The Beginners Flooring Style Guide

If you are redoing your house – or even building a new one – sometimes it’s too overwhelming to begin looking at flooring options for your home. There are so many! And sometimes the terminology escapes you when you haven’t been formally examining the different types of flooring and what your friends have in their homes. Here’s a guide for you to understand the basic flooring categories.

Hardwood

Hardwood is one of the most desirable types of flooring. It’s durable, it’s gorgeous, it’s natural. A hardwood floor adds value to a home, especially if it is well taken care of. This is one of the more pricey and time consuming options, however, and it is a floor that requires some attention. Sometimes it will swell in the summer, and sometimes you need to refinish it to keep it looking great.

Laminate

Laminate is a cheap option for people who like the look of hardwood floors but not the price. Laminate has a weird reputation, but these days, laminate can look really good. It’s also easy to install, so if you want to install it yourself, it might be a good option. Laminate is, however, susceptible to water damage, which is a common reason people have to replace parts of their laminate floor.

Linoleum

Linoleum has been around since the 1800s. It’s a durable floor that’s used in high-traffic areas. If you’ve been in a school or a huge public building, what you saw on the floor was probably laminate. It is also used in homes. It can be pigmented any which way, so you can customize the colors or patterns you want. It can be sold and installed in tiles, which gives you extra flexibility.

Tile

Tile is a hard, ceramic flooring that is almost unanimously used in bathrooms and kitchens. It’s easy to clean and take care of and not susceptible to water damage. The primary maintenance you have to do with tile is cleaning and resealing the grout.

Carpet

Carpet is a popular choice for bedrooms, especially kid’s rooms, because of it’s softness. Of all flooring, carpet is possibly the most difficult to take care of. It’s easy for carpeting to collect dust, which means it’s not a great option for those prone to allergies. It can also stain. However, carpet can be beautiful and if you don’t mind the upkeep it’s a lovely flooring option.