There are so many choices when it comes to flooring and it can be very confusing to know which flooring style & flooring type to choose. The most important factor to consider when shopping for new floors is your lifestyle. Do you have animals, teens or kids? Do you entertain a lot? If so, you will need something durable and low maintenance. If your lifestyle is a little calmer & you don’t need to worry about stains etc. then any flooring option would work nicely for you. Don’t be discouraged if you have animals or children, there are many durable options.

Flooring options are tile, laminate, hardwood, carpet & stone

Your flooring choice is important because once it’s installed it’s very hard to change, plus it will set the style for your home. The overall look of your flooring will create a style & theme for the rest of the home to follow. Here are some of the basics when it comes to flooring. Place protectors on the bottoms of all table and chair legs to protect your flooring from scratches, tears, and other permanent markings. Try and have continuities throughout your home, to make your home look more organized keep with the same basic color and theme. When workings in a smaller space choose a lighter color to make the room appear larger, using a darker color tends to close a room in.

Natural stone is a beautiful choice. This option is very durable and recommended for all lifestyles. There are many choices when it comes to flooring; marble, granite, and limestone. Are all classic choices which will keep your home looking upscale & stylish, these choices will last longer than your designing preferences do. If designing with children or pets in mind, limestone would be most recommended, and for the safest choice put a non-slip finish on it. What’s so great about this type of flooring is that no two pieces of flooring are the same; this will add interest & character to your home.

Genuine hardwood is an amazing flooring option and is available in many different styles & finishes. Hardwood floors can be refinished when an update is needed, another benefit with choosing hardwood flooring is that it can take on many styles; classic, contemporary & modern. You do need to be careful with moisture; however, as hardwood does not manage well with moisture, it also tends to scratch quite easily.

Laminate flooring is an excellent choice if you have children, pets or entertain a lot. It’s the work horse of flooring. It is synthetic therefore making it durable, easy to maintain, stain, & scratch resistant. This flooring option is also a very affordable option.

Carpeting is a soft & cozy flooring choice. It feels great to walk on & can help keep sound down. Reasons carpet may be preferred could be that it hides problems with the homes original flooring, and the fact that it’s another very affordable choice. That being said, you must take this choice into consideration staining is a possible issue, carpets are hard to get stains out of and can also have problems with mildew, once damage is done to the carpet it’s hard to repair, you can’t just patch one area of the carpet, you would need to re-install the carpet, if this was needed often it could turn an affordable choice to a very costly one.

Ceramic Tile is very durable and easy to maintain. Ceramic tile comes in many different styles & colors, you can make your floor unique by using a special border; therefore, giving your home an interesting look and adding an overall appeal to your home, the best part being that  there are so many to choose from; however, ceramic tiles can be slippery and depending on were they are placed they may also be noisy.

All flooring options look nice. It’s your job to match your personal lifestyle with the correct flooring option choose. Every room has a different lifestyle that takes place in it. So think of the day to day life & actions in each specific room and go from there. If you have a room that doesn’t have a lot of traffic and you would like a certain look, then go for it! If it’s a room that is the height of traffic, you may want to  save yourself the headache and get a more durable option.