Flooring choices for a colonial??? (Acworth: hardwood floors, 2014, how much)

[kevst7]

Me and my wife have an offer on a house that we like in Acworth. It is a traditional styled colonial like in the picture I added below. It needs a little work and that is perfect for me cause I am handy and love to do stuff like this. My question is regarding flooring. The majority of homes that I see in the North Georgia area usually have hardwoods and carpet. Usually hardwoods on the first floor and carpet on the second for the bedrooms. First I will start out by saying that carpet is the last option on our list. Neither one of us fancy it and my wife gets allergies from some types of carpet as well. I have well looked into harwoods, tile, laminate, luxury vinyl planks, wood look tiles, etc. We both come from South Florida where tile dominates by an overwhelming majority IMO. She likes tile for its durability, ease of cleaning and looks. My concerns are eventual resale power and if tile will be too cold in the winters. If we end up getting this house, we will most likely be there for a while, so I know that we should technically do it to our taste, but I always have the resale issue in the back of my mind. Things happen, situations change in life and you never know when you might have to sell. So with that being said, are there any flooring types that would totally sway future buyers away, or is it not that big of a concern as long as it is tastefully done? We do like the look of hardwoods, but our major negatives for them are costs, maintenance and durability. We have a small dog, but may in the future have a larger breed.

I also wasn't sure about tile on the second floor. It is a frame house and although I don't think weight of the tile will be an issue, it still makes me wonder. I know tile floors are colder in the winter, we always had them here and even though our winters are mild, they still get cold, but area rugs and socks on the feet go a long way at resolving that issue IMO.

Anyway, I am starting to ramble a bit. I know that it will ultimately be up to me and my wife (just kidding, probably just my wife ) but I would still like to hear others opinions.

[AnsleyPark]

My preference for all flooring is hardwood - real hardwood and not engineered or laminate.

[FavoriteGayUncle]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

My preference for all flooring is hardwood - real hardwood and not engineered or laminate.

Yes. Traditional home, traditional floor.
Also, keep the floor dark. No blond, no light stain. To me it looks like you have a basketball court in your house.

[bryantm3]

i would also vote for the dark wood option, but there are a lot of engineered hardwoods these days that are somewhere in between vinyl tile and actual wood, and many of them look very convincing for a lot less. for stairs, i love this look:



i have seen some houses with tile around the metro and i always thought it made everything look like a bathroom. now that you're telling me it's common in florida, i get it now: it's a tropical thing.

[kevst7]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i would also vote for the dark wood option, but there are a lot of engineered hardwoods these days that are somewhere in between vinyl tile and actual wood, and many of them look very convincing for a lot less. for stairs, i love this look:



i have seen some houses with tile around the metro and i always thought it made everything look like a bathroom. now that you're telling me it's common in florida, i get it now: it's a tropical thing.

I also like that look for stairs

Tile comes in so many shapes and finishes that sometimes generalizing the topic can make people imagine the wrong images. I am not talking about little tiles or weird shapes or terra cotta spanish tiles etc. I would be using wood like tiles or large modern tiles. Something like the pictures below.

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

My preference for all flooring is hardwood - real hardwood and not engineered or laminate.

I mostly go along with this except hardwood for all flooring. Maybe you could compromise and go with tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.

[wasel]

OP -- I completely understand the tile/Florida thing (I have relatives there and all their homes are all tile). However, here, you really don't see it. Another consideration is that we get pretty low temps at night (30s) in the winter.

However, if you prefer tile, my suggestion is to go with it. Down the road, if you put your home on the market you can consult with your realtor about whether to leave the tile or replace it, depending on how much it would affect the listing price compared to investment of redoing it, etc.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by wasel

OP -- I completely understand the tile/Florida thing (I have relatives there and all their homes are all tile). However, here, you really don't see it. Another consideration is that we get pretty low temps at night (30s) in the winter.

When I first moved down here 12 years ago, I lived in an older 50's brick ranch-style home that had hardwood floors and a full but unheated basement. The floors were COLD. And I'm talking as a Minnesotan who was used to well-insulated houses.

I wasn't expecting cold floors in GA.

[bu2]

Hardwoods are kind of expected in the guest areas on the first floor (except for water areas-baths and kitchen). If it was more modern, you might be more likely to see tile.

We had a mix of hardwoods and tile in Houston (baths, kitchen and den connected to the kitchen were tile) and that tile even got cold there!

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

When I first moved down here 12 years ago, I lived in an older 50's brick ranch-style home that had hardwood floors and a full but unheated basement. The floors were COLD. And I'm talking as a Minnesotan who was used to well-insulated houses.

I wasn't expecting cold floors in GA.

If it's cold or even slippery, put a rug on it. It;s difficult how to explain how that's different from carpet, but it just is.