Flooring Options For Your Tiny Home

There are more and more people around the world that are realizing the value of the saying ‘Less is more’. People who choose this minimalist lifestyle experience less financial debt and can live on the go. It’s also an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Some choose to live in one by design, others might be forced to for economical reasons. It’s not the choice that is suitable for everyone, and despite some of its pros, living in very limited spaces has its own set of big challenges.

It can be easy and fast to clean a tiny home, but by the same token they also get dirty quicker than regular homes. So when it comes to the flooring you need floors that are no fuss and easy to maintain. As in a small room, you also want to give the illusion that the space is bigger, so here are some choices you could go with.

Hardwood: The classic hardwood choice is oak, but with several other choices. It’s always gorgeous, but considering the space of a tiny home, it might not be your best choice to show it off. Most hardwood floors are ¾ inch thick. Wide plank flooring makes a room look bigger with the appearance of fewer seams, and the open pattern looks less busy. How the flooring is laid will also trick the eye into thinking the space is larger. But hardwood, can get scratched easier than other types of flooring.

Engineered hardwood: Engineered wood looks and acts like a real wood because the top layer is real wood but less expensive. Maple and walnut often being favorite choices among several others. They are typically glued or nailed down to the floor, but can also go floating. If your home is on wheels, it will appreciate that they are usually only 3/8 inches thick. The width of a plank starts at around 5 inches wide. This wood can be sanded, but only once or twice before the thin upper layer wears out, which is something you want to keep in consideration. Because the top layer is thin, its durability can’t be really compared to solid hardwood. On the pro side, it handles water and moisture better than hardwood.

Stained concrete: Concrete floors can be stained, sanded, and sealed much like hardwood. Staining concrete is done when using distinct chemical pigments that reacts with the minerals in the concrete itself, which eventually changes  the concrete’s color permanently. Unlike other floorings like carpet or wood, concrete doesn’t trap pet fur, dust mites, or moisture when properly sealed. It’s cool under the feet, which you’ll appreciate if you live in a hot climate area such as Texas. A stained concrete installer in Dallas, Texas will probably offer you two types of stained concrete. One is acid stains which penetrate concrete that can achieve the look of stone. They come in warm earth tones, including black, brown, brick, copper, and grayish/bluish tones. The other type is water-based stains or dyes which come in a variety of colors and can be layered to create faux finishes.

Bamboo: To suit the lifestyle of being eco-friendly, bamboo is becoming a popular choice too because it’s so fast-growing. It’s durable and hard, but also susceptible to scratches. High-end bamboo flooring is as durable as traditional hardwood flooring and cleans easily with a mop. Like other hardwood flooring, bamboo may be refinished, depending on the thickness of the planks.

Vinyl:  Easy to care for and water resistance, vinyl makes its way into many tiny homes. It’s durable when properly installed and maintained. But let’s face it, the best thing people like about vinyl is its price. At the low-end, vinyl can cost as little as fifty cents per square foot, and most never surpass moderate price levels.

Laminate: It’s similar to high-end vinyl planks in its look and installation, and is versatile and resilient.  Other than being cost effective, the best part of choosing laminate flooring is it offers better advantages than hardwood flooring without inheriting the drawbacks of hardwood flooring. The overall thickness of laminate flooring planks ranges from 6 mm to 12 mm.

In general, everything and every space in a tiny house is working and used moreover. The wear and tear can come in earlier than in other houses, simply because there is less space. Foot traffic, for example, is high in all areas of the house. So, you want a floor that is strong and durable enough to withstand everyday use, easy to maintain, and that suits your budget and is appealing to the eyes.

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