Help me decide on flooring

[sdilley14]

The first photo attached is a before (left) and after picture of the flooring in one of my bedrooms. Well, kind of. The picture on the right is a bedroom at the front of my house that actually had carpet flooring. Long story short, the carpet got ruined and I had to replace it. I wanted to replace the carpet with vinyl plank flooring anyways, so it all worked out. While I had the insurance company replace the flooring I opted for the upgraded baseboard. The baseboard on the wall was already installed in that room.

The room on the left is actually one of two bedrooms in the back of the house. Those two bedrooms are matching (flooring, walls, paint, etc).

I want to change/upgrade the other two bedrooms. My question is this - should I do these two bedrooms to match the upgraded bedroom in the front of the house? I'm honestly more of a fan of darker wood. I went with lighter wood in the updated bedroom because I was able to get a good deal on the materials, and I actually do like the look of it. I'm just not sure I would want all of the bedrooms sporting that same look. It almost kinda feels like a "kid's" bedroom or something...hard to explain I guess. So I'm wondering if it would make ok "design sense" or whatever to do the other two bedrooms differently...darker wood flooring, same baseboards, and probably a different shade of paint on the walls. OR, would it be an ok/bad idea to do all the bedrooms differently - give them all different flooring, different paint, etc?

Also attached some images of different flooring styles that I like as a frame of reference for what I'm considering to do if I choose not to match the bedroom in the front of the house.

I have zero design sense - help! lol

 

[shinji]

I like flooring4.jpg the best. The right of flooring.jpg looks fine, though.

It doesn't all have to be the same in different rooms.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I like flooring4.jpg the best. The right of flooring.jpg looks fine, though.

It doesn't all have to be the same in different rooms.

Agreed. It doesn't have to be the same in different rooms. If your preference is for the use of dark wood in the flooring of the other rooms, then, by all means go for that.

 

[samiwas]

The first photo attached is a before (left) and after picture of the flooring in one of my bedrooms. Well, kind of. The picture on the right is a bedroom at the front of my house that actually had carpet flooring.

Which attachment is of the actual rooms? The split one?

 

[sdilley14]

Which attachment is of the actual rooms? The split one?

Correct.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

In my mind, it should either be all the same, or *significantly* different (and both are good options). I think it would look weird if all rooms were just slightly different. I think they need to be different enough to look like they are different on purpose. Just my opinion.

 

[sdilley14]

In my mind, it should either be all the same, or *significantly* different (and both are good options). I think it would look weird if all rooms were just slightly different. I think they need to be different enough to look like they are different on purpose. Just my opinion.

See that's kinda what I was thinking - they all either need to match, or be distinctly different.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

See that's kinda what I was thinking - they all either need to match, or be distinctly different.

Not necessarily.

It depends on the function of each - adult bedrooms, kids' bedrooms, a bedroom for teenagers, a bedroom that doubles up as a study, guest rooms, and so on. Each would have a somewhat different atmosphere, or ambience.

 

[smacrumon]

The first photo attached is a before (left) and after picture of the flooring in one of my bedrooms. Well, kind of. The picture on the right is a bedroom at the front of my house that actually had carpet flooring. Long story short, the carpet got ruined and I had to replace it. I wanted to replace the carpet with vinyl plank flooring anyways, so it all worked out. While I had the insurance company replace the flooring I opted for the upgraded baseboard. The baseboard on the wall was already installed in that room.

The room on the left is actually one of two bedrooms in the back of the house. Those two bedrooms are matching (flooring, walls, paint, etc).

I want to change/upgrade the other two bedrooms. My question is this - should I do these two bedrooms to match the upgraded bedroom in the front of the house? I'm honestly more of a fan of darker wood. I went with lighter wood in the updated bedroom because I was able to get a good deal on the materials, and I actually do like the look of it. I'm just not sure I would want all of the bedrooms sporting that same look. It almost kinda feels like a "kid's" bedroom or something...hard to explain I guess. So I'm wondering if it would make ok "design sense" or whatever to do the other two bedrooms differently...darker wood flooring, same baseboards, and probably a different shade of paint on the walls. OR, would it be an ok/bad idea to do all the bedrooms differently - give them all different flooring, different paint, etc?

Also attached some images of different flooring styles that I like as a frame of reference for what I'm considering to do if I choose not to match the bedroom in the front of the house.

I have zero design sense - help! lol

6, 3 and 2 are my preferences. They are fresh. I say keep it all consistent.

 

[A.Goldberg]

I would suggest keeping it the same room to room, but that is my taste. Images 3, 4 are my top picks, follows by 1B... It depends on the look you're going for. 4 is a bit more modern, 3 is more rustic, 1B is more traditional and neutral.

What color is the furniture you have? Generally darker furniture looks better with a medium-dark while light furniture looks better with medium-light wood flooring. You can't really go wrong with a medium darkness.

While 2 and 5 and possibly 6 (too small to judge) look cool, they strike me as something that will be dated soon enough. Also I think you need the right style of furniture to match IMO. 1A looks too synthetic.

Ambient light and room size are also a factor. Do you have any pics of the spaces in question?

My biggest suggestion however would be if you want hardwood, use hardwood- either real, prefinished, or floating. Vinyl hardwood even with the remarkable advances even at its best never quite looks, feels, smells or sounds like the real thing.

If you're set on Vinyl just make sure you put a lot of attention into buying a quality product. We put vinyl tiles with fake grout lines into our 2 rental homes in RI due to installation practicality (asbestos flooring underneath) and dramatic humidity/temp fluctuations being on the ocean. It's held up well so far, I forget the brand off the top of my head.

 

[Huntn]

The first photo attached is a before (left) and after picture of the flooring in one of my bedrooms. Well, kind of. The picture on the right is a bedroom at the front of my house that actually had carpet flooring. Long story short, the carpet got ruined and I had to replace it. I wanted to replace the carpet with vinyl plank flooring anyways, so it all worked out. While I had the insurance company replace the flooring I opted for the upgraded baseboard. The baseboard on the wall was already installed in that room.

The room on the left is actually one of two bedrooms in the back of the house. Those two bedrooms are matching (flooring, walls, paint, etc).

I want to change/upgrade the other two bedrooms. My question is this - should I do these two bedrooms to match the upgraded bedroom in the front of the house? I'm honestly more of a fan of darker wood. I went with lighter wood in the updated bedroom because I was able to get a good deal on the materials, and I actually do like the look of it. I'm just not sure I would want all of the bedrooms sporting that same look. It almost kinda feels like a "kid's" bedroom or something...hard to explain I guess. So I'm wondering if it would make ok "design sense" or whatever to do the other two bedrooms differently...darker wood flooring, same baseboards, and probably a different shade of paint on the walls. OR, would it be an ok/bad idea to do all the bedrooms differently - give them all different flooring, different paint, etc?

Also attached some images of different flooring styles that I like as a frame of reference for what I'm considering to do if I choose not to match the bedroom in the front of the house.

I have zero design sense - help! lol

My preference is hardwood first, wood engineered second, and laminate third, in all cases with a rich, deep red finish, used with white painted molding, to contrast with the floor and your furniture. Hence my choice is image floor4.jpg, but not redder or darker than that. There is no design requirement to have the same look from room to room, unless you want consistency which I like especially if you run the flooring down the hallway from room to room.

As I rule I don't like black, gray or blond stains. And although oak is not my favorite wood, we had a wonderful entrance hallway with a deep red oak, because red makes oak look great. The worst is from the Midwest US where they really like stained woods, when a brown stained baseboard is placed on top of a brown stained wood floor. It looks like a sea of brown. The other thing about a red floor stain is that if you have nice wood furniture, the red floor also provides a contrast with that.

 

[sdilley14]

Lots of good input - thank you! I am leaning towards either flooring4.jpg or flooring5.jpg - a dark, "worn" red tone. And I think I'm going to put the same flooring in both bedrooms and keep both rooms painted the same, same baseboard, etc. The bedroom in the front of the house is sort of a "one off" room that's on it's own, so I don't feel that it's too off-putting that it has different flooring and paint.

Will definitely post some before and after pictures after the work is done!

 

[senseless]

I installed both dark 3/4" Brazilian Koa and light Ash hardwood in my dining room and den. If I were to do it again, I would keep it all the same for flow.

As far as color, the darker Brazilian Koa shows scratches, dust and fur much more than the lighter Ash. It's easier to maintain the lighter colors.

 

[rdowns]

Lots of good input - thank you! I am leaning towards either flooring4.jpg or flooring5.jpg - a dark, "worn" red tone. And I think I'm going to put the same flooring in both bedrooms and keep both rooms painted the same, same baseboard, etc. The bedroom in the front of the house is sort of a "one off" room that's on it's own, so I don't feel that it's too off-putting that it has different flooring and paint.

Will definitely post some before and after pictures after the work is done!

Let me throw a monkey wrench your way. Look into porcelain wood-look tile. The designs are amazing, look fantastic and wear much better than hardwood (I have both at home) and don't require the maintenance that hardwood does.

 

[sdilley14]

Let me throw a monkey wrench your way. Look into porcelain wood-look tile. The designs are amazing, look fantastic and wear much better than hardwood (I have both at home) and don't require the maintenance that hardwood does.

I've thought about porcelain tile, but I think the cost is significantly more? I agree though, it's a wonderful material for both appearance and wear.

 

[rdowns]

I've thought about porcelain tile, but I think the cost is significantly more? I agree though, it's a wonderful material for both appearance and wear.

I wish I would have used porcelain instead of the Brazilian Cherry floors I have. They are gorgeous but my porcelain always looks better. Pretty sure it's less expensive.

 

[prostuff1]

Let me throw a monkey wrench your way. Look into porcelain wood-look tile. The designs are amazing, look fantastic and wear much better than hardwood (I have both at home) and don't require the maintenance that hardwood does.

I will be putting walnut wood look tile down in my hallway and bathroom in a couple weeks. I actually bought enough up front to be able to do my livingroom, dinning room and kitchen area also.

 

[sdilley14]

I will be putting walnut wood look tile down in my hallway and bathroom in a couple weeks. I actually bought enough up front to be able to do my livingroom, dinning room and kitchen area also.

Did you by chance look at the price compared to similar vinyl wood plank?

 

[prostuff1]

Did you by chance look at the price compared to similar vinyl wood plank?

There is such a wide range of vinyl and wood look tile pricing and quality. I picked out a middle of the road tile and I spent about 2k to get enough tile to do all of my flooring. i probably could have spent closer to 1500 to get a similar vinyl. The difference will come when I go to install it. Tile or vinyl plank can be installed by oneself but tile will almost always be more expensive.

I intend to install the tile myself as I have the tools and have done it before. Vinyl, I imagine, would be even easier.

 

[monokakata]

If you said anything about sightlines, I missed it. I think that could be important -- I've had houses in which, standing in one room, you could see a ways into the other rooms. Different floorings in a house like that would be jarring, I think.

Right now I'm living in a house with a long central hall, but the end of the hall opens into one of the rooms, and the door to that room is always open. Had I changed flooring in that room, it would have looked odd. All of my rooms have the same flooring (or will . . . I'm seeing the end of a 5 month renovation, that being the new floors) but I could have lived with something different in one of the rooms off the hall, where you're not really aware of the room until you're right at the doorway.

I'll mention something about wood vs. vinyl and even pre-finished wood/engineered wood. With traditional solid, unfinished wood that is later sanded and finished, your floor installer can give you a completely flat floor with no grooves or seams. That's the nature of solid wood T&G. But with prefinished wood (even solid) this is impossible, and there will always be a groove. I think that vinyl planks are the same way, although I'm not sure. I don't mind that look, but cleaning/mold/mildew can be issues if you have grooving.

 

[sdilley14]

I decided to go with "toasted barnwood" for the flooring. It has a bit of a rustic look without being "obnoxiously rustic". And it's more brown than red, which I prefer. I think it'll add some warmth and character to the rooms.

https://www.mohawkflooring.com/VinylTile-search/Prospects/Toasted Barnwood

Sample

And I believe this is a stock photo of the same flooring installed.

 

[A.Goldberg]

I wish I would have used porcelain instead of the Brazilian Cherry floors I have. They are gorgeous but my porcelain always looks better. Pretty sure it's less expensive.

Brazilian Cherry is beautiful, but as I'm sure you have to be super careful as it can dramatically darken with UV light exposure - relatively quickly too (along with other cherries and exotic hardwoods). Having low-e windows is definitely a big help, but then you have a trade off having to spend more on windows and getting stuck with slightly-moderately tinted glass.

 

[D.T.]

I liked it all for different reasons / styles / rooms / design targets.

We've got a mix of two different hardwoods, plus carpet, and it totally changes the feel of the different rooms. We're pretty radical with some of our color choices, we've got dark mocha browns, sunrise yellow, bright (Flaming Sword) reds, deep blues - a mix of greens, yellows, reds accessories, different furniture styles (with different woods, metals, glass).

I like your choice, you're right, it's dark and rich, and with the right complimenting / highlighting colors, it should look pretty spectacular.

 

[sdilley14]

Very pleased with the results. (The pics with the darker red flooring are the "before" pics)

Now I got the itch to paint the rooms. I'm thinking a navy blue would match well?