Mistakes Not to Make When Buying Floors

Floors are a big deal, not just for making a home look great, but because they’re that piece of a house you can’t avoid. When you have a new floor installed, you literally have to live with it. You see it and use it every day, and sometimes after the installation, some homeowners are left wondering if they made the right decisions. If you’re looking to re-think a space with new floors, here are some common mistakes you should avoid.

Not Matching Flooring Type to Need

Knowing what your durability needs are is important when purchasing a new floor. Adhering to a budget is also part of the equation. Not to mention, there may also be those mono-focused moments where you or your spouse is just in love with option A or B. Either way, you need to find the product that checks all the boxes on your needs list. Here are some common scenarios flooring sales professionals see:

  • Hardwood and pets: You may have your heart set on a particular hardwood floor, but a laminate flooring for a wood look with added scratch resistance or engineered hardwood to handle potential scratches from your pet may be a better option.
  • Carpet in heavy traffic areas: To save money, you might be thinking of a carpet for a heavily trafficked hallway, and maybe you’ve done all the research to find the most durable, stain-resistant one. But you may be able to find an affordable laminate or vinyl plank to handle the workload.
  • Tile in large spaces: You love the maintenance-free aspect of a certain porcelain tile in a large living space, but then you realize the space may echo and be noisier than anticipated. Depending on your durability needs, the right carpet or vinyl plank may be a better option.

Bottom line: consider your needs both from durability and aesthetic standpoints, then weave in budget realities, too. There’s likely a perfect floor for your situation; but sometimes it’s easy to overlook it by focusing on the wrong option.

Flooring Mismatches

When you pick the floor you like, you’ll want to consider existing floors that are staying in the home. Generally speaking, a lot of interior designers will caution against installing too many flooring types in a home. More specifically, you might consider how close different flooring types are to one another. For example, if you have a tile entry that touches a carpet bedroom and wood den floor that are close to one another, the space might have a patchwork look, and mismatches like this are also a turn off to prospective homebuyers. Two different types of carpet butting up to each other is something interior designers might caution against as well.

While there may not be a lot of hard and fast rules here, generally speaking, a smaller home should probably have fewer flooring types, and sticking with one dominant floor throughout main areas may even make the overall floorplan look larger, especially for single stories. Two stories offer a natural separation between floor types.

Forgetting About Tomorrow

We know it’s easy to get caught up in the aesthetics you want today but don’t forget tomorrow’s needs. That addition of a pet or child to the family could change your flooring needs, and going back to the flooring drawing board in a couple years is something you’ll want to avoid.

Choosing Trendy When It Doesn’t Work

Sometimes the hottest flooring colors and styles just don’t fit your situation. You should never feel like the popular option is the only one for you. If that hip light, neutral tone doesn’t work in your space and a classic dark warm tone does, so be it.

More and more interior design today is transitional, merging traditional and contemporary elements. Trends change, but you’ll find some classic flooring options never really go away even though they’re not as popular as they once were. They could be exactly what your room needs.

Going DIY When You Really Can’t Handle It

Flooring installation is best done by trained professionals who understand building codes and best installation practices. If you decide to go the DIY route, you take a lot of responsibility on yourself and you may fall victim to your own lack of knowledge and abilities.

Many homeowners add peace of mind in knowing an installation can be done with ease by a licensed professional who carries the appropriate insurance and qualifications to perform the work. And a reputable installer will always have a warranty in writing.

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