You know you need to do it. The flooring in the living room, kitchen, bathroom or hallway is looking tired and worn. Your bedroom carpet needs to be ripped out and replaced with hardwood or the stairway frame is showing through from heavy traffic. Whatever the reason, flooring projects are a common home improvement adventure.
Unfortunately, that commonality doesn't make them any easier. You will have plenty of decisions to make, a lot of work to do and a sizable budget to come up with for this project. Flooring prices range from the reasonable to the ridiculous, depending on the style, size and scope of your project. And it all starts with the design process.
Top Five Flooring Design Tips
Tip 1) Know Your Needs
It's best to base your flooring choices on needs, as opposed to wants. That means you should look at the traffic pattern of the room and buy something that can handle it. It also means you should consider your cleaning habits and choose a style that requires the maintenance you're willing to give. Be practical at first and you will end up with a better-suited product in the end.
Tip 2) Think About When You Want to Do This Again
It may seem strange to start a project by thinking this far into the future, but flooring is often based on longevity. If you will get sick of your carpet in five or six years, then by all means opt for something of lower quality. But if you are in for the long haul and aren't planning to redecorate any time soon, you'll need to invest in something else.
The same thing applies to hardwood and laminate. If you don't want this flooring to be there for life laminate might be a better choice, delivering the look without the strength of hardwood. If this is the last flooring you'll ever buy, true hardwood is a wise investment.
Tip 3) Buy the Most You Can Afford
No matter what level of quality you decide on (based on your needs of course), buy the best you can afford in that level. Cheap flooring can become a nightmare. And it's a nightmare you find hard to ignore walking on it every day. Research and shop around for the best deal, but invest in your home with quality, well made carpet.
Tip 4) Be Environmentally Conscious
It's not just a fad. Choosing green products for your home improvement projects can make a big difference to the environment. Not only will green carpeting and flooring products give off less VOCs and make for a healthier home, but green methods of removal and install will reduce waste significantly. Choose for the future and choose green.
Tip 5) Be Comfortable
In reality, your home is all about comfort and not so much about show. Choose a flooring style that provides the most year round comfort for you and your family. Think about your pets that have four feet on the floor instead of two. Consider how the flooring will feel under bare feet, to a crawling baby, in the dead of winter. Cover all of the options of day-to-day living in your house and be sure to invest in flooring that provides a comfortable surface, not just a pretty face.
Flooring is a big investment that can change the entire look and atmosphere of your home. Design and choose wisely, and feel free to look for inspiration in our finished flooring project photos. Spending some time on choosing the right design will payoff in the form of an awesome flooring that pleases you every time you enter that room.
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