What’s the Best Type of Flooring for Your Home Office?

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Table of Contents

• What to Consider When Choosing Home Office Flooring
• Hardwood Flooring
• Laminate Flooring
• Tile Flooring
• Vinyl Flooring
• Luxury Vinyl Flooring
• Carpet Flooring
• What’s the Best Choice for Your Home Office Flooring?
• Get the Flooring You Need with 50 Floor

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Working from home can be an excellent opportunity, whether you’re a freelancer, remote employee or independent business owner. Whatever your industry, creating a productive working environment is essential to having a home office.

One of the most significant parts is the flooring you choose. This is the foundation for your office space. Each type of flooring provides a different set of benefits and an individual style, which may make it challenging to decide on one model.

Your home office is a space where you need to focus. Create a design that encourages productivity and lowers stress levels, from the ground up. To choose the best flooring for a home office, use this guide to compare available materials and styles.

What to Consider When Choosing Home Office Flooring

When you’re looking at flooring ideas for a home office, several factors are worth considering:

1. Durability

If you plan on using your home office every day, you’ll need to look into durable options.

Rolling chairs, tables, shoes, kids and pets can all scrape and scuff floors, leaving your office looking worn and aged. Dropping objects or spilling liquids can cause denting, damage and staining. Cheaper options and improper installation can cause even bigger issues than looking bad.

Using a space regularly means wear is inevitable, but options that are resistant to damage allow you to enjoy your flooring for longer without needing any repair or replacement. You’ll get a better value for your money and can keep your floor looking like new for longer.

2. Cleaning and Maintenance

Offices tend to accumulate a lot of dust and dander, considering the amount of time people spend in them. The easier your floor is to clean, the more often you’re likely to clean it and the better it is for your health.

The flooring materials themselves determine how you need to clean them. Some require soap and water mopping or dry mopping while others need vacuuming. Consider your office space and decide what will be the easiest to maintain for you.

3. Noise

Depending on the size of your office, your job and whether or not you need silence to work, noise can be an issue.

If you live in an active neighborhood or city, have children or pets and just prefer peace and quiet, you may prefer a flooring option that absorbs more sound. Flat, hard surfaces will reflect sound, intensifying it and allowing it to reverberate. Softer surfaces won’t allow sound to bounce, keeping your office quieter.

4. Safety

For some individuals, slippery surfaces are a major concern. If you have young children or want to be safer yourself, installing flooring that has a non-slip treatment or doesn’t allow sliding may be the best choice.

Non-slip surfaces are also important if your office has a door that leads directly outside. Tracking in rainwater or snow can make certain types of office flooring very slick.

5. Your Own Needs

While the practicality of the flooring is essential, you also need to consider what you want. What kind of environment makes you happy or less stressed? Do you focus better in a minimalist space or a more colorful, playful one? Is a traditional office style or a homier feel better for your productivity?

You’ll be the one spending the most time in this room, so feel free to make it your own. Design it in a way that enables you to work efficiently, and create an enjoyable space where you look forward to being.

Once you’ve taken all these factors into account, it’s time to look at different home office flooring options and compare.

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Hardwood Flooring in Offices

Hardwood floors are a classic choice for any style. All-natural timber looks professional while still providing a warm feel, and it fits in with any kind of decor or theme.

Hardwood floors have many benefits. They look good, and they’re good for the planet and your health. Hardwood flooring is made from sustainable materials. Its smooth surface makes cleaning easy, collecting less harmful dust and dander. All it needs is a microfiber dust mop or very light damp mopping.

You won’t have to sacrifice style, either. Hardwood flooring is available in a multitude of materials, finishes, colors and sizes, so you’ll have plenty of options. Some of the types of wood include:

• Bamboo
• Birch
• Brazilian cherry
• Cherry
• Maple
• Red oak
• White oak
• Walnut

The individual flooring planks come in three different styles:

1. Engineered

Engineered hardwood is manufactured by taking several thin layers of wood and pressing them together horizontally to make a stacked plank. Because it has several layers — also known as a multi-ply construction — this style is more resistant to potential moisture damage than others. It is very versatile, and it costs less than solid hardwood. So, you can have the same look at a lower cost.

One of the most popular forms of engineered hardwood is high-density fiber (HDF) core. Since engineered hardwood is made from thin layers of wood glued together, the core can be particleboard, plywood, HDF or medium-density fiberboard (MDF). HDF provides the best stability, is available in a wide variety of looks and is easy to install.

2. Solid

Solid hardwood is what it sounds like — each plank is a whole piece of a single species of wood. Without any gaps or layers, this style is extremely durable, more so than those made from stacked material. However, it is more susceptible to potential moisture damage.

3. Floating

Floating hardwood is similar to engineered in that it is made up of several layers, but these are thin boards glued together. The inner boards are made of a different material from the top layer, usually another hardwood or birch plywood material. Most flooring of this style is easy to install, as it either has a locking system or it can be glued or stapled over an existing concrete or wood subfloor.

Floating flooring often comes in interlocking pieces. Each plank locks into another, creating a gapless floor without any use of an adhesive. It’s clean and much faster than the traditional glue style and will lay well on almost any kind of base. While it calls for a longer installation period and more thorough clean-up, glue also has its benefits. The adhesive acts as a natural moisture barrier and it reduces the movement of the wood underfoot.

Whichever species or style you choose, hardwood flooring is long-lasting, sometimes even lifetime guaranteed. It can be reasonably expensive, but the value is worth the price. With the proper care and maintenance, your home office will have a durable and beautiful foundation.

Laminate Flooring for Home Offices

While it is a synthetic option, laminate floors can look almost as nice as traditional hardwood and other natural materials. It’s also a far more affordable price point so you can have the natural look without the expense.

Popular laminate styles simulate hardwood, stone, tile and ceramic flooring. The material itself is made of several composites, and each piece is constructed out of four fused layers, making the surface very strong. Laminates can be more durable than natural alternatives and are resistant to wear, staining, moisture damage and fading.

The four fused layers used to create laminate are:

• Back layer: The bottom surface of the laminate, this layer helps with resistance to moisture damage and structural stability, using melamine as a means of reinforcement.
• Fiberboard core: Including a fiberboard core improves the overall structural stability and creates impact resistance. It also is treated with an edge seal for increased durability.
• Decorative layer: This is the part of laminate flooring that is visible and provides multiple style choices. It can be made to look very similar to natural materials through the use of detailed photos.
• Wear layer: The wear layer is a strong, clear finish on the surface of the laminate that makes it resistant to wear, fading, staining and moisture. It is made of melamine and aluminum oxide.

Each piece of laminate flooring fits together seamlessly to create a beautiful smooth surface. It installs quickly, so you can get to furnishing your home office faster.

Tile Flooring Options for Offices

Tile flooring is a long-lasting, strong and reliable option for office use. They have a better structure than their softer vinyl counterparts, and they don’t need a completely smooth starting surface to install.

Your design options vary significantly with tile. It can be made to imitate natural materials if it isn’t already made from them. They come in a multitude of shapes, allowing you to design any floor uniquely.

Treated tiles are resistant to moisture, staining, scratches and slipping, making them durable and safer than some of the other alternatives. With low-maintenance cleaning, these floors will last for years. However, they do create a hard surface, which may not be as comfortable or warm on bare feet.

The two most popular styles of tile flooring are:

1. Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tiles are durable, easy to clean, waterproof and resistant to all kinds of damage. They’re made from clays or other synthetic materials, most of which are heated and glazed with colors or protective finishes. These finishes can help strengthen the tiles, create a non-slip surface and provide a variety of colors. They can be made to imitate natural materials as well, such as stone, slate and wood.

2. Porcelain Tile

Porcelain tiles have all the benefits of ceramic flooring, but they’re even stronger. They’re made from a blend of synthetic and natural materials and hardened at a higher temperature than ceramics. This process creates a higher density, making porcelain suitable for a wider variety of uses. Similarly to ceramics, they’re very easy to clean, don’t retain allergens and don’t require much maintenance at all.

However, porcelain does have another advantage — the tiles are not only water resistant, but they also absorb less moisture. This makes the material very well suited for cold climates. If your office shifts in temperature from hot to cold frequently, porcelain tile will resist cracking where other materials may not.

Whichever you choose, tile flooring will look classy and stylish, and you have the opportunity to make the design your own. It can take years of use, rolling chairs, spills and shoes without looking anything but new.

Vinyl Home Office Floors

Vinyl flooring is one of the most affordable choices without sacrificing any quality. The pieces are made from chips of polyvinyl chloride or other synthetics, which are processed to create a solid sheet of vinyl material. They either remain as large sheets or machines cut them into tile shapes.

In terms of appearance, vinyl can be made to mimic the look of tile or hardwood without mimicking the price of either. It’s also resistant to stains, mildew, rips, tears, gouges, scuffs, scratches and other typical floor damage. Since vinyl doesn’t take on damage easily, its an excellent choice for home offices that see guests and have high foot traffic or those that are directly accessible from outdoors.

Quality vinyl flooring has several thick layers to make it more durable. These layers consist of a backing, top design and two protective sheets. Depending on your space, you’ll want to choose the type of backing that suits your needs best — cork, felt or fiberglass.

Cork backing is soft and absorbs more sound than the alternatives. Its durability means it can last for up to 30 years without needing to be replaced. Felt backing must be stored in your office for 24 hours before installation to allow it to acclimatize, and it requires permanent adhesive. Fiberglass backing is easy to place and can use resealable adhesive. It also provides the benefit of sound absorption and won’t shrink, crack or warp over time.

Most frequently, vinyl flooring comes in sheet format. Vinyl sheet is a single piece of flooring measured to fit your space. This style is most resistant to water damage and more structurally sound since there are no gaps. They can also be made to imitate wood and stone or have patterns.

With the number of benefits and design options available in vinyl flooring, it’s a fantastic choice for any office space.

Luxury Vinyl Flooring for Offices

While vinyl is an excellent practical option for many spaces, it may not give you the look you want. Hardwood and tile flooring is more expensive and can be difficult to install and clean. If you want the stylish appeal of real tile and hardwood without the price, luxury vinyl flooring is the perfect solution.

Luxury vinyl flooring has a more affordable price point and is of higher quality than regular vinyl. While it has a similar construction to vinyl, consisting of several layers topped with a protective sheet, luxury vinyl is thicker. The added width of each layer provides increased durability, protecting your flooring from scuffs, scrapes, stains and other forms of damage. You can have the style you want and keep it looking great longer.

There are two varieties of luxury vinyl flooring — planks and tile — differentiated by their shapes and available patterns:

• Luxury vinyl plank: This style looks and feels like wood, but it may be even better. Vinyl plank is more durable and resistant to stains, scratches, mildew and water damage, and also has a more non-slip surface than traditional wood. It comes in plank-shaped tiles that fit together snugly, hence the name.
• Luxury vinyl tile: Similar to the planks, vinyl tile mimics the distinct look of tiles like stone and slate, but at a lower price point than the alternative. They’re also easier to clean, resistant to more types of damage and need less maintenance over time.

 

Carpet Flooring for Offices

Of all the options, carpet flooring is the most comfortable and homely choice. It’s warm and inviting, which is important if you need to hold conferences or meetings in your home office. Carpeting also makes any office a more pleasant place to be.

While carpet can be more difficult clean, it doesn’t necessarily need to be wall-to-wall — you can carpet just a section of your office. It’s also excellent for sound absorption if you live in a noisy area or have young children and pets, and you won’t have any risk of slipping.

In terms of design, carpeting comes in a broad variety of colors, patterns and thicknesses, so you can choose the style that best fits your office space. The styles include:

• Cut pile: Consists of loops of fabric attached to the backing material and cut to create a plush look.
• Loop pile: Similar construction as a cut pile carpet, but the loops aren’t cut.
• Patterned loop: Similar construction as a loop pile carpet, but the loops remain at different lengths to create patterns.
• Cut and loop: A combination of cut pile and loop pile carpet construction, alternated to create patterns.
• Smooth or Saxony: A form of cut pile carpet, but all the fabric is trimmed low and even for a smooth appearance.
• Frieze: Similar to a cut pile, but with a focus on texture. These carpet styles look shaggy, like twisted yarn, and don’t appear dirty quickly.
• Berber: Relaxed and casual, with thick loops and a comfortable surface. Works well in high traffic areas.
• Plush: Traditional style of carpet with a smooth look that makes it easy to clean.
• Pattern: Has a mix of loops and cut fibers that create patterns. Looks sophisticated without being overwhelming.

Many of these styles come in a broad variety of colors, so you can find the perfect carpeting to match your desired aesthetic. The price varies depending on the thickness and style, but they’re generally affordable at any budget. With so many styles, carpeting is a great choice for any home office.

What’s the Best Choice for Your Home Office Flooring?

Now that you’ve explored the best options, how do you choose which is the best for your office? Here are a few tips for making a decision:

• Climate: If you live in a cold climate, you’ll want a type of flooring that is well insulated and won’t crack or warp with temperature changes. Carpet or hardwood might be best.
• Office needs: If you need to move furniture or chairs frequently in your office space, need to host meetings or even just enjoy rolling chairs, you’ll need scratch-resistant flooring. Try vinyl or laminate.
• Budget: Is having a specific type of flooring important to you? Budget out what you’re willing to spend to help make a choice.
• Outdoor access: If your office has a door that leads outside or you plan on wearing shoes often, it may be beneficial to get a flooring style that’s easy to clean. Tile might be your best option.
• Comfort level: Ultimately, you’re the one spending the most time in your home office, so go with what’ll make you feel comfortable and productive. It’s different for every person.

Additionally, work with a company that will allow you to see samples of flooring in your home before deciding and purchasing. This can make a world of difference.