Getting a home remodel done? Here’s how to choose the right flooring that will mesh seamlessly with the design.
Are you planning on remodeling your home, but can’t figure out what new floors you want? We get it, it’s overwhelming. There’s a bunch of different materials to choose from, all with their own variations, colors and designs. By the looks of it, your remodel will probably be finished by the time you decide on a floor.
So instead of spinning the wheel and picking a random floor, we’ve compiled this guide to help you choose the right floors for each room in your home. We’ve taken factors like budget, lifestyle, and maintenance into consideration to give you our top picks for each room.
Jump To A Section:
- Why Your Floors Shouldn’t Be An Afterthought
- What to Consider When Picking A New Floor
- Kitchen Floors: The Splash Zone
- Living Room: The Sock Runway
- Basement: The Underworld (But Make It Inviting)
- Bedroom: The Ultimate Barefoot Zone
- Bathroom: The Steam Room Battleground
Why Your Floors Shouldn’t Be An Afterthought
While floors aren’t as flashy of a feature as your kitchen countertops or a spiral staircase, they set the tone for each room, whether you notice it or not. Selecting the right floor is an investment in your home’s comfort and character – and it should be unique to who you are (not just some random pinterest board). Plus, great floors aren’t picked in 2 seconds. But, they also don’t need 2 decades to decide on, we’ll simplify it for you here.
What to Consider When Picking A New Floor
While we’d love to share the “best floor for each room” it’s really not as simple as that (if you see any flooring company with that type of content, don’t trust it). We always give our clients personalized recommendations based on these 5 factors: Their budget, how each room is used, who uses them, maintenance, and what design they want.
Your Flooring Budget
The deciding factor when it comes to selecting your floor is your budget. It determines what materials you can choose from, and who you choose to install your flooring. If you’re willing to make a bigger investment into something like hardwood floors for your kitchen, they’ll last much longer compared to other materials and even add a bit of resale value to your home. Whereas cheaper floors might need more frequent replacing.
The cost of your floor installation depends on several factors:
- How many rooms are being installed
- Materials
- Size of each room
- Moving furniture (you can do the heavy lifting with a friend if you’d like)
- Removing old flooring
- Location (labor costs)
According to Modernize, “On average, flooring installation can cost between $1,000 and $10,000 for a 500 square foot room, or $2 to $20 per square foot” But to ensure you get an accurate quote, read through the rest of this guide so you can tell your contractor exactly what you want.
How Each Room Is Used
For high-traffic areas like entryways, hallways, and kitchens, you’ll want to consider durable materials like hardwood. You don’t want to skimp out on durability here, unless for some reason you want to replace your floors very often. Or, let’s say you have some artists in your home–you’ll want easy-to-clean floors so you don’t have to pull your hair out after every studio session.
For low-traffic or cozy areas, you can consider using softer materials, like a carpeted basement, living room, or the office that only you work in. Some people prefer carpeted bedrooms, too.
Who Uses Each Room
How you choose your flooring should also be based on who’s living with you. If you’ve got little kiddos running around, you’ll want anti-slip or soft floors to minimize any accidents and boo-boos. If allergy season is the worst time of the year for your family, you’ll want floors that don’t collect dust like an old trophy. So keep in mind who’s under your roof.
Maintenance
Like everything else in your home, you’ll need to take care of your floors. But some materials require more upkeep than others. If you don’t have time or get exhausted thinking about using your mop, tile and vinyl are great low maintenance options. Materials like hardwood and carpet will require some frequent cleaning, but then again, it all depends on how each room is being used.
Design
Of course, we can’t forget about the vibes! Figuring out you picked the wrong floors 3 months later is the worst feeling–and you can’t just not look at your floors 24/7. So to ensure you don’t accidentally choose an eyesore of a floor, really pay attention to the aesthetics of each floor, and what tone you’re trying to set. It’s quite literally the foundation of your home’s overall aesthetic.
For instance:
- Wood floors give you a classic home appearance
- Porcelain, ceramic, and marble tile give you a polished, luxury, and modern look
- Carpet provides the comfy-cozy experience that you can relax in
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at our top picks for each room.
Kitchen Floors: The Splash Zone
Between wild dinner preps, surprise wine spills, and your kid’s new hobby of launching forks across the room, your kitchen floor takes a daily beating. You need a surface that laughs in the face of messes and stands up to moisture like a champ.
Enter ceramic and porcelain tile — waterproof, easy to wipe clean, and tough enough to handle dropped pots and pans without flinching.
Hate cold toes? Skip the daily dance to avoid the chill and go for luxury vinyl plank (LVP) instead. It offers that warm, wood-like look but still handles spills like a pro (and won’t blow up your budget).
With these options, spaghetti sauce splatters and taco night chaos become “no big deal” moments — and you might even downgrade your cleaning gadgets from NASA-level to normal human.
Living Room: The Sock Runway
Your living room is where movie marathons happen, impromptu dance-offs start, and yes, where socks get maximum slide distance.
Don’t know how to choose the right flooring for your living room? If cozy and casual is your vibe, carpet is your best friend. It’s soft, quiets those Netflix fight scenes, and offers a comfy landing for spontaneous floor naps.
If you want timeless elegance, hardwood never goes out of style. It’s easy to maintain, makes your furniture pop, and pairs perfectly with a statement rug (or three). Bonus: it makes your living room feel twice as fancy — even when it’s covered in popcorn kernels after movie night.
Basement: The Underworld (But Make It Inviting)
Your basement might be the home gym, the kids’ indoor soccer field, the gaming dungeon, or just the “let’s put it somewhere down there” storage zone. No matter how you use it, it deserves more than a cold concrete slab.
Basements are naturally prone to moisture and temperature swings, so your floor needs to be tough, moisture-resistant, and cozy enough that you actually want to hang out down there.
If you don’t know how to choose the right flooring, luxury vinyl plank (LVP) is a total basement hero — it’s water-resistant, durable, and still stylish enough to impress your friends during game night. Tile is another solid option, especially if you want to double up your basement as a home gym or workshop. Just be ready for it to feel a bit chilly without rugs or radiant heating.
Carpet tiles can work too if you’re after warmth and comfort (think movie room vibes), plus they’re easier to replace in small sections if something goes wrong — spilled soda, mystery stains, or a surprise plumbing leak.
Avoid solid hardwood at all costs — basements and wood floors are like oil and water. And trust us, you don’t want to discover that after your first big rainstorm. So if you want your basement to feel like a cozy retreat rather than a haunted storage locker, start from the ground up — literally.
Bedroom: The Ultimate Barefoot Zone
Your bedroom is your sanctuary where your feet deserve a gentle, cloud-like greeting every morning.
Carpet is the classic go-to here. It’s soft, warm, and makes getting out of bed on winter mornings a little less painful. It also keeps your space quieter (so you can blast your music guilt-free).
If you’ve sworn off dust bunnies or want a sleek, unified look with the rest of the house, hardwood is a solid option too. It’s cleaner, hypoallergenic, and makes matching that Pinterest-perfect vibe a breeze.
Bathroom: The Steam Room Battleground
Let’s be real: your bathroom floor is basically a front-row seat to splashes, puddles, and runaway bath bombs.
Porcelain and ceramic tile dominate here for good reason — they’re waterproof, slip-resistant, and come in endless designs (think spa retreat or modern oasis). Don’t love icy toes? Throw down a plush rug or grab some cozy slippers.
Skip hardwood unless you’re into warped floorboards and heartbreak, and carpet… well, we probably don’t have to explain why soggy carpet is a no-go.
Let’s Hit The Floor Running
Now that you know the core flooring factors to consider–you now know how to choose the right flooring–going out and picking the right materials should be easier than scrolling through remodeling ideas! And with the right floors, you’ll have the complete look to your home’s vision, and be completely functional for every room.
Don’t let these ideas collect dust on the floor – if you’re looking for a home remodel or new flooring installation, contact the team who knows how to do it best in Willowbrook.
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