my old basement sewing room (definitely not a studio), I had painted cement. My
new room had carpet already installed and I've not had a problem. It's a plain color so I can see pins if I drop them and I like the insulation qualities of the carpet. (It's a basement room.)

I have carpet in my sewing room. I recommend NOT using carpet!