Good and Bad Places to Install Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring can be a beautiful addition to almost any room in your home. While sprucing up a home with hardwood floors, homeowners often ask which rooms are the best for this type of flooring? Crafted hardwood floors are a great way to freshen up the appearance of any room. That being said, there are a few rooms where you shouldn’t generally install them. When it comes time to install or refinish, remember these tips to get the longest-lasting and best-looking floors!

The “Best” Rooms to Install Hardwood

Installing quality hardwood flooring in the following places, and taking proper care of them, can ensure that your floors will last a lifetime. While every room can benefit from quality craftsmanship, the list below walks through some of the best places to install hardwood floors:

1. Living Room

One of the best rooms for hardwood flooring is your living room. Not only does it set the stage for all that transpires day-to-day in a living room, but it brightens and livens up this commonly used space. As one of the most lived-in areas of your home, hardwood floors provide the beauty and function you need to truly enjoy the space. It allows for quick clean-up of pet and dust dander, as well as spilt food or drinks. 

A great hardwood floor also provides a great base and anchor to your living rooms’ decor. Your design choices are limitless. Switching up your decor, rotating seasonal accents, or adding a new rug allows you to enjoy the process of developing and updating your style preferences over time without requiring a huge commitment. 

2. Dining Room

Whether your dining room presents as a dignified space for a home cooked meal, or a jovial environment for laughter, or even both, hardwood flooring is ideal for this room of warmth and fellowship. Similar to the living room, the smooth and sturdy combination of hardwoods is most beneficial for quick spill clean up that won’t disrupt a meal. 

Extra Tip: To protect your floors from chair legs scraping them, put buffers between the legs of the table, chairs, and the floor. 

3. Bedroom

The bedroom can be a great place for you to install hardwood flooring! Hardwood floors in your bedroom can brighten up the room and make it feel bigger and more spacious. Elevate your bedroom space with quality and craftsmanship you know will last the test of time.

4. Home Office

Your home office is a great place to install hardwood flooring. In a home office, you really want each aspect of the room to aid your work. The smooth texture of hard flooring provides the right space for maneuvering rolling furniture and an ideal surface to maintain cleanliness. The warmth and sturdiness of hardwood flooring strikes the best balance between having a professional home office and also communicating a personable environment.

Each space in your home can benefit from the high-end quality and personable ambiance that hardwood flooring brings. The rooms that benefit the most are listed above, but those are not the only places in your home where you might be considering installing hardwood floors. When considering other locations to install it, the number one thing you want to consider is moisture.

Rooms Where You Want to Consult a Professional Before Installing Hardwood Floors

Moisture and hardwood do not mix, but that doesn’t mean hardwood flooring isn’t an option. Some of these spaces can absolutely have hardwood floors installed. At the end of the day, it is about evaluating what fits your family’s lifestyle and what fits these spaces best. Working with an expert can help you determine if hardwood is the best option for these spaces or if another flooring option might be a better fit. When looking to install hardwood in areas that usually see a higher degree of moisture, consulting with a hardwood flooring craftsman will give you the best indication of where you should and should not install them. Generally speaking, here are some of the areas that cause the greatest concern: 

1. Kitchen

Kitchens have often seen the use of other flooring materials. This is mostly due to architecture and the style of decor for the era in which a home was built or refurbished. It is also due to the potential for water damage caused by leaky appliances. For these reasons, kitchens often feature other flooring options like tile or linoleum. 

However, as more spacious layouts have prevailed in construction and home renovation trends are being followed, the flooring in kitchens have become connected to the rest of the other rooms; making way for more hardwood floors in kitchens. Just like other rooms, taking preventative measures to protect your hardwood floors and maintaining proper care can help ensure their lifelong value in a room like the kitchen.

2. Bathroom

Constant or prolonged contact with water, or heavy amounts of moisture, can greatly damage a hardwood floor. This is often why homeowners opt for alternate types of flooring in their bathrooms. However, if a homeowner is careful, this kind of water damage can be easily prevented and avoided. Since half bathrooms have less exposure to both moisture and the potential for water spillage, many homes feature hardwoods in them. As long as the homeowner knows the risks of water damage and can maintain upkeep on their floor, hardwood can successfully live within your bathroom with long lasting results.

3. Laundry Room. 

Just like in bathrooms, the potential risk of spilled water is the main reason why some homeowners employ other floor options in their laundry rooms. There is much less of a water risk in laundry rooms than in bathrooms with an open tub or shower. Leaks from the washing machine are the biggest concern when it comes to damaging your hardwood floors in the laundry room. If you choose to install hardwood in this area of your home, using a rubber mat can help prevent initial leaks from damaging your floors.

4. Foyer. 

Anything from rain and mud, to dirt and snow salt can be tracked through your home on your shoes. Your foyer is going to be where a lot of that comes off. Any number of those things can cause damage to hardwood floors. That’s why in most older or historic homes, especially those here in Kansas City, you won’t see hardwood flooring in the entryway. 

If you have or are looking to install hardwood flooring in your entryway, including an area for wet shoes and a walk-off mat can help prevent damage to your floor.

5. Basements.

Basements are another space that have a higher risk of exposure to moisture. Since they are below the ground or “below-grade”, they often experience higher moisture levels, or in some cases, can even be a common place for flooding. For these reasons, homeowners often choose options like concrete or tile. However, if you really want to liven up your basement, installing engineered hardwood flooring can brighten up a below-grade space. Because it features a plywood base that can hold up better against moisture than solid wood flooring, and as long as appropriate conditions like humidity are maintained, it’s a great option for basement floors. 

Going Against the Grain

If you decide you do want hardwood flooring in those rooms, that’s okay! We firmly believe that, when done correctly, it can be a great addition to these rooms as well. At Totta Hardwoods, our professionals can help identify the best hardwood flooring, installation method, finishing process, and care and maintenance plan to provide you with beautiful floors that last a lifetime.

If you end up having hardwood flooring in any of the riskier areas of your home and an accident does happen, there are services that can help restore your damaged floors including: 

• Refinishing: When you see more wearing down in those areas or stain damage, refinishing your hardwood is a good option. This is where you sand down to the raw wood, and then restain and finish the area again. It makes the floors look brand new with no needed replacement. However, if you have extensive damages to your hardwood, you might require a repair or replacement.

• Replacing or Repairing: Repairing water damage is done by tearing out the sections of the floor with staining and damage. After all of the damaged floors have been removed, you add more hardwood floorboards and apply your stain and finish. 

Work With Industry Experts to Bring Your Flooring Dreams to Life

Totta Hardwoods is here for any and all questions you might have. Figuring out all of your options can be difficult and we understand that. Making sure that you are getting the floors that will work best for you is important. You can schedule a consultation or contact us with any questions you might have. Our professionals have a lot of experience when it comes to long-lasting hardwood floors.