Your beach house is a relaxing space meant to help you unwind and get away from the pressures of life. It’s a space for family gatherings, idyllic vacations and parties with friends. Such an important area needs high-quality, durable flooring that creates a welcoming and inviting atmosphere.
There are many factors to consider for flooring, so finding something that fits your budget and needs can be time-consuming. When looking for the best beach house flooring, use this guide to help you select a stylish, strong material that will hold up for years to come.
Things to Consider When Choosing Beach House Flooring
Finding the best flooring for a beach house among all the different options can be time-consuming. After all, your beach house differs from a home that isn’t a stone’s throw away from the open water. As a result, you need to think about the different variables that uniquely affect your beach house’s flooring.
To help narrow down your selection, here are some things you need to consider when picking new flooring:
Cost: One of the first things you should do when deciding on new flooring is planning your budget — choosing flooring on a budget helps you narrow down floor choices right away, so you’ll only be selecting from floors you can afford. Things like material, location, needs, color and room size influence beach house flooring prices. When choosing between flooring options, consider how they’ll affect your home’s value. Spending more money upfront on higher-quality, durable flooring can increase your home’s value if you decide to sell it.
Durability: Depending on the traffic and wear on the flooring in each area, you’ll want to select a more durable floor. Some materials stand up better to wear and tear than others, so finding flooring that holds up to long-term use can go a long way toward saving you repair costs in the future.
Appearance: The look of your flooring will be one of the first things people notice when they walk inside. Think about the color scheme you want in your rooms — will the flooring be light or dark and what colors best complement the existing design? Selecting the perfect floor color will enhance the appeal of your beach house and will help you love the space for years to come.
Room size: The larger the room, the more expensive flooring installation will be. Room size can also influence floor color and style. Busy patterns and dark colors can make a room feel smaller, while light colors can increase the feeling of space. Pick something that will make each room feel comfortable and stylish.
Maintenance: Some floors look more luxurious but need more care and maintenance. Find out how much time and money you’re prepared to spend on maintaining flooring after installation. Many homeowners want quick and easy-to-clean flooring, so choosing the option that will work best for your time will save you stress.
Best Types of Flooring for Beach Houses
Typically, the best beach house flooring stands up to wear from the elements, like salt, sun, moisture and sand. If you have kids or young family members, you’ll also want to look at flooring that’s safe for children and will stand up to damage. Finding comfortable, attractive and durable flooring for your family that can stand up to everything that’s thrown at it gives you a safe, firm surface to live on.
Some flooring looks stylish but isn’t suited for the moisture-prone environment of the beach. Warped and water-damaged wood can require expensive repairs. Alternatively, choosing a cheaper synthetic flooring may leave you with an easily scratched floor that doesn’t last as long as you wish. The last thing you want is to invest in flooring that becomes almost immediately damaged by simple actions or common debris.
The following floor types work well in high traffic and water-prone areas like the beach and will help you maintain the quality of your home for many vacations:
1. Engineered Hardwood
Using hardwood flooring in beach homes is a classic, popular choice. The natural feel of hardwood and the many color and style options makes it an excellent material for elevating a home’s look.
Hardwood is a durable, easy-to-clean flooring that makes any beach house feel like a luxurious getaway. While hardwood is a timeless material for any home, it often has a higher price point than other kinds of flooring. The natural material, long-lasting quality and more-involved installation mean you’ll pay more for wood floors.
For an even more durable option, consider getting engineered hardwood flooring. Engineered hardwood is more resistant to moisture than regular hardwood and won’t warp. While engineered wood has higher upfront costs than other floorings, its strength and resistance to wear and tear can help reduce maintenance costs down the road. Engineered beach house wood flooring is an attractive, durable option if you want to protect your floors from moisture damage.
2. Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring is an affordable, synthetic option that holds up well against damage. If you want cost-effective flooring with many styles and options, vinyl is perfect for your home. Vinyl resists moisture damage and is perfect for pet owners who want to protect their floors from scratches, especially if you choose vinyl with a protective layer.
There are three types of vinyl flooring you can choose from, each with its own benefits:
Wood-plastic composite vinyl (WPC): Made from recycled wood pulp or plastic composites, this flooring is stable, durable and thick. It can mimic natural wood well and is quick to install.
Luxury vinyl tile (LVT): Made with 3D printing, LVT mimics the look and feel of hardwood. It can even come in tile and stone styles, giving a luxury feel to your home. It’s easy to maintain and install and can stand up against the sand and moisture of beaches.
Rigid core vinyl flooring: Rigid core flooring has multiple layers like WPC vinyl and LV, but its core is either wood composite or stone composite. This option is made to last for many years and hold up against wear and tear without damage.
If you decide to go with vinyl flooring, make sure to select high-quality vinyl. Lower-quality vinyl isn’t as strong and is more prone to damage.
3. Laminate Flooring
Like vinyl, laminate flooring is synthetic and affordable. With technological advances, laminate can look and feel like wood or tile. Customize your beach house laminate flooring to match light natural woods and ocean tones without sacrificing durability and cost.
Laminate flooring’s customizable nature means you can adapt it to fit your room sizing and design. Laminate planks come in various sizes, from 3 to 12 inches wide, to fit the aesthetic of your home. You can also choose from laminate with exotic or domestic finishes to mimic the look and feel of hardwood without the higher cost.
The construction of laminate makes it ideal for households with children or pets. Its synthetic build makes it water-, scratch- and damage-resistant, even after years of use. Laminate flooring is also easy to clean, a necessary feature when sand, dirt, salt and other debris get inside every day. With proper care, you can prevent your laminate from becoming scratched, ensuring it looks perfect for years.
Tips for Choosing Beach House Flooring
Now that you’ve explored some of the best beach house flooring options, here are some tips for finding the perfect flooring for your home. Once you know what flooring types are available, you can explore beach house flooring ideas to find your dream floor. Use your existing color scheme or find colors that resemble the ocean to design a seaside getaway.
Choose a flooring that can stand up to the elements and any wear from children, pets and heavy use. The best flooring type will resist water damage and is easy to clean. This point is essential for any home, but the wear and tear vacation homes see make it even more important to remember for a beach house.
What floor you’ll want depends on your preferences, budget and needs, but you can use these tips to help you find the ideal flooring without stress:
Consider design: When you’re narrowing down flooring, color and style will play an essential role in the decision. Pick flooring that matches your existing cabinets. Find a complementary woodgrain or pattern that meshes easily with the cabinet color and material. Appliance design is also essential — find a floor that works with your appliance design to create a cohesive space. Choose tones that work together without matching exactly to keep the room from looking too monotonous.
Think about maintenance: You want a flooring material you can clean easily since you and your guests will be tracking sand and other debris inside. Also, take wear and tear into account. Flooring that’s less durable or scratch-proof will require more repairs. Non-water-resistant material can warp and take on water damage over time. The less durable and easy to clean flooring is, the more money you’ll need to spend on upkeep and repairs in the future.
Account for costs: To find the best flooring, you should consider all costs involved in the process, not just maintenance. Flooring installation costs are different depending on the material. Increased protection and durability will increase initial costs but save you money long-term. You might also have to pay for padding or underlayment along with installation and transportation when the new floors are put down.
Keep the future in mind: While choosing flooring can seem like a decision for the present, you’ll also need to think about the future. Try to pick a flooring that will appeal to you for many years. Trendy or bold flooring styles may appeal to you today, but will they still be stylish and attractive in 10 years? If you select a less-expensive floor, you might end up paying for a replacement sooner than you’d like. High-quality, durable flooring will stand up to years of use and help increase your home value when selling.
Consider traffic: If your household has pets or children or your beach house is simply a high-traffic area, you should buy flooring that can handle those conditions. Finding layered, water-resistant, scratch-proof, durable floors prevents wear and tear from hurting your new flooring. Floors that see more hard use require extra protection and care to keep them in top shape for years and years.
Things to Avoid When Choosing Beach House Flooring
If you’re searching for beach house flooring, you should also know what to avoid when shopping. Understanding common mistakes will help you sidestep typical issues and ensure you get the best flooring possible for your needs. Some things you want to watch out for include:
Forgetting transitions: Transitions are spaces where your flooring changes between rooms. Even in beach houses, different rooms may require different flooring. Laminate works well in kitchens, tile is popular for bathrooms and wood or vinyl for living spaces are typical designs. If you use various floor types in your house, you’ll have to consider transitions. Flooring throughout the house should work well together, following design schemes that work with instead of against the feeling of the home.
Avoiding bold options: While you should stay away from trendy flooring that isn’t your taste, don’t miss out on statement flooring. When done well, bold patterns and flooring can elevate the look of a space, bringing the whole room to another design level. Play around with bolder floor options to create a stylish and unique entryway or room.
DIYing your floors: There are some home projects, like painting, that are perfect for taking into your own hands. But when installing flooring, you should always contact a professional. Without professional training, installing flooring can be difficult and time-consuming. You could end up spending what you save on professional costs on repairs and fixes if you don’t get everything right. To protect yourself from installation problems and extensive repairs, always turn to experts for floor installation.
Choose Metro Flooring Contractors for Your Beach House Flooring Needs
At Metro Flooring Contractors, we understand how important finding the right flooring is. You want attractive, comfortable flooring that will last you for years. Our expert team has the resources and skills to assist you in a stress-free, easy process for choosing the ideal beach house floor. We offer top-notch customer service and at-home consultations to ensure you get the flooring you want.
