A Quick Look at Dining Room Flooring Options

Dining rooms are often the focal point of daily activities in many homes. Meals are eaten at the dining table. Children do their homework at the dining table. Family gatherings, dinner parties and special meals for festivals and gatherings are enjoyed in the dining room. So it’s only natural that special attention is paid while choosing the right kind of flooring for your dining room.

What you need is a flooring material that looks elegant, is easy to maintain, and can take a beating. Let’s take a quick look at dining room flooring options to help you make the right choice for your home.

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1. Classic Wood Flooring

Wooden floors are a timeless classic. They evoke feelings of luxury and warmth while giving the room a sombre and formal look. 

If you don’t mind spending, choose a hardwood floor of a type and grain that goes well with the other elements of your dining room. Using a darker stained or colored wood for your floor will help you draw attention to your room’s architecture, furniture, and any artwork you may have in your dining room. A lighter wood grain will make your dining room look more open and spacious.

Choose from solid wood, engineered hardwood floors, or bamboo floors depending on the colors you want, ecological viability, and how much you’re willing to spend. Whatever you choose, make sure you have a continuity in colors and design through your living room, kitchen, and other areas adjoining your dining room.

Hardwood floors can be refinished periodically, so longevity and value for money are definitely not a problem. They also add to the overall sale value of your home.

2. Natural Stone Flooring

Stone floors are another classic favorite when it comes to dining room flooring. Stone floors are best suited for those living in warm climates. While natural stone floors aren’t easy on the pocket either, they’re extremely durable, easy to clean, and easy on the eyes. Like wood flooring, natural stone flooring also adds to the real estate value of your home.

3. Laminate Flooring

Want the formal look of solid wood flooring but want something more durable and easy to maintain? Laminate flooring is your answer. While laminate floors imitate the grain and colors of wood grain, they are stain-resistant and very easy to clean. This makes laminate flooring a great choice for homes with children.

4. Luxury Vinyl Flooring

Luxury vinyl tiles and luxury vinyl planks can mimic both real wood floors as well as natural stone floors while costing a fair amount less than either. Vinyl tiles and vinyl planks are not only extremely durable and easy to install, but they also come in a wide range of colors and hues.

The rigid core of vinyl planks and vinyl tiles ensures they’re water-resistant, easy underfoot, and hardy. They’re also easy to vacuum on, sweep on and mop. This means you don’t have to worry every time your kids spill something on the dining room floor.

5. Cork Flooring

Cork flooring is soon becoming a favorite amongst flooring materials for a variety of reasons. Cork floors are soft underfoot. They’re also extremely affordable and easy to install. There are, however, a couple of drawbacks to having cork flooring in your dining room though. If you place heavy furniture on them, they’re likely to leave temporary depressions on the surface. Cork flooring also stains very easily, so they may not be ideal for homes with young children.

6. Tile Flooring

While porcelain tiles and ceramic tile flooring are popular choices for kitchen floors and for outdoor patios, they make excellent choices for dining room floors as well. They work especially well in warmer climates. If laid properly with proper grouting, tile flooring can last for an eternity.

Any spillage or dirt on your dining floor will clean off in a jiffy if you opt for tile flooring. Tile floors aren’t very pet friendly though since they’re slippery in texture. They also might show signs of discoloration and may chip off after years of extensive use.

7. Carpets and Rugs

Carpets and rugs can work as flooring options for your dining room as well for a variety of reasons. They’re great options if you live in colder climates and want some warmth underfoot. They’re also very budget-friendly, especially for smaller homes. 

A lot of brands currently offer consumers wall-to-wall carpeting that is moisture and stain-resistant, making them ideal for dining rooms.

The right kind of rug can add a lot of color and character to your dining room. Oriental designs are a very popular choice. 

Rugs and carpets, however, are high maintenance in comparison to other types of flooring. Therefore, they aren’t best suited for homes with young children and pets, or for homes that host dinner parties very often.

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Plan According to Your Needs

“A family that eats together stays together.” This old adage probably best illustrates the importance of a dining room in a home. But no two families are alike. Some of us may have large families with little kids. Others may have grown teenagers. Some of us are content being pet parents. Irrespective of what kind of family you have, we hope we’ve helped narrow down options for you to choose the best floor for your dining room based on your specific needs.

Read more: 13 superb alternative uses for a formal dining room

Written by Narayan Shrouthy. June 25, 2020

Narayan is a content writer for Kukun. With experience in both content writing and editing, Narayan mixes his writing and love for reading with his passion for music. As an active musician, He aims to be a key player in Kukun's content experience.