Ready to replace your flooring? Here are 5 reasons you should consider laminate flooring in your house.
A huge thanks to Select Surfaces for sponsoring this post. All content and opinions are 100% my own! This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for details.
Wow–our house feels like it lost a good 50 pounds! The whole first floor feels much lighter and more open since installing our new laminate flooring.
Our house, like so many suburban homes, is filled with builder-grade everything. I loved the location and the floor plan, but when we moved into this house two years ago I was determined to eventually give every surface a makeover.
And today I’m over-the-moon excited to say I’ve officially completed my largest DIY project to date – replacing the flooring on our main floor!
Buh-bye beige carpet and worn out linoleum, hello gorgeous new laminate floors!
I have lots of before and after photos for ya today along with the reasons why we chose laminate flooring for our home.
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Our open floor plan was broken up by different flooring types and I really wanted to simplify and unify everything.
Linoleum ran from the front door down the hallway and into the eat-in kitchen. But then the linoleum by the front door transitioned right into the beige carpet in our front room. And let me tell you, light beige carpet a foot from the main entrance to your house is not exactly easy to keep clean.
The front room carpet needed to be replaced and I wanted to install a hard flooring that would extend throughout our main floor. We installed our new laminate flooring in the entry, front room, hallway, eat-in kitchen, and powder bath. And I have to say, the whole place feels so much bigger and open with the new flooring!
We ultimately decided to keep the carpet in our family room (for now at least). David wanted to keep the carpet in the room where kids play the most and I let him win that argument. Mainly because I was smart and planned the layout of the flooring so it will be a breeze to extend the laminate into our family room someday.
Why I Chose Laminate Flooring
Reason #1 – Durable
Laminate flooring is incredibly durable which makes is amazing for active households like ours. The last thing I want is to install new flooring and then stress about every little scratch and spill.
The surface of Select Surfaces brand laminate is designed to withstand heavy residential traffic. Our dog Freya can play fetch and run around the house as much as she wants because I’m not worried about her toenails scratching our new floors. This stuff is tough!
To increase the durability of our laminate floors even further, we went with the brand new Spill Defense line from Select Surfaces. It’s designed to withstand household spills that are a fact of life in our family!
Reason #2 – Affordable
When I started researching flooring, I quickly realized that any kind of hardwood was out of our budget. I love the pretty hand-scraped look of our laminate flooring and that’s a look that would be well out of my budget if I was looking only at hardwoods.
The Select Surfaces brand laminate I chose is less than $2 a square foot. It is sold at Sam’s Club which is very convenient. I suggest you order online for store pick-up so you can make sure they have enough in stock. And that way they’ll have it ready to go and will help you load it up!
Reason #3 – Designed For DIY-ers
Laminate flooring comes in planks that click together like a dream. If you’re a DIYer, this flooring is made for you! I’ve never installed flooring before so if I can do it, so can you!
Select Surfaces laminate comes with a pre-attached foam backer so you don’t have to mess with underlayment (unless your subfloor is concrete).
I downloaded the installation guide and watched the videos on the Select Surfaces website to learn how to install it properly.
Select Surfaces Laminate has a Speedloc installation system that is literally super easy and fast. You place a plank in the grooves of the row before it and it slides right in, then you snap it down and it clicks into the end of the plank beside it.
Installing flooring in a large area of your house does take time, but it really was very simple and quick in the larger open areas. Making intricate cuts to fit in doorways and little corners are what took me more time as a beginner.
Reason #4 – Appearance
The laminate flooring we used is embossed with an authentic hand-scraped woodgrain texture. Seriously, this looks just like real hardwood! Laminate flooring comes is tons of on-trend colors with gorgeous grain patterns.
Reason #5 – Low Maintenance
Laminate flooring is low maintenance. It can be kept clean by simply sweeping or vacuuming. It can be wet mopped when needed so long as you don’t soak the floor.
The flooring we used also locks together tightly at the seams so crumbs and dirt can’t collect in the grooves.
And since the surface is so durable and scratch-resistant, you don’t have to sand or stain it like you eventually have to do with hardwoods.
New Select Surfaces Spill Defense Laminate
When it came down to choosing laminate flooring our home, I quickly decided on the Select Surfaces brand. I know quite a few people who have successfully installed it in their home and been happy with the durability, so I felt confident that I couldn’t go wrong with Select Surfaces.
I reached out to Select Surfaces about partnering on this project and learned about a brand new laminate flooring line they were releasing this year – Select Surfaces Spill Defense.
The new Spill Defense line is waterproof for a full 24 hours which is really amazing considering one of the main concerns many people have with laminate is how it will hold up to spills. This new line is designed with a tight seal between planks so you can rest assured that the flooring can withstand household spills.
With an active toddler and a large dog chasing each other around the house, it’s only a matter of time before the dog bowl gets knocked over or a sippy cup falls off the table. I was instantly sold on installing the Spill Defense line in our home and am so grateful to Select Surfaces for working with me to make this project a reality!
Gorgeous Color Options
I absolutely love the look of our laminate flooring! It looks like very realistic hardwood while being easy to care for and simple to install. The new Spill Defense line features some incredible new color options that are all very on-trend right now.
I quickly fell for the pretty Warm Gray color. I decorate with a lot of cooler tones (whites, blues, grays) and this color is the perfect gray to compliment our decor.
You really can’t go wrong with any of the Spill Defense Colors. Here’s a look at all of them side-by-side:
- Warm Gray – This is the pretty gray-brown color I chose and love.
- Heritage Oak – I also really love this warmer oak color and highly considered it.
- Boardwalk – This laminate is a cooler gray with a hint of brown mixed in.
- Rustic Gray – A light gray with dark distressed detailing.
- Southern Gray – This is a light gray with a lot of dark wood grain pattern.
I was very impressed by the variety of wood grain patterns on the planks. Since this is manufactured flooring, there are a limited number of grain designs so you’ll get identical planks. I unboxed several boxes at one time and sorted the planks by grain design so I could be sure to mix up the plank designs as I installed them.
And not only do the wide planks have a wood grain look, but they also have an embossed texture that gives them the realistic appearance of hardwood.
Replacing our flooring is the biggest change we’ve made to our house and we get so many compliments on it! I couldn’t be happier with how it looks and how durable it is.
Visit samsclub.com to check out all of the Select Surfaces laminate flooring options, including their brand new Spill Defense collection.
I still need to install all of the baseboards and quarter-round. But things are looking so fresh and clean here in our house now that the stained carpet and worn linoleum have disappeared!
Looking for more decorating inspiration? Take a look at these:
- Do’s & Don’ts For Buying A Rug Online
- Organizing A Modern Home Office Nook
- Modern Green Bathroom Makeover
- Our Modern Navy Small Entryway Makeover
Have a fantastic day!
