4 Similar Alternatives To Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood floors are often considered the pinnacle of the floor world. Wood floors are durable, beautiful and can add a dimension of liveliness to your living quarters. When it comes to floors, there's nothing that beats hardwood floor. Or is there? Hardwood floors, despite how nice they are, can be quite expensive. Their status as the luxury form of commons flooring, of course, comes at a price. Luckily for you, there are a number of alternatives that will have your pocketbook thanking you. Throughout the course of this article, you'll learn about 4 similar alternatives to hardwood flooring.
Wood Laminate
Wood laminate flooring is perhaps the best cost effective form of flooring that serves as an alternative to that luxury of luxuries, hardwood flooring. Wood laminate can effectively emulate any number of hardwood flooring finishes, including oak, hickory, maple and cherry. You can also, for a small, nominal fee, usually acquire wood laminate floors that feature embossed patterns. These add a level of realism to wood laminate that is difficult to replicate through other affordable alternatives. Wood laminate floors are also markedly easier to install than hardwood floors and tend to be good DIY installation jobs for the right person.
Luxury Vinyl
Although this sounds like a type of vinyl, luxury vinyl actually attempts to recreate the appearance of tile. Not just any tile, either; it can recreate the appearance of some very expensive, quite, well, luxurious forms of tile. For example, luxury tile can easily recreate the appearance of marble tile, giving it a look that is straight out of a Greco-Roman design. Many people often times prefer the appearance of luxury vinyl, even. It brings out a warmth that genuine tile can't bring forth. So it all depends on what you prefer: extravagant prices and a cold demeanor or warmth and prices that won't have your pocketbook doubled over in pain.
Sheet Vinyl
For many people, this is the go to alternative for hardwood floors. It is markedly cheaper than hardwood floors and still maintains a certain degree of elegance that will make your house look that much more inviting. In addition to its aesthetic value, sheet vinyl is also noticeably more resilient than hardwood floors. For example, moisture will quickly damage hardwood floors causing warping and expansion, but water will not damage sheet vinyl and can just easily be wiped away. Sheet vinyl will provide you with a less expensive alternative to hardwood floors and ensures that you will be granted a longer lifespan when it comes to your floors.
Ceramic Tiles
Ceramic tiles are becoming more and more commonplace in homes, and they will give your home a nice "exotic" vibe, are economical and are a great, less expensive alternative to hardwood floors. Ceramic tiles are nothing new in the Mediterranean and the more temperate areas of Western Europe. They can give your home an artistic aesthetic and truly add to the general feel of your home. It is a look that is simultaneously rustic yet entirely modern. There are more businesses cropping up by the day willing to sell and install ceramic tile in your house, so be on the lookout!
Although wood flooring is, without a doubt, one of the pinnacles of flooring achievements, this does not mean that there are not alternatives that are quite a bit cheaper but look almost as good or, in some cases, almost identical to wood flooring. It's best to shop around to find a deal that is right for you, as well as to find the aesthetic that fits your specific personality and home. Don't be afraid to try different things out, either and to receive the opinions of others with an open mind. Having said that, look at this hyperlink have a great time choosing the floor that is right for you!
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