Comments on: Frugal Home Decorators: I Need Your Help!

By: shopgirl

shopgirl — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:20:30 +0000

Congrats on investing in your first home and saving those rental $$! We put tile in our kitchen, breakfast, laundry, hallways and all bathrooms when we built our dream home which I miss since moving twice now due to job losses. I hate the light oak laminate we now have that shows wet puppy paw prints! We also now think about resale value given today’s market when making any renovations, be it paint or flooring. Tile tops vinyl every time! Good luck :)

By: jc

jc — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:02:11 +0000

I would recommend the tile due to the durability and environmental reasons. If you are careful in selecting your tile you can find one that will look good for decades to come.

I think my favorite kitchen floor has been wood. It is surprisingly easy to clean, durable and looks good. You didn’t mention it as an option but it is one worth considering.

By: chieromancer

chieromancer — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:54:47 +0000

My 2 cents: vinyl is a petrochemical. Tile is made of god-given clay.

By: rbwahine

rbwahine — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:14:19 +0000

Growing in a household with dogs and siblings; I find that any sort of tile or wood flooring goes a long way. I would def go with tile over vinyl, because you get what you pay for. And in the long run would benefit you.

By: LWJ

LWJ — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:50:45 +0000

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

By: Jo

Jo — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:21:18 +0000

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!

By: Shana

Shana — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:04:10 +0000

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”.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:22:21 +0000

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.

By: Debi

Debi — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:06:53 +0000

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.

By: Alvi the Small

Alvi the Small — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:37:52 +0000

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.