Tired of crawling out of bed every morning to scratched, old floors? There’s something special about walking across the right floor for the first time. That satisfying feeling of warmth underfoot, the cushioned softness of bedroom carpet, or anti-stain kitchen tile–good flooring sets the tone of your entire home.
But when every room has its own flooring needs (and every Pinterest board has a different style), picking the right floors can be overwhelming. If you’re ready to move on from your old floors, this is just the guide you need–we’ll show you exactly how to choose the right floor for every room in your home.
Looking For Something In Particular?
- Flooring: What To Consider First?
- Kitchen: Got Spills?
- Living Room: Where Socks Slide
- ADUs: Small But Mighty
- Bedroom: Where Your Feet Demand Soft Landings
- Bathroom: Slippery When Wet
- Cold Feet, No More!
Flooring: What To Consider First?
Truth be told, there’s no clear-cut recommendation we could hand out to everyone in the PNW. The “best” flooring depends on these 5 things: budget, how each room is used, who uses them, maintenance, and aesthetics.
Budget
The most important thing when it comes to deciding your selection of floors is your budget. It’ll determine what materials are available, and who you choose to install your floor. If you’re willing to make a bigger investment into something like hardwood floors, they come with long-term benefits like decades of durability and adding resale value to your home, while cheaper floors might need earlier replacement.
The cost of your floors depends on several factors like if you’re installing flooring in one room or multiple, materials, and the size of your room. In Seattle, a normal price range is $1,700-$5,300 for a 500 square foot space, but always ask your contractor for a precise quote.
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, since people will be walking over there all the time, and more floor replacements are just unnecessary headaches. Especially the kitchen, you don’t want dropped knives and pans scratching up the place!
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.
Who Uses Each Room
You’ll also want to pick your floors based on who’s living with you. Got little ones running around? Anti-slip and soft floors might be a priority for safety reasons. Does allergy season wreak havoc on your house? Wood, tile, and vinyl will be your friends, where carpet is dust-collecting enemy. So just keep in mind the lifestyles of those around you.
Maintenance
Like everything else in your home, floors require upkeep, but some more than others. How much are you willing to take care of your floors? Hardwood needs refinishing and can be sensitive to water, carpet needs regular vacuuming, but tile and vinyl are low maintenance. So unless you have maids that clean up the place every week, think about how much you’re willing to keep those floors squeaky clean.
Aesthetics
Last but certainly not least, the design! Your eyes can’t avoid your floors, so you’ll want something you’ll love to look at. Wood and wood-like floors give you a classic appearance, while porcelain and marble tile give you a more polished, luxury look. It all depends on the rest of your home, your walls, and your furniture to curate your desired aesthetic.
Pro Tip: Don’t use more than 3 flooring types in the whole home for a more cohesive, put-together design.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the room-by-room breakdown!
Kitchen: Got Spills?
With family members walking by to grab their food, glasses of pinot noir spilling, and pans hitting the floor, you’ll want durable, moisture resistant floors. You want a floor that wipes those crumbs clean–ceramic and porcelain is a popular choice for the kitchen–as you get waterproof, easy to clean tiles. It can also handle hot pans and sharp impacts better than most wood floors.
If you hate chilly floors, you can either add some cute floor mats or use luxury vinyl plank (LVP) instead for a bit more warmth. They’re durable and they look like hardwood, all without the high cost.
With these options, taco nights with the kids or a red sauce eruption from spaghetti Sundays are much more bearable with a floor that can take a beating. Plus, you won’t have to invest in the “best” cleaning equipment on the market anymore–you can get by knowing grease and grime come right off.
Living Room: Where Socks Slide
Remember how we said your lifestyle is a big flooring factor? That’s especially true in the living room. It really depends on the style and vibe you’re going for. Want something cozy and relaxing? Go carpet. It cushions sound, is comfortable, and gives you the “homey” feel.
Want something that’ll never go out of style, with a formal look? Hardwood is your best bet here. It’s low maintenance, and it gives you the option to experiment with rugs, too. Contrast with your furniture and you’ll have a home theater, or a new favorite place to sleep. Your choice.
ADUs: Small But Mighty
When it comes to accessory dwelling units (ADUs), you want something that’s durable because it’s either a rental or multi-use space. You also want something low-maintenance, cost-effective, and moisture-resistant if there’re any kitchens, bathrooms or basements. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) does just the job here, as you can even install it yourself with how easy it is.
But if you’re installing new floors to your ADU, you’ll want to avoid carpet, as it traps stains and allergens, and can wear down quickly. As well as hardwood–while beautiful, it’s expensive and not waterproof which can be risky for rental units or basement ADUs.
Bedroom: Where Your Feet Demand Soft Landings
You can absolutely prioritize comfort over durability with your bedrooms, since you probably aren’t cooking food or bowling here (at least we hope not). Carpet is the favorite choice here, its soft plushness is comfortable to climb out of bed to, and won’t freeze your feet off. Not to mention, it even insulates the room for sound and temperature, so you can play your favorite Taylor Swift tracks a little bit louder.
If you have really bad allergies, you can go with hardwood floor bedrooms to avoid dust in carpet fibers. Or if the rest of the flooring on that floor is hardwood, consistency will make it look put together.
Bathroom: Slippery When Wet
You could probably guess what the top priority for your bathroom floor is. You’re taking hot showers, lounging in bubble baths, washing your face… Alright, no more hints, your bathroom floors need to be waterproof!
Floors that don’t warp when your hair’s dripping wet. Porcelain or ceramic tile are both very popular in the bathroom, as they’re durable, slip resistant, and come with endless designs from mosaics to large format tiles. Another reason why they’re so great is because you can customize your tiles to mold the perfect vibe–something spa-like or clean and modern.
You’ll probably get cold feet with these, so if you don’t have any slippers, get some rugs. Oh, and this should go without saying, but avoid hardwood floors since water will warp it, and carpet because… well that’s self-explanatory.
Cold Feet, No More!
Now that you know what floors suit your life the best, don’t keep those ideas on the floor! Whether you need something waterproof for the kitchen, durable for high-traffic areas, or soft and cozy for the bedroom, the right flooring can make every space feel brand new.
At NW Build, we help homeowners in Bellevue and the Greater Seattle Area find the perfect match—and install it with craftsmanship that lasts.
Let’s bring your vision to life. Book a FREE, no-obligation consultation with our remodeling team today.
Sources
