Best flooring option for open concept ranch
Lifestyle: I have a toddler. I also have a small 17 lb dog, too small to sway my flooring choice. I have never left standing water on my floor ever and we don’t splash around in the main living areas. I am clumsy in the kitchen though and always seem to be dropping things.
We have big windows in the back of the family room, so I want to make sure the sun won’t fade the floor.
Looking for longevity and a beautiful real wood look.
Things I’ve looked at:
1. Engineered wood - speaks for itself. Beautiful of course, but concerned about scratches and dents in kitchen. Would go with a handscraped option, so I feel like imperfections would be concealed.
2. Luxury Vinyl Plank - fake look & feel to me, but it’s all the rave and everyone’s pointing me in this direction. Don’t like the beveled edge styles (fake plastic look and a place for crumbs to hide).
3. Pergo Timbercraft + WetProtect at Lowe’s or “Laminte for Life, Titanium” brand at Carpet One- looks so realistic to wood. Super impressive. It’s Laminate though. Laminate is making a come back, but still makes me wonder if it’s the best course.
4. Smartcore Naturals at Lowe’s- I think this is brand new. I can’t find any reviews or info on this. I believe the vendor is Shaw. This is an engineered wood veneer top with a vinyl (CoreTec technology) core/bottom. It seems like the best of both worlds. It’s waterproof, maybe just to every day spills. I am intrigued, but skeptical.
Thoughts?? Thanks in advance.
Comments (13)
Valerie Iosue
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Open Concept Floor Plans
Comments (25)Colieennc - I built an open plan where the living, breakfast room, and kitchen were all together. Our dining room was in another space by the entry. We loved that plan. Yes, it did get loud at times. We had to sale that home due to my husband getting another job. We decided to purchase a house that was more closed off. Well, that didn't work out too well. We would scream across the house to speak to each other, lol. After three years, we still hate having our kitchen separate. We just sold and are ready to find a more open plan. I think I will keep the dining room separate now, because I can picture my daughter leaving all her junk on the dining room table and things looking messy. Plus, I have a formal dining room set which includes a china cabinet and china that my grandmother left me and a very nice gold mirror my other grandmother left me that is worth several thousand dollars. I also have three formal sets of china that I would like to display between seasons. So, I think I will lose the formal factor if I put the dining space in the den. My husband and mother have been the ones that have pushed me to find a totally open plan that includes the dining room. I just really wanted the kitchen and den to be open. I do not want a breakfast room....See MoreNortheast - open concept floor plan or colonial
Comments (9)If this were a house in which you intended to live, I would suggest that you look through this: https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/15-reasons-to-think-twice-about-an-open-floor-plan-52554#less-storage-space . However for a spec house, wall-less interiors are probably the way to go. I generally prefer to have walls separating the functional areas. I physically and visually enter another space and function. My mind follows. I also like to have plenty of walls on which to hang art. In many houses the TV is over the fireplace because that is the only wall in the living/dining/kitchen/den space. And don't get me started on how many living areas only have overhead lights (which are typically very unflattering) because all the furniture is "floating" and there are no outlets for lamps and tables in the middle of the living space. If you do decide on no interior walls, think about furniture placement before you start to build....See MoreWhat Floor For Large Open Concept Ranch With No Transitions
Comments (4)Here's the deal....a PERMANENT floor (glue down, nail down, mortar in place, etc) will give you the look you want. That means concrete, stone, tile, marmoleum (sheet), vinyl (sheet), vinyl planks (glue down), vinyl tile (glue down), cork (glue down), carpet, wood (glue down or nail in place) will do the trick. A FLOATING floor is the floor that must have transitions. You have stated that you do not want to glue anything down...which is where your issue is coming from. And to be clear, only a SMALL mount of engineered hardwoods are 'click' together. The rest are glued at the edges (but I digress). So the situation is thus: you WANT a continuous floor. You WANT to float a floor. You do NOT want transitions. Like Sesame street songs says, "One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong.' There are VERY FEW floating floor options that can have runs GREATER than 40 ft. Very, very very few. Almost everything else MUST HAVE transitions around the 30ft mark. So you have a choice to make: do a permanent floor (glue down wood) or you float and LIVE with the transitions that are required. The next decision is: do you keep a flooring contractor who thinks engineered hardwoods always 'click' together?...See MoreAny ideas for this open concept kitchen floor problem??
Comments (8)I had exactly the same problem. I do not know how it is done for you, but we have two layers of subfloor and, when we will renovate the kitchen in a couple years, we will fix the subfloor and put either wood or tile that will be flush with the rest of the floor.. We have a transition between the two levels, so it was not as weird as it look on your picture. Sorry for the mess, but it was just after we moved in. May be you can do something like that....See More
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5 years ago
PROBeth H. :
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoeither you want real wood, or you want fake. because fake does not look like the real stuff.
And engineered wood is real wood. Often it's stronger than a solid wood plank.
look at the Janka hardness test and choose accordingly. One of the hardest is a Fossilized Bamboo. it's up above 3500 on the scale. (oak is about 1300 or so)
But remember, 120 year old homes still have the original wood flooring in them. So to say that a wood floor can't stand up to a toddler, a small dog and a messy cook is silly.look into a solid white oak, stained on site. see how that price compares w/an engineered hardwood.
How about a wide plank French Oak? You needn't have to get hand scraped.
I would never do 1500 sq ft of the vinyl plank. oh heck no. And, if you want the really good, long lasting LVP, it's about the same price as a good hardwood.or find a quality wood-look tile
oh, and the last place I'd buy any of those products is at a big box store. They don't exactly deal in the best quality items. Go to an actual flooring place where that's all they specialize in dealing. they more choices, better quality, and better pricing.qam999
5 years agoValerie Iosue
5 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years agoPlease no tile it is horrible to walk on all day and as you age it will get worse. I agree engineered is kind of the best of both worlds . I actually chose a laminate that looks like slate for my 1600sq ft MCM ranch which we opend up a lot in the renovatin.. We have huge dogs and wood was never a choice I love our floors in fact 2 of my clients went with that floor too. I think you need to go with waht you love and can afford and forget resale.
jill302
5 years agokriii
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoSusie .
5 years ago
PROOak & Broad
5 years agoValerie Iosue , hand scraped is almost out of fashion at this point. Most of the mills I know of have pulled those machines/tools/teams off the line. The low gloss finish over character grade is still very popular and continues to the most common request we get. Also keep in mind there are great quality American made Engineered floors that have nice thick wear layers that will allow you to refinish the floors again in the future. Here is an engineered diagram. Here is a helpful link to how to pick quality Engineered floors.
Educational Plank Flooring Examples · More Info
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