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Why You Should Choose Laminate Flooring – Kitchen Makeover Week 4

Our home has featured these Brazilian cherry engineered floors…

kitchen makeover

…until a few days ago.

As lovely as those floors were, they were a bit too orange for our tastes, and they scratched terribly. With two kids and a dog, they were looking a little worse for wear. And for us, the best choice was easy. Laminate.

If you have never considered laminate before, get ready to have your mind blown. Laminate is durable, affordable, attractive, and easy to install. It’s also the DIYers dream.

A few years ago my husband and I fixed up our first home together. We replaced the awful mix of vinyl, carpet, linoleum, and tile with laminate flooring, which we installed ourselves.

Before and After home remodel

We loved the new floors, though the install experience was not the greatest. The flooring we purchased was difficult to click together, requiring that each piece be wedge together along the long and short sides. Pieces would not stay together well, so that an entire row would have to be assembled before carefully being pushed into place. Add to that hassle, our then 13 month old son thought it was a great game to run across the last row, knocking it all off over and over. More than anything, I just recall being so tired as we installed that floor. Oh, and I was eight months pregnant during that install. So there’s that.

You might wonder why, after that experience, we choose laminate again. Because the fact is, even if we ran into some of the same install issues, the end product would have been worth it. But I’m here to tell you that if you heard the heavens open and angelic choirs singing this week, and you wondered what that was all about, it was for us and our flooring.

Because this time around I partnered with Select Surfaces to install their elite line of laminate in Driftwood, and OH MY GOSH. Look, I know you just want to see the after photos. But hear me out. This stuff is a dream. The click system is rock solid and goes together simply with no fuss. The pieces come with a pre-attached backer, and the pieces are varied enough to make install easy.

My husband and I tackled this entire kitchen space in a few hours, and the transformation is…well, take a look:

Let’s take a look at that side by side:

A closer look:

I love how the rustic Driftwood style goes with the clean, crisp cabinetry.

This same flooring flows through the adjacent butler’s pantry and throughout the downstairs of the entire house. It is a work in process, as we have to change a couple walls first, but soon these beautiful floors will carry through all of the main rooms and it will be glorious.

What do you think? Have you considered laminate? If you haven’t, give it a look!

A big thank you to the good folks at Select Surfaces, who partnered with me to make this happen! Keep following to see how this look transforms our entire home!

 

 

 

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Anna

Monday 29th of July 2019

Did you install any kind of underlay beneath these? If not, do they sound hollow? Considering installing them but still researching!

Sarah

Monday 23rd of September 2019

These came with a pad attached to the back. Without that they would definitely feel and sound different. We are very happy with them!

Andrew

Friday 16th of November 2018

Wow, your kitchen looks beautiful, Sarah. Also, my wife and I have done installing new floor and painting the cabinets. We chose laminate too and off-white color for the cabinets.

Sarah

Friday 23rd of November 2018

Thank you! Kitchen's are no joke, but they sure pay off. Congrats on finishing yours!

Susanne

Wednesday 2nd of May 2018

We have Select Surfaces in our kitchen. I love the look of it and it is supposed to be very durable BUT if one tiny drop of water hits it, it's game over. I felt like I did my homework before buying and installing it, but it has been a nightmare. So, good luck! At least you didn't actually have to pay for yours:)

Sarah

Thursday 24th of May 2018

Oh no! That's crazy. :( I haven't had any problems with water on it. So far it has handled every spill (and there are more than I like to admit!) Have you reached out to them to see if they might have some ideas about what is happening with yours? I've used laminate a number of times without water problems. That seems so strange! Good luck!