Selecting new flooring for your house is nothing short of exciting. It can change your home's entire look and vibe and provide comfort and safety to its dwellers.
But once you get over the excitement, you might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the options available in the market. From deciding on a flooring material to comparing floor retailers and suppliers, the selection process may seem like unending decision-making.
To make it easier for you to decide on the decorative flooring to use for your home, we have compiled six important steps you must take:
Step #1: Determine the Room You’re Reflooring
Choosing a new floor should always depend on which room you’re planning to remodel. Different rooms are used for various purposes and, thus, need specific types of flooring material. Choosing the wrong match is like wearing socks on your hands or gloves on your feet — it just doesn’t fit.
Take the mudroom and kitchen, for example. These rooms face other major challenges beyond foot traffic, ranging from grit-covered kids’ shoes and dripping raincoats to heavy crashes and chair feet dragging across the room.
This is why the kitchen and mudroom floors are thought to be subjected to the most wear and tear. To lighten the burden, you must make sure to choose durable, cost-efficient, and low-maintenance floor material. Considering this, the ideal flooring options for the kitchen are ceramic tiles, vinyl, or polished concrete.
Step #2: Define Your Style and Lifestyle
When choosing a new floor, you also need to consider both your own design sensibilities as well as your own lifestyle.
Think about the patterns, colors, and even textures that appeal to you. Do you like the rich grain of the wood, or do you have a weakness for a luxuriously thick carpet? Maybe you like the sleek lines found in porcelain tiles or the elegance of terrazzo flooring.
If you’re choosing a floor for a remodeling project, consider the existing décor and other interior design elements. Unless you’re planning a complete overhaul, make sure that the floor you choose complements the furniture and accessories you already have.
Besides aesthetics, you also need to consider your lifestyle.
Households with children or pets may need a hard-wearing floor that can withstand scratches and stains, like laminate, tiles, vinyl, or polished concrete. Carpets are also good for families with small children and older people as they provide comfort and slip resistance.
But if you’re someone living in a quiet adults-only home, then the classic hardwood may probably be a good choice (unless you wear pointy high heels and live with pets).
Step #3: Study the Trends
Trends serve as a useful guide in making a lot of decisions today, and picking a new floor is no exception.
There is a wide range of choices available today, but concrete floors remain the hottest flooring material. Although concrete was considered for subfloors in the past, innovations in the flooring industry have transformed the way people see this component.
You can have stained concrete floorings that go beyond the usual plain and gray concrete. Thanks to specialty stains and sealers, your concrete floor can resemble materials like tumbled stone, polished marble, brick pavers, or just about anything you wish. They can even transform concrete into a work of art (think terrazzo).
With concrete floors, the design possibilities are endless. If that’s not enough to convince you to go for concrete, here are other innate advantages of the flooring material you can look forward to:
- Long-lasting durability
- Low maintenance
- Cost-efficiency
Step #4: List Down Your Requirements
When deciding on a new floor, having a vague picture in your mind isn’t enough. You need to have a clear set of criteria to help you check whether the flooring options you’re presented are viable candidates.
If you have no clue as to what you need to look for, below are some examples of the basic requirements most homeowners look at:
- Appearance-based expectations (long-term)
- Cost requirements based on your budget (see next step)
- Performance (includes durability and resistance to stains, moisture, scratches, etc.)
- Maintenance
- Warranties
Step #5: Take Measurements and Compute Your Budget
As mentioned in the previous step, you’ll also need to determine how much you’re willing (and able) to pay for the new floor. Remember that the floor’s cost may include more than just the material – it can also include underlayment, delivery, installation, and removal of the previous flooring.
Step #6: Shop Around
Once you have a good idea of what you want and can afford, begin looking around for prospective floor suppliers. Don’t settle with the first one you see; browse more than one shop to ensure that you’ve seen all you need to see to make the right choice.
When browsing through catalogs or visiting showrooms, it is best to have a specific flooring material in mind. If you picked concrete as the main floor (not just the subfloor), seek help from paint and decorative floor professionals here at Equipaint. We can provide you with samples and recommend finishes that may just fit exactly what you’re looking for.
Make a Choice You Won’t Regret
It is easy to make a mistake when choosing a new floor without any knowledge or criteria in mind. Follow the steps listed in this article and ask for recommendations from our experts here at Equipaint so you can make a choice you won’t regret.