A little over a year ago, we decided to replace the horrific laminate flooring in our home. It was yellow, it was cheap, it was peeling, it was just straight up UG-LY. We decided to install luxury vinyl planks (aka LVP) because we knew several people who had and loved it, it’s durable, etc. In today’s post I want to highlight the pros and cons of this flooring after living with it for the past year. I’m also sharing some tips on how to pick the right color for your home, too!
HOW WE PICKED OUR FLOORING:
We got our flooring from a local flooring company (who I won’t name because I would not recommend them). They have hundreds of samples in their showroom, so Skyler and I picked out about 5 and took them home. One of the samples we took home was the same sample that my mother in law had in her home and we both loved it in her house. It looked horrific and WAY yellow in our home. This is a great lesson for us and everyone- just because flooring looks amazing in someone else’s home does not mean that it will look good in yours! Here are a few other tips on how to choose the perfect color for your home:
Get as many samples as possible. Don’t be shy! You’re spending a lot of money and you want to absolutely love the outcome, so take your time and try as many samples as you can! We went through at least 15 samples before we picked out the flooring in our house. The larger the sample, the better. The smaller samples don’t truly show how the flooring is going to look.
Make sure you pick a flooring that comes in longer runs. You don’t want shorter than 48” pieces because it will look piecey and cheap.
Set the samples in each room at different times during the day. They can look completely different during sunrise, sunset, at night, etc. Make sure the sample that you like the most is great for every single room in your home during all times of the day! The way the light comes into your home can drastically change the way the floor looks, so keep that in mind.
Take photos of each sample in different rooms at different times throughout the day. If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. But keep in mind how much money you’re spending and the fact that the hard work will be worth your time when you have flooring that you absolutely love.
If you have kids (or dogs), avoid the LVP with grooves. This is the only thing I hate about our floors. Jett throws food on the floor and it gets stuck in the little grooves and it’s just a mess. The grooves also make the flooring look more like tile and less like real wood.
Take your furniture and paint color into consideration. This is something that so many people do not think about. If you pick a flooring with warm tones, it will totally clash with cool tone paint and furniture. They should all be the same so they mix well together. If your walls are a warm gray, the flooring should be a warm tone as well!
PROS OF LUXURY VINYL PLANK FLOORING:
It’s less expensive than hardwood flooring.
It’s really durable. We have a few scratches on our floor after a year and our toddler is wild. He’s smashed toys on the floor more times than I can count, but the floor doesn’t scratch! It’s incredible.
It’s easy to install.
It doesn’t need to be glued to the subfloor.
It’s water resistant. If you have a leak, the flooring can be taken up, dried, and put back down.
You can use it in the bathroom(s). In our house, we laid the same flooring throughout and it made our home look SO MUCH BIGGER! Not having to buy transition strips will save you money too!
The cork cushioning is easy on your feet.
Since the pieces click together, if one is damaged it can easily be replaced.
It won’t peel or curl like laminate flooring.
It looks and feels like hard wood flooring.
CONS OF LUXURY VINYL PLANK FLOORING:
The flooring can bounce since it isn’t glued down. If your floors are even, this won’t be an issue.
Hardwood is better for resale value.
It’s a little bit shinier than wood.
As you can see, there aren’t as many cons as there are pros. This flooring really is amazing and it’s amazing for kids and pets! We definitely plan on installing this in our future home (if the flooring needs to be replaced, that’s tbd)! If you have any questions, leave them below in the comments! If you’re remodeling, I hope this post was helpful to you!
FLOORING // COREtec Hayes Oak
PAINT COLOR // Sherwin Williams High Reflective White
Xo,
Haley
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