Poulin Design Center offers a lot of choices to the homeowners and business owners of Albuquerque. But when your choices range over everything from carpeting, hardwood, laminate, and luxury vinyl tile to bamboo, cork, and ceramic and natural stone tile, making a decision can be a challenge. We offer free design consultations with our flooring experts to simplify the process, but to get you going on planning out your new floor, today we are also going to share a room-by-room flooring guide.
Remember, these are just some considerations and suggestions to get you started. The flooring you ultimately choose needs to be carefully selected to suit your specific circumstances and needs.
Bathrooms
The main consideration for bathroom flooring is moisture. This is probably not a surprise to anyone reading this. Certain flooring materials make for very poor choices in bathrooms, such as solid hardwood. Stick with non-porous, moisture resistant flooring.
Our Recommendations:
- Ceramic or porcelain tile
- Natural stone tile
- Luxury vinyl tile
Bedrooms
There are different schools of thought on bedroom flooring. Some people treat their bedroom as a private retreat where comfort is key, and others prioritize style over function. Bedroom flooring is a very personal decision, but certain materials are still going to be the clear favorites here.
Our Recommendations:
- Soft carpeting such as a cable, frieze, or saxony
- Solid or engineered hardwood
Dining Rooms
A formal dining room is likely a space where you will want to entertain guests and where spills are more likely to occur than in other areas of your home. It follows that your top priorities are likely to be style, durability, and ease of cleaning. You’ll want to choose a flooring that has a mix of elegance and toughness.
Our Recommendations:
- Solid or engineered hardwood
- Bamboo
- Laminate
Entryways
Albuquerque is pretty sunny and dry, but we do get some rain and we actually average about nine inches of snow per year. First and foremost, your entryway is going to have to stand up to some dust and dirt; but there may be a fair bit of moisture as well. You’ll want a flooring material that makes a good first impression and also one that can take some abuse and clean up quickly and easily.
Our Recommendations:
- Natural stone tile
- Ceramic or porcelain tile
- Luxury vinyl tile
- Engineered hardwood
Family Rooms
These rooms are becoming less common these days, but when we talk about a family room we mean the fancy room that isn’t really used unless you have important company visiting. You’ll want elegance in this room.
Our Recommendations:
- Velvet or plush saxony carpeting
- Solid or engineered hardwood
Living Rooms
As opposed to the family room, this is the room you regularly use. You’ll probably be watching TV in this room, eating and drinking, and generally spending a good portion of your time here. Comfort is important, but durability is also going to matter a lot in the long run.
Our Recommendations:
- Carpeting: Berber, frieze, or textured saxony
- Solid or engineered hardwood (plus an area rug)
Kitchens
Like bathrooms, kitchens experience a higher amount of moisture than other rooms in your home. Unlike bathrooms, kitchens are usually high-traffic areas were you will often be doing a fair amount of prolonged standing. You’ll want moisture-resistance, but it’s also a good idea to choose a flooring that will be easy to stand on for long periods of time.
Our Recommendations:
- Luxury vinyl tile
- Cork
- Engineered hardwood
- Ceramic or porcelain tile
- Natural stone tile
Rec Rooms
If you have kids and they have a rec room or play room, then you have a space with very specific flooring needs. A bit of cushioning can be quite useful, but an exceptionally soft carpeting will not hold up very well to playtime – not to mention it’s not as fun to play on in the first place.
Our Recommendations:
- Berber carpeting
- Luxury vinyl tile
Free, No-Obligation Design Consultation
Hopefully this quick guide will help get you started on your floor selection process. It’s not a definitive guide, though, and you should really have a flooring expert come into your space and see it firsthand so that the specifics of your situation can be assessed. Luckily, we have just such flooring experts at Poulin Design Center. Don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule an appointment!
Image Credit: Stock-Asso
