Choosing the flooring for your custom home is an important decision and between the plethora of materials and finishes, the options are seemingly limitless. This is why, when searching for the perfect flooring to compliment your home, it’s important to keep in mind that it needs to be both pleasing to the eye and functional. Beyond the aesthetics of a certain type of flooring, think about the dogs that might be running around, toddlers that may be spilling their juice, kids that might like to play on the floor, and think about your own bare feet walking down the hall on a Sunday morning on your way to make a pot of coffee in your custom kitchen. In this article, we’ll tackle the benefits of engineered hardwoods, laminate flooring, tile, luxury vinyl tile, and carpet, so that you can begin making the selections for your home with a bit of knowledge in your pocket.
Four Things To Think About When Choosing Flooring:
ENGINEERED HARDWOODS
Engineered hardwoods are made of several layers of compressed wood and plywood, topped with a thin slice of natural wood. This sort of construction is far stronger and much more weather resistant to a single piece of solid hardwood, which is why it is much more commonly used today. The advanced construction technique helps prevent buckles, gaps, and twists that would often happen with traditional hardwood floors after several years of everyday use. Our customers love the look and feel of engineered hardwood as it is nearly indistinguishable from solid wood as it is finished with a slice of natural wood on top. The largest drawbacks of engineered hardwood are that it can scratch relatively easily in comparison with laminate or tile and that it requires quite a bit more care and attention as it is made of an organic material. That said, there are several engineered hardwoods that have a top coating that can help with scratch resistance and limit seasonal expansion. Of course, it is also a more expensive option, but if you’ve always dreamed of lining your floors with natural, hard wood, perhaps this is the right answer for you and your home.
LAMINATE FLOORING
Laminate is a fabulous option if you love the look of real wood, but want something with a bit more durability and a lower price point. If you are intrigued by hard wood but are a bit nervous about the damage that your kids might do, this may be the solution. Laminate products are typically made of a high density fiberboard topped with a photographic layer that mimics the look of wood with surprisingly perfect detail. It’s likely that you’ve walked across a laminate floor in the past and not even realized that it wasn’t real hardwood. The construction features make it much more resistant to scratching and denting than wood floors, and it can hold up to spills in a way that is unmatched by natural wood, making it ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, mudrooms, or anywhere else that might get splashed on occasion. Ultimately, it’s a much more affordable option compared to engineered hardwood, requires far less maintenance, and can still look stunning and natural.
LUXURY VINYL TILE
Luxury Vinyl Tile, or just LVT as it’s typically referred to, is the ideal product for households with pets. It is a highly durable and scratch-resistant flooring product that makes an excellent alternative to both engineered hardwood and laminate flooring. Beyond being so easy to maintain, it tends to be comparatively warmer to the touch than ceramic or natural stones, making it nice on your bare feet or your pet’s stomach. It also absorbs sound better, so the pitter-patter of your dog chasing its tail won’t resonate as loudly throughout the house. Obviously the flooring that you choose needs to be beautiful as well as functional, and LVT can appease a wide variety of home styles and color schemes, as it is available in an abundance of colors and designs from hardwood to natural stone to classic Italian tile.
TILE
Don’t pass up classic tile flooring when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms as it is highly resistant to water and extremely resilient when it comes to discoloration and staining. Tiles are easy to clean and maintain and, on top of that, help keep your home cool. A style benefit of tile in rooms such as a bathroom is that you can use the same tile to adorn shower walls or sink backsplashes in order to create a cohesive, luxurious bathroom with the feel of Italian marble and the cost and ease of tile installation. If you’re looking to add a natural element to your home, tile flooring is a great option as it comes in a broad earthy tone palette.
CARPET
There is a reason that carpet is a classic element to many homes, and the choice is just as popular as ever. New innovations in carpeting offer options with far better durability and stain and soil resistance than the shag found in our grandparents’ first homes. Newer carpets can even bounce back or regain their original shape after long periods of being bent or crushed by furniture. Most modern carpet options are resistant to mold, mildew, sun damage, and truly are far better than what you might have had as a kid. And on the really bright side, carpet is still just as soft as ever, making for a wonderful addition to a kid’s room or a television room, where you might find yourself down on your knees, playing with your children, or just resting on the floor against a pillow. There are a number of textures, patterns, and construction options for today’s carpets that can give a perfect mix of visual interest, soft-feel, and durability.
When choosing flooring for your new home, be sure to think about the traffic flow for each room, durability requirements, and maintenance levels. Thinking about these items ahead of time will help you determine the best flooring product for your new custom home so that you’re happy right away when you move in. Luckily, the Schumacher Homes FrontDoor™ pricing system will help you out along the way, detailing all of the possible options for your home customization and supplying real time quotes so that you can understand the bottom line when it comes to your budget. Today’s market provides an incredible amount of quality, durable, and affordable flooring options, so it is tough to go wrong, but it also makes it easy to get it exactly right.
About Schumacher Homes
Schumacher Homes, based in Canton, Ohio, is America’s largest custom homebuilder, with operations in 32 markets in 14 states across the country. The National Housing Quality award winning company has built over 20,000 homes, customized to fit each family’s lifestyle, since its founding by Paul Schumacher in 1992. Schumacher Homes takes each customer’s inspiration and gives it a home. Each Schumacher Homes location includes a one-stop shopping design studio and model homes displaying the latest in architectural and product trends. Stop in today, be inspired and receive your no obligation price quote.