How to choose flooring you’ll still love years down the road

Getting new flooring is a big undertaking. It takes time and money, especially if you’re updating the floors in more than one room at once. With so many flooring options available in the marketplace, sometimes being confident in your decisions is hard.

When choosing new floors, if you are looking to make your investment last, focus on selecting durable flooring that fits the way you use your rooms. Do you have kids? Pets? Do you like to entertain and host dinner parties? Your answers to questions like these will influence what makes the best choice for your floors. Keep reading to learn which options are the most durable for every room in your home.

Halls and entryways

Room characteristics:

• Small
• High-traffic
• Susceptible to dirt and moisture tracked in from outdoors

Best durable flooring options for halls and entryways:

• Resilient
• Tile

Resilient flooring, also called luxury vinyl, is a stylish and durable option for entryways and halls. Resilient floors are long-lasting because they have a durable laminate surface that’s scratch-resistant, a great feature for areas like halls and entryways which people often walk on with dirty shoes. Plus, resilient flooring is water resistant, making cleaning simple.

Tile is a classic flooring option, known for being easy to maintain. Homeowners often choose tile for small, high-traffic spaces because of its longevity and ability to withstand greater-than-normal wear and tear. Choose between porcelain or ceramic for a durable entryway flooring option that is easy to maintain and looks beautiful, too. Both porcelain and ceramic are water resistant tile options.

Kitchens

Room characteristics:

• Gathering place, high-traffic
• Prone to spills and messes

Best durable kitchen flooring options:

• Resilient
• Tile
• Hardwood

For the same reasons resilient flooring and tile are durable entryway flooring choices, we recommend them for kitchens, too. Kitchens see a lot of foot traffic, and a lot of spills. Durable resilient hard surface flooring or tile are good options for kitchen floors. With proper care, resilient or tile flooring in the kitchen will look like new for many years after installation.

Consider hardwood for a beautiful and timeless look in your kitchen. While not water resistant like tile or resilient, hardwood floors are long-lasting and remain beautiful for years if you adhere to a few basic hardwood care tips.

Bathrooms

Room characteristics:

• Damp
• Humid
• High-traffic

Best durable bathroom flooring options:

• Tile
• Resilient

There’s a reason tile is the most popular durable flooring choice for bathrooms: nothing can top it! Bathrooms are damp and often humid, making the climate tricky for flooring. Waterproof tile keeps moisture out, it’s easy to clean, and, if you install radiant heat, it can help keep your feet toasty warm during chilly months.

If you want the look of hardwood in your bathrooms, porcelain tile or resilient flooring is for you. Porcelain can mimic the look of hardwood with the benefits of tile. Some water-resistant resilient flooring options look like wood, too, and some styles are very affordable.

Living rooms

Room characteristics:

• Gathering place
• Often the largest room in home
• Large furniture

Best durable living room flooring options:

• Resilient
• Hardwood (paired with area rugs)

Similar to a kitchen, your living room is typically a gathering place that serves a variety of functions. The flooring you choose for your living room should fit your home’s design style, and be durable enough to withstand regular use. Resilient flooring in the living room is always a good choice, particularly if you’re using it in your entryways and kitchen, too.

Using hardwood flooring in a living rooms will never go out of style, and adding an area rug can help give that space extra style, design interest, comfort underfoot, and sound-proofing. The key is finding the right area rug or rugs for the size of your living room and the furniture that you have, and our design consultants can help you find the best options.

Bedrooms

Room characteristics:

• Less traffic than other rooms
• Comfortable, relaxing

Best durable bedroom flooring options:

• Carpet
• Hardwood

Since bedrooms generally have less foot traffic than other rooms in the home, they are a perfect place for carpet. Carpet is the softest and most noise-reducing flooring material, making it ideal for a quiet bedroom escape. Still concerned about pets and kids? Opt for a style of stain-resistant, durable carpet.

Another durable bedroom flooring option is hardwood, softened with an area rug. continuing hardwood flooring into your home’s bedrooms can add a cohesive feeling, especially if you have hardwood throughout the rest of your home.

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