From Guest Blogger Chris Austin: Planning an Eco-friendly Remodel – Start with your Floor

Are you seeking for a convenient way to refresh an old room and increase the general value of your home? Well then you might want to look down. Very few homeowners pay attention to their floor when remodeling or redecorating their spaces. Believe it or not, your floor may need an upgrade. There’s really no need to invest in expensive marble or luxurious hard wood to make your living area, kitchen or bedroom look modern and chic. Here are some smart ideas for a more environmentally approach to a home remodeling.

Start from the ground up

If you’re serious about redesigning your home and giving it a fresh vibe, you should start with the floor. Make a sensible choice and consider floating flooring. It’s tough to picture a home being comfortable and warm without a proper flooring system. The fastest, most affordable option of a remodeling process is to opt for a floating floor. As opposite to conventional strips made of hard wood (which are also incredibly expensive), floating tiles are not nailed down; these are snapped or glued together. The planks are easy to install, thus saving you important sums of cash (you can always use the extra amount to invest in furniture or accessories) as well as precious time. Floating floor pieces go really well any sort of material – vinyl, concrete, plywood, and even ceramic tile.

Cork flooring

Another great option for your flooring is cork. This material is an ideal choice if your goal is to make your home appear more eco friendly. There’s nothing worse than walking into a home and stumbling upon a cold, unappealing flooring system. Whereas marble works great in the hallway, you shouldn’t have it in your living room or bedroom. It’s very important to go for flooring options that provide warmth and comfort for the feet. Cork for example, is an all-natural, soft type of material. It is also resilient, stylish, durable and environmentally friendly.

Natural cork floors can look incredibly stylish when properly installed. Furthermore, unlike hardwood, the planks are particularly easy to install. Manufacturers currently advertise panels that are especially engineered to snap together without having to use any additional nails or glue. These systems are floating-like, and they sit very well on bottom surfaces like concrete or plywood.

Vinyl flooring

Before plastic-laminate planks and resilient sheet flooring there was vinyl. Vinyl flooring was made as a substitute to linoleum. It grew in popularity over the years because it was crack resistant, colorful and easy to clean. It’s still a popular choice today, and you can easily have it installed in laundry rooms, baths and foyers. There are hundreds of patterns and colors to choose from; pick a design that matches with your home’s décor aesthetic and furniture preferences. This will add a touch of originality and ingenuity to your room.

Rubber flooring options

Last but not least, we have rubber. Rubber flooring tiles look best when placed on smooth sub-floors. The whole process is easy to complete, and the end result will exceed your expectations providing you abide by the installation rules. Rubber is a durable, resilient, waterproof and eco-friendly material type; it is soft for your feet, and it goes well in your kids’ rooms, bedroom and kitchen. Hard-wearing and fast-absorbing, rubber can last for nearly 20 years in a home. That’s a lot of time! You’ll end up saving thousands of dollars when redesigning or remodeling your home.

It’s very easy to maintain and clean, not to mention that the variety of patterns and colors is endless. Decide on a model that best matches with your home’s design aesthetic. Many homeowners fancy a certain type of material like hardwood or marble; but they either can’t afford it or it is not eco-friendly for their homes. In this case, you can choose factory rubber flooring options that mimic the effect or marble or wood thus giving your home a luxurious appeal but without the added cost.

Planning a home remodeling is a challenging decision. You’ll have to change a lot of things inside the home, so you should prepare in advance. Pay more attention to the floor because you won’t be able to change it every year. Decide on a top-quality material that’s also convenient and environmentally friendly.