There are so many details to mull over when choosing new flooring for your home. You know that whatever you decide will have a great impact and completely transform the way your home looks and feels whenever someone enters. It’s also something that you will need to get right from the first shot, as you will have to live with your choice for quite a while. Do you go for a laminate, a solid wood, carpet or tile. There are so many choices!
From Picasso tiles to vinyl flooring, plenty of options are available for when you’re ready to build your home or renovate all your rooms. The rest is up to you. We’ll be here guiding you and narrowing down your options before you make a considerable purchase.
The looks always matter
The first physical interaction when we enter a space is through the flooring. This seems to have an impact on our minds, whether we realise it or not. Thus, how you walk through your living room and how it feels beneath your feet matter greatly. If your living room is already intricately designed and requires a specific appearance to maintain its looks, you will then start with the flooring.
What’s more, if your floors are scuffed and scratched from years of use and have faded pale colour, only the sensation they convey will shake off the entire room. But we’re certain you already know how essential the flooring is in a room since you’ve started to read our guide.
Pairing flooring with lifestyle
Whether you live with pets or have a busy lifestyle, it is best to make flooring choices that are durable and easy to care for. If you like partying a lot, then you need something that will withstand a spilled glass of red wine and a woman’s pointy heels. At the same time, less agitated homeowners and those who demand less from their flooring have entirely different expectations.
You don’t need to be an expert to realise that with a busy lifestyle, you need flooring that can stand the test of wear and time. While wood and timber flooring is beautiful and popular, having pets will make you question your choice. For an agitated lifestyle such as yours, where pets and friends come and go, it’s best to consider more durable and easier to clean products in entryways, like vinyl or laminate flooring.
Vinyl flooring, for instance, is water-resistant, making it great if you have children who might chase each other with their wet feet around after a bath. Vinyl is not at all pricey (costs start from $34), and it’s less quiet than timber flooring, making it a solution for homes with kids and pets.
If you have pets and children and need a material that can stand everyday pets’ scratches and wear and tear from playful activities, you may want to consider vinyl or laminate. Laminate floors and modern vinyl have the same visuals as hardwood floors, including earthy natural patterns and rustic wood styles. You can also go for washed colours, including white or grey wood floors. So, you can still create those looks while getting the function you need and less stress about wear and tear.
Where do you want your new flooring?
With the exception of laundry rooms and bathrooms, oak types of flooring, including hardwood, can be used in any room in your home. There’s an assortment of flooring styles and types that offer a diversity of installations for basements, concrete slabs and less than perfect subfloor conditions. For instance, rigid core products and vinyl products that don’t require adhesive are much more forgiving of subfloor blemishes.
Hardwood flooring is ideal in basements, thanks to its cross-layer construction. Choose rigid core or vinyl products with water-resistant warranties for any room that has exposure to daily water spills or tracked-in dirt.
What’s more, the size of your room will also come into play as you choose new flooring products. Larger rooms automatically require a higher amount of upkeep, especially if they contain large furniture pieces. Here you will want to consider flooring that doesn’t require a great deal of upkeep, like laminate or vinyl. For smaller rooms, you may want to consider lighter colours – like light-coloured wood or neutral carpet – to make the space look and feel airier.
Do you care for the environment?
Today, many homeowners take steps to recycle and bring their reusable items to the grocery store to promote a healthier way of living. But when it comes to your home, how convinced are you about the green-friendly flooring options?
Currently, green-minded manufacturers offer flooring options that undergo strict procedures and rules to gain certification status. Some of the responsible commitments from brands ensure that wood is sourced from sustainable forests, and some ensure the use of non-phthalate plasticisers.
In fact, many environmentally friendly manufacturers are committed to one or many of these environmental certifications:
- NWFA Verified
- CARB Compliant
- AAMI Verified Sustainable
- FloorScore Certified
- Lacey Act
- Forest Stewardship Council
Budget
As with everything else in life these days, laminate flooring can be either eye-wateringly pricey or relatively inexpensive. So before making a hasty decision and emptying your bank account for that fancy new oak floor, think about your budget.
Here you might want to add material costs, installation costs, and, as you well know, the cost of future maintenance. After all, matching your flooring to your lifestyle should ensure you get the most out of your investment. Consider your family’s activity, as well as the amount of foot traffic in your home. In-home areas prone to messy pets and kids, choose a resilient floor material that’s not only extremely durable but also easy to clean. If that’s an entirely different story and you don’t have kids or pets, you’re free to choose whatever flooring material you want.