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Some of these may already be in your house.
You may be more focused on the walls and furnishings in your home, but the floors are a big deal, too. And choosing the wrong flooring in a space could mean replacing it early—or just needing to constantly clean to keep it looking decent. (Just ask me how I know!)
Want to make sure you pick a floor that'll last you for years to come? We asked homeowners to share their biggest flooring mistakes—so you can avoid those, too.
Related: 10 Flooring Choices Designers Would Never Recommend to Clients
01 of 06
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring has a great reputation as a sturdy and eco-friendly choice, but there are some rooms where it may not be the best idea. "Definitely don’t use bamboo in kitchens, bathrooms, or laundry rooms," says Carrie Heller. "A colleague recently had to replace the flooring on the entire first floor of their house because their bamboo flooring warped in the kitchen from water."
02 of 06
Granite Tile
The granite kitchen flooring seemed like a selling point when I bought my house. It was so glossy and matched perfectly with the granite countertops—and I knew it wouldn't stain, scratch, or otherwise get damaged.
But once I lived with it, I discovered a couple of major downsides: anything that fell on the floor (including plastic!) was guaranteed to shatter, and the floor was frigid all winter long. While adding a few rugs helped, we swapped the tile for hardwood at our earliest opportunity.
Related: 7 Habits That Are Damaging Your Hardwood Floors
03 of 06
Textured Tile
Textured tile may seem like an ideal flooring solution for a bathroom, where it could help prevent slips. But those nooks and crannies make ideal hiding spots for bathroom grime and even mold. "It always looks dirtier than it is because of the pits," says NorwegianRarePupper on Reddit. "I have to scrub a lot harder to get the stuff out of them.”
04 of 06
Tap-and-Lock-Style Flooring
There are a ton of DIY-friendly flooring options out there that don't necessarily require pro-level skills to install yourself. But sometimes, they can still be difficult for DIYers to get right. Homeowner Julie Jagoda had issues with the non-flexible tap-and-lock flooring she installed. "Make sure the subfloor is very level, or the tap-and-lock will not hold."
05 of 06
Small, Intricate Tiles
Those classic sheets of tiny tiles are a timeless tile choice (and absolutely lovely), but if you're DIYing them, they can be tougher to install than you'd imagine. "We decided to install a classic octagon and dot floor tile in the bathroom," says homeowner Jan Greco. "What we didn't realize until we started working is that each sheet of tile, which is composed of a few dozen individual tiles adhered to a mesh backing, wasn't a perfect puzzle piece match to its friends in the same box. The little blobs of flexible rubber that stick the tiles to the mesh dry at different rates, making the spacing on each sheet a little different and putting down a perfect pattern challenging. I ended up laying the entire floor as if it was a piece-by-piece mosaic. It looked great—but never again."
06 of 06
White Matte Tile
When I redid my bathroom, the white matte tile looked sophisticated and stylish. But the matte finish really seems to spotlight anything that spills on it, and the white tile wasn't the best choice in a household filled with dark-haired folks, as every strand stands out against the tile.
Read the original article on Real Simple
