Flooring

Choosing the right floor can sometimes be tricky. You begin by balancing what you want with what you need. Carpet, for example, a common choice for a living room or bedroom quickly becomes dirty in high-traffic areas. Avoid carpet in the kitchen unless the kids are gone, cooking is at a minimum, and the thought of walking on hard ceramic floors make your hips ache.

Next you should try to balance the look of the floor against the appearance of the rest of the room. Is the floor the focal point? Think ceramic tile. Or should it disappear into the wallpaper? Think carpet. Do you want it to warm up a cool wall? Probably wood then.

Finally, balance what you want with what you can afford. Budget, or course, is a real factor. But so is the location: Wood floors are a bad idea in a bath and impossible in the basement. Vinyl or ceramic tile may be perfect for a bath, and wood great for the family room. But if the floor beneath either is old vinyl, removing it may be an asbestos hazard. And how are you going to nail a wooden floor to the concrete in the garage-turned-family room? All of these are considerations you are going to need to decide on.