Your basement offers excellent usable space for your home, often with a significant amount of square footage. Still, updating a basement presents unique challenges. Since basements are below ground level, they’re typically subject to dampness. In general, hard materials are safer for basement flooring, paired with accent rugs for added comfort, but other choices are also viable.
You’ll want to choose from the best basement flooring options for practicality and style. If you’re looking for finished basement flooring ideas, consider engineered hardwood, carpeting, luxury vinyl tile or classic hardwood, each curated and installed by the experts at Creative Floors. Check out our best basement flooring ideas for 2021.
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring is a reliable basement flooring material. It consists of multiple layers of wood, including a protective top layer. While it looks the same as a traditional hardwood floor, it offers added advantages. It’s long-lasting, with outstanding humidity and moisture resistance. You can find engineered hardwood flooring well-suited to any style and design preference. It’s ideal for creating a sophisticated, elegant basement.
Carpeting
Another good basement floor covering option is carpeting. Carpeting creates comfort and warmth in any space, perfect for a relaxing basement getaway. Its soft, forgiving and warm nature makes it ideal for a lounge or child’s play area. You can choose the right style carpet for your taste and needs, including:
- Textured
- Plush
- Loop
- Pattern
- Frieze
Carpet also offers unmatched versatility in color choices. You can complete any color scheme with carpet. Carpeting is the best type of flooring for basements that are not prone to flooding or moisture buildup. You might choose to combine carpeted areas with other, harder floor choices. This pairing is an ideal strategy for optimizing comfort and practicality.
Luxury Vinyl Tile
You might also choose luxury vinyl tile for your basement flooring. LVT provides an ideal alternative to wood or stone. Its series of layers makes it durable and stable, resisting scratches, stains and scuffs. It allows you to replicate the look of wood or stone for a decreased price. LVT’s unique qualities make it one of the best basement flooring ideas — it’s well-suited for high-humidity areas.
Pair With Rugs
To create a more comfortable and stylish effect, you can pair your LVT flooring with rugs. Colorful, intricate rugs add personal flair, visual interest and complement a space’s architecture and decor. You can choose your favorite artisanal rugs and customize their size and shape to best fit your basement. A pairing of an LVT base topped with area rugs will result in a functional, beautiful basement floor.
You can find rugs fit for any personal taste. Simple, neutral-colored rugs such as Killian or Enzo will allow you to create a focal point elsewhere while making your space better balanced. More complex rug designs, such as Luca, Axel or Parker, will offer visual interest on their own. A rug with an intricate pattern is perfect for offsetting simplistic flooring and minimal decor. In either case, an area rug will make your basement more comfortable and refresh its appearance.
Classic Hardwood Options From Creative Floors
The ideal flooring for your basement is classic hardwood from Creative Floors. Traditional hardwood is a broad category with plenty of choices that fit any homeowner’s unique taste and style. Its strength and durability make it perfect for the unique challenges basement floors tend to face. Consider one of the following hardwood flooring choices — any of which would make good flooring for a basement.
Traditional and Reclaimed Hardwood
Traditional hardwood floors have remained popular for a good reason. In terms of appearance, hardwood offers unmatched sophistication, versatility and elegance. Incorporating hardwood floors in your home can increase its market value for future resale. From a practical standpoint, hardwood is durable and long-lasting with proper maintenance.
You have a wide range of options for traditional and reclaimed hardwood floors. You can choose from warm and cool tones, lighter and darker hues, varying patterns and different plank sizes. Various hardwood flooring colors and styles will best complement existing home elements, such as walls, furniture and decor. Check out a few finished projects for inspiration.
1. Wide Oak Planks With Gray Undertones
These nine-inch oak planks in a Beaver Creek Chalet complete the home’s laid-back, neutral aesthetic. When paired with gray and tan furniture, the floor’s gentle gray undertones shine. This hardwood floor choice is ideal for creating a light, airy, yet comfortable space. It would be perfect for brightening up a basement and complementing neutral-toned accents in white and gray.
2. Dark Oak Planks for Sophistication
The dark-toned, eight-inch planks on the floor of this Remedy Bar in Vail create a sense of sophistication. Its dark, cool tone is perfect for versatile furniture pairing. If you want to create a basement with a luxurious feel, these hardwood planks are your best option.
3. Warm-Toned Planks With Herringbone Features
You might find a warmer toned oak plank of small to broad widths will create a softer, welcoming feeling for your basement, as seen in this Vail renovation project. The light hue makes the space feel larger by contributing openness. A herringbone walkway separates different areas and adds depth. Such hardwood planks are perfect if you want to make your basement feel large, warm and welcoming.
4. Reclaimed Hardwood for Interest and Texture
If you’re looking for something unique and exciting for your basement, consider reclaimed hardwood. At Creative Floors, we source reclaimed planks from barns, offering a wide range of various widths, colors and finishes. We then kiln-dry and de-nail each piece of wood, ensuring it is defect-free. The completed reclaimed wood product is beautiful and striking, with a thoughtful, rustic feel.
You can choose warm tones, such as those found in Milford Reclaimed walnut planks. Warm-toned planks are perfect for pairing with colorful furniture. Another option is intricate Sonoma reclaimed wood, with panels varying in light and dark hues. A complex design like this speaks for itself — you won’t need to add visual focal points. With a dozen reclaimed wood designs to choose from, you’ll be sure to find the best reclaimed wood pattern for your basement renovation project. You can even customize plank widths and finishes.
Contact Creative Floors for Your Basement Floor Project
When it’s time to replace your basement floors, you may find yourself overwhelmed with your options. You have a wide range of viable choices, such as engineered wood flooring, carpeting, LVT, traditional hardwood and reclaimed hardwood. You’re bound to have a few questions as you shop. At Creative Floors, we can help you every step of the way.
We’ll help you visualize your choices with our showroom, select the best solution for your needs and priorities, evaluate your space and perform a professional installation. We also offer nationwide shipping, so anyone in the country can access our beautiful, durable floors. If you have any questions about your basement floor renovation project, contact us at Creative Floors today.
