Flooring Decision Guide

Find the Perfect Floor for Every Room of Your Home

Finding the right flooring for your home is easy if you know which questions to ask. At The Home Depot, we can help you ask the right questions - and then answer them with a full selection of top-quality flooring that's certain to meet your needs and your budget.

First, consider the five major types of flooring we offer:

• Carpet
• Laminate
• Tile
• Vinyl
• Wood

Then, ask yourself these questions:

Do you own your home, or do you rent? How long are you planning to stay?

• If you own your home, a premium floor in carpet, tile or wood may well be worth the investment, especially if you're planning to stay in your home for a number of years.
• If you plan to sell your home, the right flooring will enhance its beauty, increase its value and make it easier to sell.
• If you rent, choose the floor that's right for your circumstances. Consider your budget and your performance requirements, then factor in how long you plan to stay in your home.

Which room is receiving a new floor?
Understanding your room's specific needs will help you choose the right flooring. Consider these factors:

• Traffic - How many people use the room, and how frequently? Are there specific patterns or lanes of traffic that should be considered? Does the room open to the outdoors? If so, what kinds of materials (like soil or sand) might be tracked into the room?
• Usage - What activities take place in the room, and how often? How might each of these activities either affect or be affected by the room's flooring? (Plush carpeting may be ideal for a master bedroom, where traffic is low, while laminate might be good for a laundry room, where water is a factor.)
• Pets - Will pets use the room? The number and kinds of pets you have may make certain types of flooring more appropriate than others.
• Safety - Will young children, disabled people or elderly people be using the room? In a children's playroom, for example, a carpet that's soft to land on makes sense - but not so soft that it's slippery. Wheelchairs need a firm surface to move easily, so plush carpets may not work while shorter, denser loop carpets or a vinyl floor may be perfect.

What type of look is important to you?

• Does the style, color or pattern of the flooring you are considering match the mood and activities of your room?
• Does the flooring reflect your decorating preferences? Matters of style are just as important as traffic or usage.

How do you want your flooring to feel underfoot?

• Will anyone be standing or walking for a long time on the floor? If so, the comfort offered by a resilient or cushioned floor may be important. Vinyl's natural resilience makes vinyl floors very comfortable. Hardwood floors are also resilient, but less so than vinyl. Laminate floors achieve remarkable comfort by "floating" on top of a cushioning system that absorbs the stress of each step and then rebounds, giving a slight spring to your step.
• Is the feel of the floor important? If people will frequently sit or lounge on the floor, how it feels is very important. If people will mostly just walk on the floor, its durability and resistance to dirt may be more important than its feel.
• If you choose carpet, a premium carpet pad will ensure maximum comfort underfoot. A thicker, denser pad will feel softer and more resilient, and will prolong the life of your carpet. A premium carpet pad also muffles noise better than other pads and provides the best insulation.

To learn more about which types of flooring work best in a particular room, choose one of our room-by-room comparison guides.

• Bathrooms
• Bedrooms
• Bedrooms - Master
• Bedrooms - Kids
• Bedrooms - Nurseries
• Bedrooms - Guest Rooms
• Dining Rooms
• Family Rooms
• Kitchens
• Laundry & Utility Rooms
• Living Rooms

Also see Criteria for Flooring (PDF), which covers such factors as traffic, safety, durability, comfort, style, moisture and noise. Understanding these factors will help you select the best flooring for your needs.