Flooring Ideas
Flooring and Lifestyles
When adding any type of flooring to your home, the big question is what “type” of flooring are you looking for, and depending on the style of home you have, will determine your choices.
With so many different options of flooring these days, it can be overwhelming. Usually, the first question to ask yourself is what kind of lifestyle you have and also consider wear and tear over the years, which is going to happen with children, pets, family members, etc.
Wood flooring
Using wood flooring is a great option that adds warmth, texture and a general feeling of coziness. Whether you are remodeling an older home that has existing wood floors or you want to start fresh, wood flooring is beautiful. Keep in mind that it can scratch easily and if you ever need to replace any pieces, it can be quite the undertaking.
Engineered hardwoods are the most popular among wood flooring, due to real hardwoods that are much more costly up front, but are actually a better option in the long run because of the longevity they can withstand and can also be repaired much easier with sanding away scuff marks.
Ever wonder why homes built in the 1800’s still have their original flooring? Because this natural type of wood can last a lifetime with just regular maintenance. Unlike engineered hardwoods (that are both man-made materials and a small amount of wood) also have a much thinner layer of wood on the surface and will not allow for any type of sanding to be done. In addition to, if the wood planks get damaged, they must be replaced. These types of floors are always glued to the foundation and are very difficult to repair, so they must be destroyed and replaced properly.
Many people make the mistake of putting wood flooring in “wet areas” like bathrooms, laundry rooms and kitchens. I see this displayed in Model Homes quite often because the builders want to add a cozy feel to the home and are hoping that we will want that particular “look” they created and buy their home. Unfortunately, the first time you spill ice cubes from the freezer and your washing machine decides to spring a leak or your lovely pet drinks from his water bowl, leaving a mess, the wood gets wet and can warp over time.
Also, if your dishwasher overflows and you have to replace the entire corner section of the floor where the leak was, you will regret your decision by putting down wood in these “wet” areas of your home. Same thing with a bathroom; I wouldn’t recommend putting wood in any of these places.
Luxury Vinyl
Luxury vinyl flooring is another great option because it can look exactly like wood and comes in long plank styles with different widths to choose from and looks simply amazing. It’s not your grandma’s plastic laminate flooring anymore, although you can still buy laminate and it’s more of a peel and stick option, but vinyl is so much prettier.
Another plus is, with vinyl flooring It can also take a beating from years of wear and tear, water, food and scratches, just like laminate. Vinyl flooring can either be glued down directly to the foundation like engineered wood, or it can be installed in what is called “click-lock” flooring, that has a sub-flooring base underneath for humidity and stability and can easily be removed plank by plank if damage does occur, instead of ripping up an entire section. Just un-click the damaged tiles and replace; so much easier.
Porcelain or Ceramic
Tile is the most popular choice for homeowners these days and like vinyl flooring, tile comes in a multitude of colors and textures. There are wood looking tiles with imitation grooves to mimic real wood, glass tiles that have a mirror finish, stone tiles like Travertine, Marble, Mosaic, Terracotta and Saltillo tiles with beautiful glazes and colors.
Truly an endless choice of tiles to choose from. Also, the sizes vary extensively from straight plank wood looks to square tiles in every size and even rectangular tiles that create beautiful patterns, etc.
One must keep in mind that if the flooring ever has to be replaced or changed, it can be a huge mess with tile dust that gets in every crack and groove in your house and the clean up can take months after the dust settles. Tile also requires grout in-between each piece and if not cleaned properly overtime, can get dirty.
Tile flooring comes in either ceramic or porcelain. Ceramic is thinner, more cost effective and has more texture, but can break and crack easier if something heavy is dropped on it or when a house settles over time from the foundation underneath.
Porcelain tiles are a much better option and more durable due to the tiles being thicker and having a longer life span, especially natural stones like Marble, Travertine and Terracotta tiles. But natural stone can stain and if you have ever had a toddler throw spaghetti sauce on a Travertine floor, you will think twice.
Carpet or Polished Concrete
Even with so many beautiful options, some people skip the whole flooring hassle and just polish and paint their original cement foundation, which can be the most affordable option to go with, but it isn’t the coziest look. Carpet is another great option when you want to add warmth to any room. It’s soft to walk on and helps with noise reduction keeping rooms warmer in the winter months depending on where you live and nobody likes to climb out of bed on a cold morning and walk on frigid temperature tile.
Although some people have allergies and carpet can create a lot of dust over time with carpet fibers, padding underneath, etc. Carpeting was not available many years ago and the use of Rugs everywhere became the norm to help soften the look bringing that warmth back in.
Whatever your decision is when it comes to flooring, always make sure you do your research on each product and why you want to use it in your home? Some flooring can be a nightmare to keep clean like glass tiles and then some are a maintenance hassle over time aka engineered hardwoods, so be sure you make a decision that reflects your lifestyle and longevity in whatever choices you decide on.
If you would like to see some of the rug selections in my Shopify store, they are really beautiful and will enhance any flooring style that you choose.