Another elegant option for your home flooring needs is tile. With tile, the most popular choices are ceramic, porcelain, and stone. Ceramic is made from fired clay and gives your home a Greek or Roman atmosphere. Ceramic is very affordable and still looks great. Stone tile can definitely get a little more expensive if you are looking at granite or onyx flooring, but these tiles can make your kitchen pop while still maintaining the natural look. Last, we have porcelain tile flooring originating from China thousands of years ago. These tiles seem to float because of their light and delicate appearance, but don’t be fooled because they are just as durable. When it comes to tile I would recommend stone for the kitchen and porcelain for the bathrooms. It will add sophistication to any home especially if you mix it with a beautifully finished hardwood floor.
With engineered hardwood comes an array of choices just like solid hardwood. Hickory, oak, bamboo, and maple are just a few of them. I would recommend engineered oak flooring because it’s a traditional yet elegant redwood finish and it’s slightly less expensive than the rest.
It can be difficult to choose what kind of flooring will be in your home. Here’s a basic guide to the pros and cons of different hardwood floors. Hardwood flooring comes in three different types of wood. There’s the genuine and not to mention expensive hardwood that looks great but definitely takes a large chunk out of your wallet. Then there’s the inexpensive laminate that tries to look like hardwood but simply can’t have the same luster as real wood. So that leaves us with the choice that is cheaper than the genuine solid hardwood flooring and doesn’t look like cheap shiny plastic. This type is called an engineered wood floor. These floors are easier to install and you can do it yourself because it comes in small pieces that are easy to handle. Now the difference between engineered wood and solid hardwood is that only the top one eighth of the pieces on engineered wood is real solid wood while the rest is unfinished plywood. If you can live with this since you can’t see it anyway, I would recommend this option for your home. With engineered hardwood, the plywood base is actually beneficial because it strengthens the flooring since it’s laid cross-ways to the finish layer. It’s also less likely to crack in a dry climate such as Colorado.
