If you’re anything like me, you’ll quite enjoy planning your home renovations and browsing finishes for your decor. Whenever I get a spare moment – like during the Christmas holidays – I’m on Pinterest and flicking through interiors magazines to get inspiration for my next DIY project. However, sometimes there comes a point where budget is an issue. Sure, we would all love to spend without having to think about it, however I’d rather spend less if I can and have move money to actually pay off the mortgage! That said, having a budget doesn’t have to put a stop to your plans, it just means looking around and see what options are on offer to you.
Honestly, there’s nothing to stop you achieving a nice finish in your home when you’re on a budget. There are plenty of things that you can do to improve your house, such as a lick of paint, or new furniture, and today I’m focusing on the different types of flooring that you can get. I’ll share the the advantages and disadvantages of certain types of flooring, particularly the kind that you might get on a budget so read on to check out my choices…
ENGINEERED WOOD
This is a popular type of flooring and I’ve see a lot of it in magazines and blog posts recently. With this finish, you still get the feel of real wood but it’s a LOT cheaper then getting a hardwood floor. It doesn’t look cheap however, the difference with this sort of flooring is that only the top layer is wood, and the rest of it is just plywood. But who would be able to tell once it’s laid?? This is a great solution for people who would like to have something that looks more believable.
However, it does have some limitations and can only be sanded and resurfaced about three times before it wears through the wood layer, so it’ll need replacing sooner than real wood. However, it does look beautiful in people’s houses and is a cost-cutting option so, if this is something that you are keen to get for your house, browse online for engineered wood flooring options. For example, the intro image above (and these two photos) are from lifestyleflooringuk.co.uk and give you a great idea of how this type of flooring would look in your home.
SHEET VINYL FLOORING
This is a lot cheaper than engineered wood and is also a way to get a fake stone floor as well; it doesn’t just come in a wood finish. This is an extremely low budget flooring and it has loads of advantages as well as being cheap. For starters, it is incredibly durable and water resistant. Because of this, it is very easy to clean and can be easily maintained.
However, because it is a lot cheaper than other flooring it does have a few issues that you should be made aware of. The main issue is that over time, the sheet vinyl tends to discolour. So, it might not look the best in ten years’ time, which is an important thing to know as it might be an issue when you are planning on selling the house. However, as it is inexpensive, it can be easy and cheap to replace after that time.
LAMINATE FLOORING
This is a popular choice of flooring since it can resemble hardwood, cement and stone flooring. When we redecorated our living room we used laminate flooring and it’s still in great condition after 3 years of use. It’s the ideal solution for people who want their house to look glam even if they are on a budget. They are very easy to install so you can do it yourself and, unlike sheet vinyl flooring, they do not lose their colour. It is also very easy to clean and maintain, so would be the ideal flooring for people who have a busy family life.
There is so much that you can do yourself when decorating your house and you can easily do it on a budget, so there’s no need to be spending all your savings. Besides, if you save on one little thing like flooring, then you’ll have more money to spend on other things in your house, like furniture!
Interested in learning more about what you can do on a budget? Check out my blog post about how to recreate dark flooring trends on a budget. Let me know your own tips for low-cost flooring the comments below and I’d love to hear your experience of these suggestions above 🙂
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