Flooring is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make when planning a whole home renovation. Your choice of material will set the aesthetic in every room. Durability will be a major factor, with varied materials suiting different areas of the home depending on traffic and purpose. Get your choices right and you could enjoy a fresh look that lasts for years.

You’ll need to explore all the available options before settling on a material that suits your home. Take the time to learn about the most popular choices and you’ll be better prepared when you kick off your next project.

Hardwood Flooring for a Luxurious Home Renovation

This material is usually the first to come to mind when you are looking for luxury and distinction. Hardwood flooring can turn the ordinary home into a work of true beauty. Natural timber is also long lasting and can be refinished many times over to keep up with the demands of your household.

While one of the most popular flooring materials for a whole home renovation, hardwood is also the most expensive. The elegant natural look also comes with high maintenance requirements for polishing and refinishing. If you’re looking for exotic wood species that will make your home stand out, you could expect to pay up to $14 per square foot, or even more for the rarest species.

Hardwood is an excellent choice if you’re ready for the upkeep and willing to pay a little extra for something that’s truly luxurious. Do keep in mind that hardwood flooring is susceptible to moisture damage, so it’s not well suited to kitchens, bathrooms, and basements.

Laminate Flooring for High Traffic Areas

Gone are the days when laminate flooring was the ‘second tier choice’ in home renovation. Older laminates were typically low in quality with aesthetics that always looked a little too artificial. Today, laminates are engineered to high standards, offering great looks, excellent durability, and affordable pricing.

Quality laminate flooring can range between $5 and $7 per square foot. Higher end products could cost a more, but you’ll benefit from a more realistic aesthetic.

Unless you’re on a very strict budget, laminate flooring isn’t recommended for every room in your home. Instead, use this material to complement your main flooring choice while keeping costs manageable. Secondary living areas, playrooms, hobby rooms, and home offices are all perfectly suited to this material.

Vinyl Flooring that is Durable and Cost Effective

Vinyl, like laminate flooring, is cost effective. You could spend as little as $5 per square foot in most cases. Vinyl is waterproof, resistant to damage, and some manufactures can closely replicate the aesthetic of wood. However, even the best examples still have a slight artificial appearance, especially when it comes to the precise uniformity of the planks.

Use this material in a Home Renovation for shared bathrooms, laundry room, or anywhere that you want good looks with high durability. The non-slip properties of vinyl are extremely desirable in areas that will be exposed to moisture. Vinyl is also ideal for basement finishing and garage conversion, so you’ll want to take a closer look at your options if you’ll be making changes in either of these spaces.

Tile Flooring for a Classic Aesthetic

Some of the most elegant buildings ever designed use tile flooring. Both ceramic and porcelain tiles can look great in your home, particularly if you’re aiming for a classic or transitional aesthetic. Of course, tiles are available in countless color and design options, so they’re also well suited to Home Renovation in a innovative modern decor.

Tiles repel water when carefully installed, so they are excellent for kitchens and bathrooms where moisture could be a problem. Tiles are easy to keep clean through regular sweeping or vacuuming with a soft brush attachment. You can mop spills from tiles with ease, and you won’t have to worry about discoloration.

Any room is suited to tiles, but you should think about comfort. Tiles are hard underfoot and are not the best option for kid’s bedrooms or playrooms. In living areas, you’ll want to incorporate rugs to create a varied aesthetic while offering comfort for your family and guests.

Cost can vary dramatically when using tiles. Some options will fall under $10 per square foot for installation. Some luxury, designer, and imported tiles could exceed $20 per square foot. Your costs will depend on the look and longevity that you want to achieve. The highest quality porcelain tiles could easily last the lifetime of your home if properly installed and cared for.

Engineered Wood Flooring for Luxury on a Budget

What if you love the look of hardwood but you want to keep your budget at a reasonable level? Engineered wood flooring could be the answer. This is a unique material that incorporates an engineered subsurface that is veneered with a layer of real wood. The aesthetic is fantastic and to most people is indistinguishable from solid hardwood.

Engineered wood panels are easy to install, especially when using slot-together systems. This will keep your whole home renovation costs down. You could even go for highly stylized flooring like parquet tiles, at just a fraction of the cost of solid wood.

Consider engineered wood panels for your kitchen or bathroom. They’re more stable when exposed to moisture, making them an alternative to hardwood in many situations. Quality engineered wood can usually be refinished at least once, so you’ll get decent longevity from this option.

Quality panels can cost around $7 per square foot. Costs can increase depending on the veneer material that you choose.

Plan a Whole Home Renovation with the Best Contractors in Des Moines

Flooring is critical, but it’s just one decision to make in your whole home renovation. Materials can inspire your overall design, helping you to create the home that you’ve always wanted.

You can design your best home yet with the team at HomeWorx Iowa. With extensive experience in home renovation and remodeling, we can talk you through all your options, while creating a design that reflects your wants and needs. More than just talk about it, we’ll even provide a complete 3D render before any work begins. You’ll be able to visualize changes and adjust as necessary. Our attention to detail in the planning stage will save you money, time, stress, and the disappointment that can come from a rushed renovation.

Your home is your biggest investment. Ensure that it continues to pay off for years to come by renovating with HomeWorx.