The Ultimate Guide to Updated Flooring Options for Your Home

Updated hardwood floors can increase your home’s value by 2.5%. Flooring is one of the first things that prospective buyers look at in a home because it’s easier to update before they move in and is a significant expense.

If a buyer doesn’t have to add updating floors to their move-in punch list, all the better for the sale.

But there are many more flooring options than hardwood. In addition, hardwood isn’t perfect for every room in your home—especially those that will see increased moisture or exposure to grit and dirt.

In the following article, we will break down new flooring options and what you may look towards when replacing floors.

Flooring Options for Living Rooms

While it is true that hardwood floors may not work in some areas of your home, you should turn to them for your entryway and living room. Hardwood has a wow factor that is unrivaled, and you can design your living room flooring in different woods, thicknesses, and patterns to suit your style and budget.

The two types of hardwoods are solid planks and engineered. Engineered hardwood is layered wood where only the top inch or so is wood. This product looks great, wears well, and will last for about 25 to 35 years. 

Hardwood planks are much thicker and need to be finished once they are installed. However, these planks can last up to 100 years because they can be sanded and refinished many times. 

One design consideration for hardwood is to make sure that your windows match up with your flooring choice. You can design to your home’s specific style by checking combo window and flooring websites like windowadvise.com.

Bathrooms and Kitchens 

The king of bathrooms and kitchens is porcelain tile. Easy to clean and impervious to water damage, turn to tile for anywhere a surface will see heavy traffic and need plenty of cleaning. 

The other great thing about tile is the fantastic patterns and the many flooring styles to choose from. You can choose a large square or a small subway tile and anything in between.

Mudrooms and Basements

While tile is also a good choice for these areas, many people are turning to lament flooring for these areas. People like lament flooring because it is water-resistant, easy to clean, and relatively inexpensive. 

While tile can often seem cold and hard, lament tile is a warmer alternative that, in many cases, is almost unrecognizable from a hardwood plank at first blush.

Also, the lament cleans up well because even the best finished basements can become exposed to water either from below or from extreme weather events. It is not terribly expensive to replace if needs be.

Bedroom Options

Many people will run hardwood floors throughout their homes, except for bathrooms and kitchens. There are two exceptions: live near the beach or live in a cold climate.

You may find tile running everywhere near the beach because it’s so much easier to clean the sand out of it.

In colder parts of the country, people often opt for carpets in their bedrooms. The carpet is a good insulator and lasts a long time in bedrooms where shoes are rarely worn.

Lastly, the carpet in the bedroom is warm and cozy on the feet on those cold winter mornings.

Ask an Expert

People looking at flooring options have a lot to choose from, so consulting an expert installer or realtor is not a bad idea. However, second-guessing yourself once the flooring is down is a terrible feeling. 

Also, you’ll have a better idea of what type of flooring you can afford when you get an expert evaluation.

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