Think of the most-used areas in your home as a reflection of the busy lives you and your family lead. There’s a scratch, a dent, and a stain for every hectic morning, pet mishap, or toddler meltdown. And just like we all need a break to decompress every so often, the well-worn areas of your flooring could also benefit from a refresh. A durable option in that department is laminate flooring, an attractive, low-cost, and low-maintenance solution.
And forget what you might think you know about the material — modern laminate flooring has come a long way since its early “cheap plastic” days of the 1990s. It replicates the stylish look of hardwood, stone, and other natural materials at a fraction of the cost. It stands up to wear-and-tear in the most energetic of households, resisting scratches, dings, and stains from pets, bouncing baby walkers, and rowdy playdates. You won’t ever need to hire a pro for maintenance again — no sanding, varnishing, or waxing needed. With its click-lock technology, laminate flooring is also super easy to install, eliminating labor costs. And today’s laminate is thick and sturdy enough to even out minor imperfections in subfloors while providing a solid feeling underfoot.
The Home Depot is a great place to kick off your flooring upgrade project. The retailer offers an array of impressive options; wood- and stone-look, wide-plank, rustic, and textured. Use their innovative visualizer and calculator tools to guide your decision: The visualizer lets you view virtual examples of how the flooring will look in your home, while the calculator provides an exact measurement for how much flooring to order.
A Laminate Match for Your Lifestyle
One of the many advantages of laminate flooring is the range of available finishes and designs. The Home Depot’s Silva Cove Hickory laminate wood flooring, for example, is an ideal upgrade for a dining room or living room. Featuring a neutral, realistic wood look with embossed oak texturing, it’s water-resistant and super-straightforward to install thanks to the click-lock system. That said, if you’re not in DIY mode, you can add in-home installation to your order, and let a licensed and insured installer handle the job for you. Silverton Oak has an AC3 durability rating, making it suitable for heavy residential traffic areas. (AC, or Abrasion Class, ratings range from AC1 to AC5 and measure a laminate floor’s resistance to wear, with AC1 suitable for moderate residential use and AC5 fit for heavy commercial use.)
While a traditional hardwood look such as Lifeproof River Oaks is a best-seller, you can also opt for something more rustic, such as the rich Pergo Outlast+ Java Scraped Oak, or stone finishes such as the Krono Original White Marble, or the Krono Original Silverado Slate.
Designed to Go the Distance
There’s a reason — make that several reasons — that laminate flooring sales are spiking. When it comes to affordable, user-friendly home renovations, they’re tough to beat. The easy installation process saves time and money, even if you opt to invite a pro to handle the job: It’s not a contractor task, because the planks simply click together with no need for nails or adhesive.
Whatever style of laminate flooring you choose, the finished product will be built to last, with reliable water- and scratch-resistance. Outside of sweeping and the occasional mop-up, there’s essentially no maintenance required. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, laminate flooring comes in a variety of colors, widths, and finishes that provide a high-end look at a low-end cost, beautifully replicating natural surfaces such as wood, stone, and tile. So swing by The Home Depot and get started on what could be the easiest yet most impactful home-improvement project you’ve ever done.
