Kids, dogs, snow, mud and a classic, clean design – these are a few things our flooring needed to stand up to and we were so excited to finally be able to update the flooring in our 100+ year old farm house. 

It was important to me for our flooring to hold up well to high traffic, kids and lots of company and I also wanted the design to match the clean, timeless look I like to incorporate into our home. Engineered hardwood is the type of flooring we chose and the specific company we chose was Urban Floor. This is the collection we chose and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how beautiful it is in our home. 

This particular collection features 9.5″ planks and is a light European oak with a smoked finish. The color in person reads a nice neutral wood tone with some warmth, but is a very natural look. The laminate flooring we put in when we first got the house was the best we could afford with our budget and allowed us room in our budget to get the heated floor elements for our brutal winters. Our previous flooring had a high contrast variation in it and I really wanted something neutral and classic this round as I intend to keep this flooring for a very long time. We ran the same flooring throughout the house and I can’t wait for you to see the difference in the next few pictures. 

The stairs made such a gorgeous impact with this update as its one of the first things you see when you come in our home. The carpet was great with little kids, but it had seen better days after all the mud, snacks, spills, etc. that happen with kids on stairs. If you didn’t see my update that followed immediately after the flooring on the stairs was complete – you’ll want to head over to Instagram to check out my extra little project for the stairs. When I say little, that may be an understatement, but I absolutely love the transformation. 

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We have always done home renovations on our own, but this time we budgeted to get the flooring installed. The company was referred by one of you via Instagram, Alpine Hardwood, LLC out of Minneapolis. Their team did such a great job and I highly recommend them if you’re in the area! They worked quickly and custom fit everything for us, including installing the air supplies flush with the flooring. The finish on our engineered hardwood flooring is matte and suited for high traffic. It also has a hand-ground texture which gives it that high-end somewhat rustic look and feel of real, aged solid wood with the durability that engineered hardwood flooring provides. 

If you’re trying to figure out which flooring choice might be best for you here are some things we considered to make our choice. We chose engineered hardwood for this project because it is long-lasting and more durable than hardwood with the elements and our kids/dogs. Engineered hardwood is usually more expensive than vinyl flooring but typically lasts 20-100 years while vinyl is great for a budget option that lasts 5-20 years, depending on the brand you choose. Both vinyl and engineered hardwood hold up to moisture better than hardwood. Vinyl can be waterproof, but also can tear or rip. Engineered hardwood has multiple layers of wood – and the flooring we chose has multiple plies of wood laid cross-grain for each new layer and is warranted against buckling or warping as vinyl sometimes can. 

Laminate worked well for us as we started out with a young family and lots of projects that needed our budget stretched in many, many ways. Engineered hardwood now is the best option for us with balance of budget and longevity. I always encourage you to find the best option that can work with the budget you have now. When we were newly married and, soon after, with young kiddos we needed the cheapest option possible. We’re now at a point where we’re choosing some new finishes and I still want to make sure we get the most out of our budget. Choosing neutral finishes is always a great option to get a longer life out of your design choice and help ensure you love where you live through the years. I hope this info has helped or inspired you if you’re considering flooring for your home, as well!