Floors play such an important part in any home, and they can dramatically transform the way it looks and feels. They’re also a very important expense, and if you are thinking of flooring entire areas of your house, you need to choose wisely. If you pick the wrong material, you could end up dealing with higher costs than expected, premature damage, and backlash from future home buyers. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular flooring options available and some of the benefits and disadvantages of each.

Hardwood

Let’s start with the most common and probably most beloved flooring materials of all: hardwood. Hardwood floors are popular for a lot of reasons, and one of them is their natural look and feel. They are comfortable to walk on and even the sound they make feels comforting. Hardwood floors come in a lot of different varieties too and are rather easy to maintain and refinish. With that being said, hardwood floors tend to be expensive and they don’t work for all rooms. They also usually require professional installation.

Laminate

Laminate is another common flooring material and has tons of things going for it. Laminate floors are much less expensive than hardwood floors and cost less to install. Some varieties out there are very DIY friendly too. If you have basic skills, Quick-Step’s laminate floor planks can be installed without professional help and have a nice natural look to them. Laminate is also one of the flooring materials that require the least maintenance. Laminate is a bit more rigid than hardwood, however, and will not have that signature feel. But it’s still a worthy alternative considering how much cheaper it is and how convincingly it replicates the look of wood.

Luxury Vinyl

Vinyl flooring is officially making a comeback, and we’re not talking about the old vinyl tiles we used to see in kitchens in the ‘80s. Luxury vinyl is a new flooring material made of a solid vinyl base, a print replicating the material of your choice, and a transparent protective layer on top. One of the main benefits of luxury vinyl flooring is that it’s one of the most versatile options out there. You can find luxury vinyl tiles and planks that look like wood, marble, or ceramic and the best part is that they will not have the limitations of some of these materials. Luxury vinyl tile is resistant to moisture, for instance, which means that you could get the appearance of wooden floors in a bathroom or a basement without worrying about moisture damage and rot.

Luxury vinyl has some of the same drawbacks as most synthetic materials, however. Even if it can replicate almost any material, it will never feel like the real thing. Luxury vinyl can’t be refinished or polished either, but since it’s much cheaper, you can always get new planks instead.

These are some of the most popular flooring options you’ll find on the market. Before you start shopping, take a long hard look at your needs and budget, and pick the one that is the best for your particular situation.