Which flooring type is right for you? Part 1

This week I’m kicking off what is planned as a 9 part series of posts that should help you make the decision of which type of flooring you should use in your home.  I’ll be detailing the basics about carpet, hardwood, laminate, ceramic tile, natural stone, sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl tile and oriental rugs.

At the beginning of any flooring project (or any other renovation), you should ask yourself a series of basic questions to help define your project and ultimately what you are looking for in a floor.  Having these questions answered at the beginning will save you time and money by better preparing you for the shopping phase of you project.  During the next 8 posts, I’ll run down the benefits and drawbacks of each product type as it pertains to each of these questions, hopefully giving you the knowledge you’ll need to make a well informed decision when buying your next floor.

Here are the questions:

1. Why are you replacing your floors?  Is is a new home that you’re just moving into, or maybe you’re putting it on the market.  Are you bringing in a new family member, baby, mother-in-law, maybe a new puppy?  Or maybe you’re just bored with that dark green carpeting that you thought was “absolutely fabulous” 5 years ago.  Whatever the reason, define it.

2. What is your decorating style?  Traditional, classic, modern, country chic; how about my personal favorite, “Pottery Barn”.  Figure this out early on and you’ll save both time and money.

3. What is your budget? And are you willing to go over budget if you find the “perfect” floor?  Know what you want to spend, be comfortable with that number, and figure out if you’re willing to go over budget if the perfect flooring option doesn’t fit inside that number.

4.  Which areas in your home are you flooring?  Kitchen? Living room? Foyer? Basement?  Also, knowing what type of subfloor you have in these areas will help you make a good decision.

5.  How many people live in these rooms?  More specifically, how much traffic does the area get? Your master bedroom sees a lot less footsteps than your foyer or kitchen.

6. Do you have children? Or plan to have them before you replace your flooring again?  Kids are messy, and delicate; you’ll need to plan for that.

7. Do you have pets?  Does your cat like to scratch his paws against everything? Maybe your 200 pound newfoundland is scared to walk across hardwood floors. Or maybe they are perfect little angles that never get sick or have accidents; either way, it’s always a good idea to keep these little family members in mind while shopping.

8. How long do you want your new flooring to last?  I had some good (or bad) advice given to me once while I was shopping for new dishes: “If you buy something that lasts forever, you’ll be stuck with it forever.”  I’m not suggesting you should buy a floor with a short life span just so you can change it in the near future; all I’m saying is that if you decide to buy a floor that will last for the life of the house, then make sure it is something that you will love for the life of the house.

9. Are you prepared for the maintenance and upkeep of your new floor?  Some floors are relatively maintenance free, others aren’t; know what you’re getting yourself into before you write the check.

10. How much do you care about the environment?  Seems like a silly question, but there are definitely different levels of “green” personalities.  Maybe you have a compost pile in your yard and use cloth diapers on your baby, or maybe you dump your used oil out in your backyard and all your neighbors hate you.  Most of us fit somewhere in the middle.  Good News!  Buying environmentally friendly floors is super easy these days; truth be told, you could throw a rock in any one of our stores and it would be hard to not hit something that wasn’t environmentally friendly.  There are options for everyone.

That’s it!  At least those are the most important ones I thought of, so start thinking of your answers to these questions and I’ll do my best in the coming weeks to educate you on the best flooring options for every scenario.

Did I miss anything? Let me know!