Frugal | Frugal Home Decorators: I Need Your Help!

54 Responses to “Frugal Home Decorators: I Need Your Help!”

1. Kacie on July 17th, 2008 4:34 am

   Even though it’s stressful right now, it’s gotta be really fun to be in a position to make these decisions!

   I like the look of tile, but I hate how it feels cold on my bare feet in the winter! My husband’s parents have tile in their kitchen and baths, and if heavy things fall on the floor, the tile cracks.

   It’s kind of a pain to replace a piece of tile, but if you go with tile, get some extra squares so you can easily make those repairs if you need to.

2. Emily on July 17th, 2008 4:41 am

   I think going with tile is a good idea. As in all products there are more expensive and more inexpensive and you can get good tile for less than vinyl.

   I agree with Kacie to keep extra on hand for repairs.

   My entire house is done in tile and I love it. And at $1.49/sf it was pretty frugal for flooring.

3. Christine on July 17th, 2008 4:43 am

   Tile *does* feel cold on bare feet in winter, but it’s great in summer because it still feels cool. Our last house had vinyl in the kitchen, and after comparing the care of the two I can say that I find tile much easier to care for.

4. Anne Nordstrom on July 17th, 2008 4:50 am

   I looked for years for the right laminate flooring, testing for duribility and scratch resistance. I came up with the harmonics brand from CostCo. I have 3 large dogs and their nails could have done untold amounts of damage. I did (all by myself mind you) about 750 sqft of flooring for around $1000. That included padding, trim and tools. I was pretty impressed with what I got for the money… And I have been extrememly happy with the results.

   I wouldn’t do vinyl. If you are going to bother putting in a new floor, make sure you do something that will add to the value of the home.

5. make art every day on July 17th, 2008 4:53 am

   personally, i love the look of tile, but not the coldness of it! have you thought about using linoleum instead of vinyl? real linoleum is a renewable resource. i’m not sure on the costs, though.

   if you do go with tile, i’d pick a darker color grout and seal it so you aren’t always trying to keep it clean.

6. Kacie on July 17th, 2008 4:54 am

   Also, I don’t think you mentioned the immediate financial implications of vinyl vs. tile. Are both in your budget?

7. Lynnae on July 17th, 2008 5:33 am
   The immediate financial implications aren’t much. My wonderful dad is financing the immediate repairs on the house. I’m trying to keep costs down for him, but he tends to be of the opinion “think long term.” And he’s voting for tile.

   @Anne - Thanks for the review on Costco Harmonics. I looked at that yesterday, and it’s definitely the best price in town. They don’t have the finish I LOVE right now, but if we go with Oak instead of Cherry, I’ll definitely be shopping Costco.

   And I don’t mind the feel of tile. Like I said, we have tile right now, and I’m fine with the coldness. It’s great in the summer! And in the winter, you won’t find me without slippers on my feet, so I don’t notice it.

8. Kim Langston on July 17th, 2008 6:14 am

   Here is my suggestion instead of vinyl… check out Trafficmaster products from Home Depot. I used this product in my kitchen. It gives off the look of a hardwood floor but with the ease and durability of vinyl. Plus it was so easy to install… I did it myself. Here is the link:

   http://www.homedepot.com/webap.....=100593150

   I don’t know how the cost of this flooring compares budget wise but I felt it was a good value.

9. Kristen on July 17th, 2008 6:14 am

   I would recommend tile. My personal opinion is that the kitchen is the one room in your house where you shouldn’t skimp or cut corners, especially if you cook a lot. Tile is very durable.

   I hate cold floors, too. I’m going to look into heated floors for our next house. Supposedly they are easy to install on your own, not too expensive, and can actually help lower your overall heating costs during the cold months.

10. Matthew on July 17th, 2008 6:34 am

    We bought the brand of laminate that Sam’s Club has about 3.5 years ago for our old house. We sold that house 1 year ago, but at the time, it still looked very good. Also, it was very easy to install (we did it ourselves). The stuff they have at Sam’s now is the same price/sqft and brand, but has the foam attached to it rather than what we bought having a foam roll separate, so I am not sure it would wear the same. On the other hand, we put it in the kitchen as well as the dining room and hallway in our house, and even spills we didn’t get to for weeks came right up with a wet paper towel. Also, in theory (though we didn’t have to test it out), it had a 15 or 30 year warranty. All told, I was very pleased with the results.
    Also, while I agree that tile is probably a very good frugal choice, whoever said that tile was $1.49/sqft either bought some very cheap tile or is forgetting to take into account the underlayment, grout, adhesive, etc. I will also point out that, in addition to being a reasonably frugal flooring choice, tile has the advantage of being endlessly customized by use of patterns, etc.

11. Damsel on July 17th, 2008 6:37 am

    I have to jump on the tile bandwagon, and second the poster who suggested darker grout and sealing the tile.

    I also have to second the poster who said that the kitchen is no place to cut corners — not only b/c of how much time you’ll spend there, but b/c of resale value.

12. Frugal Dad on July 17th, 2008 7:07 am

    I agree with those who have suggested tile, particularly in the kitchen. It is more expensive up front, but is more durable and will stand up to wear and tear more over time. I think it is the more frugal investment (not the cheapest) because it will last longer, and will add to the resale value of your home should you decide to move again down the line.

13. Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy on July 17th, 2008 7:29 am

    I’m with your dad on the tile at least as far as kitchens and bathrooms go. They clean so much easier, last longer and look nicer - especially when you have kids.

    We also had the same oak vs. cherry challenge and we compromised on a oiled teak that has the grains similar to the oak and the redder color of the cherry.

    As for laminate we recently went through this same process and decided on Laura Ashley. Now I can hear you thinking, what designer flooring. There are 4 reasons we chose this. 1)Made in the USA vs. China 2)The underlayment was already attached to each piece which actually saved money. 3)It is twice as thick which provides a more stable floor that absorbs the shock of weight better and finally it was actually LESS EXPENSIVE than the Chinese imports!

14. Heather Young on July 17th, 2008 7:30 am

    We have both and I vastly prefer the tile.

15. Michelle H. on July 17th, 2008 7:56 am

    Hi Lynnae,
    I loved your pictures of the house! What a nice place yall will have. I’m so glad that God has blessed you with a new home. I particularly liked the fire pit, etc.
    As for laminate, I’ve never had any but my sister put cherry (not sure if it was light or dark) in her kitchen & dining room. It was beautiful but it also showed any little water spot, etc. If it was me, I’d stick with a light color if possible especially with kids. Just a thought!
    Blessings!

16. Kenna on July 17th, 2008 8:14 am

    Congratulations on your new home. I’m a very frugal person, and I’m also an interior designer. I recommend tile for long term, but the cost and time is far more than sheet vinyl. To do it right you need to put down concrete board and then the tile. There are some very nice sheet vinyls so for cost and time I’d go that way. A few years down the road you can upgrade to tile. Also consider that tile will raise the floor height so you will have to accomidate that with your dishwasher that fits under the cabinets and will have to cut off your doors, etc. I don’t know where you live, but check out HOODS, which is a liquidators for building supplies. I just put tile in my bathroom at home. Grade 4 (there are only 5 grades) porcelain (harder than ceramic) 12 x 24 tiles that look like travertine marble for 50 cents a square foot. The product would have cost upward of $8 per square foot. Also check out Habitat for Humanity stores. If you aren’t familiar people who are renovating their own homes donate items, so you could probably find a replacement door for the bathroom that was covered in graffiti for just a few dollars.
    So, good luck to you!

17. Trish on July 17th, 2008 8:15 am

    Congrats on your new house! We have vinyl flooring in our kitchen. After 6 years of being in our house, I still love our flooring. I love the look of new tile, however, it seems to become outdated fast, and since we have a 3 year old, I would be afraid to have tile flooring in our house, b/c if something falls, it will most definitely break. Of course, there are pros and cons to each kind of flooring, but I don’t think vinyl would decrease the value, if it’s kept in good condition. Hope you find a flooring that you love!

18. Tracey on July 17th, 2008 8:25 am

    Congrats on the new house! After remodeling one house and working on our second, (we bought a fixer-upper on acreage too and sold the house in town), we have had all the flooring you’re considering. I have to agree with all who’ve suggested tile. Yes, it’s more expensive upfront and more labor intesive to install, but you can’t beat the durability and how great it looks. The choices in colors/design are endless! And if you’re concerned with building equity, then it’s definitely the way to go. When we first bought our “fixer”, I was thinking the same way as you are now — that vinyl is a frugal and quick way to go. We needed to get our bathroom done quickly, so we did vinyl. Needless to say, we’re sorry we did and when we complete all the other projects in the house, the bathroom will go back on the list for a complete overhaul — this time with tile!

19. Kristi on July 17th, 2008 8:32 am

    Hello, I know you didn’t mention anything about your countertops but I found a really great (and FRUGAL) way of painting (yes I said painting) them to look like granite…and they last and last and last! I did this because we can not afford a kitchen re-model until next year but my countertops were 80’s powder blue and bugging me to no end. Here are the instructions I used: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf999197.tip.html
    it’s so easy with the stencil too: http://www.victorialarsen.com/.....ncil_1.htm
    under $100 for “granite” (which everyone thinks it is until they ask!)
    HTH!

20. Jo on July 17th, 2008 8:42 am

    We’ve been in the flooring business for years, and I definitely recommend the ceramic tile with a darker grout. It’s much easier to keep clean. The white and off-white grouts will get stained with time unless you scrub religiously and use bleach from time to time.

    We have a netural colored natural stone look tile in our kitchen with a medium tan grout and the only thing I would do different is make sure the tile has a sealed finish (has a smooth feel as opposed to a rough stone feel)because the natural stone finish needs to be scrubbed really good to get the dirt out of the crevices. The dirt lifts right off when the tile has a smooth finish.

21. boomeyers on July 17th, 2008 8:55 am

    Hi girl! Congrats on getting the new place!

    I have Pergo and I absolutely HATE it. It was installed by the former homeowner and is buckling and hard to keep clean!

    My mom had tile put in her breakfast area and a vinyl that looks EXACTLY LIKE tile put in her kitchen. She said she wishes she would have done all vinyl. Easier to clean than something with grout. Just some thoughts!

22. Marci on July 17th, 2008 9:01 am

    Shaw Laminate Wood Flooring…it’s those 4 ft long by 8 inch wide wood strip looking stuff. It just snaps together - they recently redid the locking system so it is easier to snap together than it used to be.
    When I remodeled, I put it in the dining room, kitchen, and mudroom. With the grandkids running around all the time, it has been wonderful. Cleans up easily, always shines, is soft on the knees (good pad underneath already attached to the strips) and the Oregon rain and mud has cleaned right up easily. I like it so much that I am going to keep on going with it into the living room (I’m still walking on subfloors in there) and just use a couple throw rugs instead of wall to wall carpet. After living thru this last year’s rain, the carpet just wouldn’t be practical there.

    Guess it boils down to what you like - I don’t like tile floors - Things break too easily when they drop, the tile can break, it’s hard on my knees, the grout can hold bacteria if the sealing unseals, and kids get hurt worse when they fall on it than when they fall on a softer flooring.

    Consider the color hue of whatever you get. A darker flooring is going to make you feel closed in and dark in the winter when it’s all rainy/dreary here. A lighter color is going to make the room feel brighter and happier in our long winters - brings the light in. I’m just delighted with my light wood look laminate.

23. Marci on July 17th, 2008 9:06 am

    Final thought here….

    Frugal floors? NOT! I think this is the one place where you Don’t have to be Frugal… You need to be thinking Durable and Long Lasting… After all, you aren’t going to be redoing the floors again anytime soon.

    Get what you want and what you will be happy living with. Something that will allow for future updates of painting and decor changing. This is a LONG term investment!

24. Marci on July 17th, 2008 9:10 am

    Oh, since you like it, use the Tile in your bathroom. Then the vinyl kid proof stuff in the kids’ bath. I’d be worried about them slipping on sealed shiny tile, or the germs sticking around on the rough tile…. Which one would you rather clean up after their accidents and sicknesses? Rough tile with grout where things stick, or smooth easy to clean vinyl?
    When they are older, you can update just their bathroom for not too much money if you decide to.

25. Lanel on July 17th, 2008 9:23 am

    I have to agree with the tile for the kitchen.

    When my aunt redid her house she extensively researched laminate flooring. The best she could find was Dupont from Home Depot. When my parents redid their house they put in Dupont and love it. My nephew lives with them and rides his bikes, etc. in the house and there haven’t been any problems. They also have (had) two dogs and they flooring looks great. It was installed about four years ago and still looks brand new.

    Now, in my place the owner put some cheap crap and it is horrible. Definitely don’t go for the cheapest. The stuff I have is nearly impossible to clean without streaking, and after one year it is already buckling in some places.

26. Kim on July 17th, 2008 9:54 am

    I’ve had sheet vinyl and vinyl tiles. I detest vinyl and will never own it again. Eventually, even with no-wax, you’re going to need to strip and wax it to keep it looking nice.

    I’ve had ceramic. I’ve had both light grout and darker grout lines. Light grout was definitely a bigger pain to clean, but even the dark required more work than I was willing to put into keeping a floor looking nice all the time. Plus, it’s slippery and hard enough to bother my back if I’m doing a cooking marathon.

    I have the wood look laminate in 2 bedrooms and the dining room. I like it as well as hardwood and cleaning is easy, even with 2 dogs and kids. I sometimes have issues with streaks, but a microfiber mop and vinegar in a spray bottle takes care of those. There’s also a laminate that looks like tile. I have it in the kitchen and both bathes and LOVE it. Love it, love it, love it. Nothing shows - paw prints, streaks, nothing. Mine is Armstorng and resembles slate, but all the magor manufacturers make something similiar. Also, the warranties on the good stuff make laminate absolutely appropriate for kitchens and bathrooms now. Mine is 6 years old now and has survived drooling dogs who treat their water bowls as swimming pools and kids who refuse to dry off before stepping out of the shower.

27. Janice on July 17th, 2008 10:24 am

    I would not recommend tile with kids. I have 6″ tile in my kitchen, with an edge - dark grout. Dirt gets caught in the edges and I don’t have kids… unless cats count. Dishes SHATTER - if you drop something, it is GONE. I found some vinyl (Armstrong) at Lowes that I put on my screened back porch and LOVE it (there’s a hot tub out there). It has a bit of a texture to it (crocodile skin) but the Scooba and Roomba do a great job on it (as they do on my kitchen tile as well). DO NOT CARPET YOUR KITCHEN OR BATHROOMS - yes, this IS the voice of experience. Vinyl will cost lest to replace in 10 or 15 years when you are tired of it, too.

28. Annie Jones on July 17th, 2008 10:40 am

    I don’t know if this will be helpful for not, and I haven’t read through all the comments, so I don’t know if anyone else has similar thoughts. I have Pergo brand laminate in my kitchen and dining room and love it more than any vinyl I’ve ever had. So don’t rule it out 100% for the kitchen.

    For the bathroom, we currently have vinyl, but when we carpet the whole house (except kitchen/dining) in a year or so, we’ll carpet the bathroom as well. Some people hate carpeting in the bathroom, but we had it in our last home and loved it (even with a child). Also, if you do have an overflow from tub or toilet, you usually just have to clean the carpet or at worst, replace the carpet. With tile and vinyl, if you have that incident, you often have to replace the subflooring as well. That’s been our experience, at least.

    If not carpeting, I would go with high-quality vinyl instead of tile.

    Just my two cents.

29. Heather B on July 17th, 2008 10:58 am

    I would suggest vinyl tiles. That way it’s quite inexpensive to start off with. If one gets damaged (say, a hot curling iron) then you can peel it up and put another one down in it’s place. No problem! They have a huge selection at Lowe’s or Home Depot. I think tile is beautiful, but the downfall that I can see other than cost is fragility. I would be scared that my kids would drop something heavy and crack a tile. That would haunt me forever! LOL!

30. Stephanie on July 17th, 2008 11:09 am

    I dislike tile because of the hardness and how it makes my knees and lower back ache. In a former rental the whole kitchen/family room/laundry room was tile, and my back always ached after doing laundry. Now, in my new rental, only the kitchen is tile, but after I cook or clean in the kitchen for a few hours, my back hurts again. I know there’s practical sides to tile, but I won’t get it in a house I buy because of how hard it is for walking on.

31. Nicole on July 17th, 2008 11:17 am

    Tile, for sure. Better return on investment!

32. Emily Harsh on July 17th, 2008 11:23 am

    When we were building our house we checked with a local tile manufacturer about special pricing. They had a small outlet store - the prices were great! The only downside were you had to haul the tiles yourself (no delivery) and they were loose (not packaged). This wasn’t a big deal for us because we have a truck and were only tiling a small area. The big bonus came when the tile we liked was the tile that was in production that week - which earned us an even bigger discount. We ended up paying $.25 a square foot for a commercial grade tile. One thing to watch out for though - the bulk of your cost is in the grout and installation (we installed ourselves), not the tile. Plus, smaller tile = more grout and more work!

    Also, watch the sales at Home Depot and Lowe’s. Sometimes they receive bulk shipments and sell great tile cheap. We bought 16″ natural slate tile for most of our first floor for $500. Make sure you buy more than enough though (you can usually return the unused) - we were a little short, and ended up paying $300 for a fraction of the amount we initially bought (ouch!).

    Good Luck!

33. Eden on July 17th, 2008 11:26 am

    For what it’s worth, we went with tile in our kitchen and entry way (they are connected and therefore the first thing you see when entering our house) and we used vinyl in the bathrooms.

    The tile looks great of course, but it is harder to clean. We got some of the higher quality vinyl and it looks quite good too, as well as being easy to clean.

    We have no children so I can’t speak much for reliability yet- both still look great to me, however the tile is more time consuming to keep looking good.

34. Vanessa on July 17th, 2008 11:48 am

    I vote for tile, as I have had both. But if you do go with vinyl, stay far, far away from the stick-on do-it-yourself vinyl tiles. Yes, you can peel them up if one is damaged and replace, but that is because the glue *never dries*. The vinyl tile in our bathroom (which we are replacing with real tile) has joints that are not perfect, and so the glue slowly oozes up to the surface. I have spent countless hours scraping up that glue, which is instantly caked with dog hair, lint and dust, up from the floor. Disgusting!!!

    And to everyone that thinks carpet in a bathroom is a good idea: Do you realize that the padding will never really dry out? Can you imagine the amount of unseen mold growing under that clean-looking carpet? I don’t have to imagine, I have seen it with my own eyes pulling up the carpet a bathroom before. Again…Disgusting!!

35. Kathy on July 17th, 2008 11:59 am

    Hello…the photos of the house are great! I love the firepit outside. Bring on the smores! My advice: I love the look of cherry or any dark woods. In our one year old home it came with oak cabinets and oak wood flooring in the hallway. I thought it would be a pain to decorate around since I have cherry tables, hutch, and other dark wood pieces. I would not have chosen oak myself, but I have learned to love the lightness of it because it really compliments the darkness of my other furniture. I would love to share some photos of my home with you…they say I’m a pretty good decorator. and you’d never know half my paint came from the oops pile and half my accessories came from goodwill or yard sales. Nothing I love more than finding an old piece and hauling out the stain! http://www.myspace.com/livelovelaughscrap
    I’ve been needing to add new pictures, and will try to showcase the flooring for you.
    Feel free to email me on the painting. That’s the hard part. Oh, and my dining and kitchen have a beautiful lineolum that looks like tile. I wouldn’t want the tile for the simple reason that it does get outdated and takes a second fortune to replace (you wrote about the brown grout in your current home…whatever is in right now will be out in a decade…a new lineolum floor at half the cost of tile once a decade…yep, I’ll take it!)

36. Shelley on July 17th, 2008 1:04 pm

    I have 8 kids, 2 grandbabies and a dog. I chose Armstrong linoleum tiles, like they use in schools and stores for their flooring. I love it. There are lots of color to choose from. It’s durable, because the color goes all the way through each tile, and you can replace them without a hassle if necessary.

    Kids drop things and on tile, it would break, but this absorbs the impact so there aren’t the same worries. I didn’t consider resale value for my home in my choice. I made my choice based on what was best for my family’s needs at the moment. Why think of what will get me a better price on resale but get stuck with something that’s not practical for your family with kids right now? You may end up living there for a long time, and have a lot of inconvenience if you choose only based on resale value.

37. Kathryn on July 17th, 2008 1:24 pm

    Congrats on your new home! I vote for tile. We’ve had it through 4 kids, 2 dogs (a lab and a great dane), 2 cats, an endless number of “OOPS”, and it still looks great.

    Tile does take some getting used to, though. The first several months my legs would just ache as I’d stand to do dishes or prep for dinner. I don’t know how it happened, but I did become accustomed to the harder surface pretty quickly.

    We live around the Texas coast so the floor never gets that cold in winter and it helps keep the house cooler in summer.

    Spills are easy to clean. Other than a once a year or two scrubbing with a dilute solution of TSP (tri-sodium phosphate - cheap poweder available at a hardware store) we keep the tile looking good with sweeping and regular damp mopping. To damp mop we replace the Swiffer dry pad with a wet Rag in the Box (any shop towel or microfiber cloth will do).

38. Autumnesf on July 17th, 2008 1:29 pm

    On the floors I’m with you on liking cherry. As another person said it does show all water spots thought. Also dust bunnies stand out big time. We ended up with oak (husbands choice) and after living with it for 8 years I have to say it was the much better choice.

39. Lynnae on July 17th, 2008 1:49 pm
    I’m back from the inspection. My floor guy was there, and he suggested a good laminate in the kitchen. It’s going to be really expensive to put tile in, because we’ll need to lay a cement backer board. So that’s something else I need to think about.

    The cherry that I like is Dupont from Home Depot, and it’s a light cherry, not dark. If I do laminate throughout, I don’t want oak, because the kitchen cabinets are oak, and it’s too oaky.

    This is the laminate I like:
    http://www.homedepot.com/webap.....=100064694

    Other than the house needing tie-downs (which we were expecting) and a sump pump that wouldn’t turn on for the inspector, all the damage to the house appeared to be cosmetic. So if we get those details worked out with the sellers, we’ll be moving full steam ahead again.

40. Joshua on July 17th, 2008 2:08 pm

    Right now the house is a kaleidoscope of colours. I’d never be able to concentrate or relax in it.

    If I may, I’d like to suggest you select 1 or maybe 2 similar colours to use on the walls throughout the entire house. (And,personally, I paint my ceilings the same colour as my walls. –That only works if you are using a light colour. I wouldn’t put that purple paint in the bathroom on the ceiling, too.) Then I’d recommend you keep the curtains as close to the colour of the walls as possible. Then choose 1 or 2 accent colours (For things like sofa pillows, bath towels, vases, etc…)

    This type of colour scheme will create a soothing, peaceful atmosphere, and will make your home seem bigger than it really is, as well.

    As for the flooring, I’d recommend putting down real wooden floor boards, if you can. They create a very cosy atmosphere, and increase the value of your property, too. If you don’t want to go to the expense of wooden floors, I’d advise you to go with the laminate. — And I’d put it down in the dining room, too. Again, I’d suggest going with a lighter or more neutral tone. (I’d choose the oak over the cherry that you’ve mentioned in your posting.)

    For the kitchen and bathrooms, I’d put in plain white tiles. They’re easy to keep clean. They’re timeless. And They’ll still look good in 10 years’ time.

    Those are just my own ideas. Remember: Decorating is always a question of creating your very own space. You know yourself and what kind of environment you feel most comfortable in. And that’s what you should be aiming for.

    Kind regards,
    Joshua

41. RacerX on July 17th, 2008 2:16 pm

    Tile and the flooring depends on Dogs or no dogs on the floor. With pets or kids go scratch resisitant like hickory. if not tons of great options, but light wood wears better.

42. Marci on July 17th, 2008 2:39 pm

    Photo looks light enough for those long dreary winters we get here
    Looks warm and homey - a comforting look to it.

    Enjoy all the decorating and the ‘making it your own’ !!!!! Fun!

    I’ll agree with the paint the walls/ceilings the same color - much easier Some of mine are a very pale new spring green, and some are a very pale warm yellow… If you want to add another color you can do one wall only for focal point, or run painter’s tape a foot or so down from the ceiling, mask across, and paint the 2nd color below that. Some of my rooms have that done to them and I really like that. Seems to be more common in Florida than out here, but my friends liked it here once they actually saw it. It was hard to describe to them until it was done!

43. Becky@FamilyandFinances on July 17th, 2008 4:43 pm

    So many opinions! It’s obvious from the opinions that there are pluses and minuses of each.

    I like vinyl over tile because then you don’t have to worry about it looking outdated like it does in your rental. When the vinyl starts to look dated, just re-paint your walls and pick out new vinyl! Much easier than tearing up outdated tiles.

    I’m definitely going to bookmark this page since my husband and I are working on remodeling projects right now

44. Red on July 17th, 2008 8:46 pm

    I would say tile. Even knowing that you are just moving in, the tile would “sell” better later then vinyl.

    If you find the floor cold, they sell non skid rugs for way cheap

45. Ari on July 18th, 2008 6:11 am

    I’m going to jump on the tile bandwagon also. With two kids, tile probably is the better way to go. Its hard to “ruin” tile, but laminate can become gouged and stained. I think its more frugal in the long run to pay for tile once then laminte every 3-5 years.

46. Laurie on July 18th, 2008 10:42 am

    Tile - absolutely. Just don’t pick too light (or dark) of a color or grout and you have years and years of wear. Whereas my vinyl looks terrible at 7 years. (we’ve already replaced it with tile!)

    If you are doing the labor yourselves, you’ll find that tile is actually CHEAPER than vinyl in many instances. We have 7 rental houses and the vinyl doesn’t hold up well at all. We’ve been replacing with tile and have been much happier (despite my knees not appreciating it!)

    For laminate check out: http://www.lumberliquidators.c.....;274500017

    and here

    http://www.lumberliquidators.c.....;274500018

    We got the narrower boards (but be warned it is MUCH more work to install!) We picked the red oak. (but only because my husband wanted the oak and I wanted the cherry. I still like the washington cherry the best).

    I’ve had this in my home for two years and it is wearing great (even with kids and parties and dogs etc.) Only one scratch and that is from when we were installing and was our fault.

    I would definitely recommend the 8 mm boards - I’ve used both 6 and 7 mm boards in our rental homes and they are flimsier, harder to put in and less impervious to water. That said, I put 6 mm boards in a rental in 2004 and it still looks good. (there have been two tenants during that time). First three pics are of our floor, the fourth is the 6mm floor after 4+ years of wear.

    http://gallery.me.com/lwchastine#100079

47. Angela Fehr on July 18th, 2008 2:38 pm

    One note on tile - and I didn’t read any comments so I may be repeating someone - but it’s hard. A dish dropped on tile will not survive - even if it’s Corelle, and Corelle will shatter into a gazillion tiny needle sharp shards.

    We got a phenomenal deal on hardwood by attending a flooring auction and installing it ourselves. Ended up being less than a good laminate. What I love about hardwood is that it can be refinished after a decade or more of abuse.

48. Darla - UltraBeautyBoutique on July 18th, 2008 3:44 pm

    Tile. All the way. I’d never go back to vinyl. It scratches.

    The hardwood flooring is a matter of preference (we have hickory in this house and it’s indestructible - seriously). Don’t go with a laminate tho, go with the REAL stuff - even if it’s pre-finished. Make sure it’s the 3/4″

49. Alvi the Small on July 19th, 2008 12:37 pm

    My mom got some commercial grade tile that she loves - this is the stuff that shopping malls and airports use - and put it in the kitchen. Never had to replace a tile yet, although we’ve had a few dropped dishes casualties. That said, cleaning grout was my job growing up, and it’s pretty heinous to get done.

    One family I know has laminate wood flooring of some kind in their kitchen, which looks nice and has held up well to two small children. Easy to clean up - just water with vinegar usually does it, no grout to clean.

50. Debi on July 19th, 2008 2:06 pm

    Tile does last longer — and that dated brown grout isn’t too hard to replace — and cleans up well. The downside is breakage. I use plastic cups for kids and have found that cornell dinnerware does not break in about 80% of falls. *G*.
    As for price — try shopping at a tile manufactorer’s outlet, Dal Tile is my favorite, and ask to see what they have in blemished tile. This is greatly discounted and the blems are usually small or of no account. Going this route, it won’t cost you much more than a quality vinyl.
    Good luck.

51. Heidi on July 19th, 2008 5:22 pm

    Tile is only cheap if your floor is completely flat and you are very talented and can put it in yourself.

    We went through this before. Our kitchen floor is not flat, so putting down vinyl tiles is the way to go. Armstrong is an excellent brand!!! It really is. The Armstrong floor cleaner is the best out there too.

52. Shana on July 20th, 2008 11:04 pm

    Definitely go with tile. It will last infinitely longer and look far, far better (and it won’t look like a generic apartment). A friend bought a manufactured home recently, and gutted most of it and re-did it. She put in beautiful granite tile in the kitchen and one of the bathrooms, and it looks AMAZING.

    Tile is also something that will help raise the value of your home in the long run, so if you do ever sell, it’s a great “investment”.

53. Jo on July 20th, 2008 11:21 pm

    Lynnae–you’ve gotten tons of quality responses to your question. To me, frugality of your TIME is just as important as your money. I like to have my floors look as terrific as possible with the least amount of time and effort on my part. That way I can use more of my time to do other things with my spouse and kids.

    Our family has owned and remodeled several houses over our 19 years of marriage, and our kitchen and bath flooring surfaces have included real hardwood, vinyl, tile and laminate. For perpetual good looks, ease of care, lack of difficulty to install, personal comfort, overall dollar value and lack of time to keep clean and dent/scratch-free…I prefer a quality laminate flooring in a pleasant neutral color. Hardwood dents and scratches, tile is hard on the joints and feet and is unsightly if unsealed, vinyl can certainly scratch and tear. Our current home was laid with a very good quality laminate flooring about 10 years ago, and I can only find one tiny dent in the kitchen…no scratches from the dogs or the toddler dragging items across it. Yes, our tile floor when we lived in a hot climate was cool, but I had numerous occasions to clean up shards of glass from dropped items, which is scary when you have little ones with bare feet in the house. My Pergo is quick to keep dusted with an old worn-out sock modified to stretch over my swiffer handle, it stays clean and streak-free with a vinegar and water mopping about once a month (i clean little spills quickly and immediately), and it is still very attractive after a whole decade.

    Best wishes to you on your new home and all the joys that accompany it!

54. LWJ on July 23rd, 2008 12:50 pm

    What about cork? It’s pretty sturdy, warm, and easy on the feet.

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