*This is a collaborative post

Flooring is a necessary part of any house, but it can be difficult to choose between the dozens of materials and types on offer. A lot of companies will show you confusing guides and catalogues that don’t really explain anything, but there’s only really a few rules you need to follow when you’re choosing new flooring for your home.

Quantity matters
The amount of flooring you can safely afford is important, since you can’t really leave the job half finished. Flooring is there to protect important pipes and structural points, things that can be a much bigger pain to repair if they break. In many cases, a layer of cheap floorboards or tiles can last for several months before they need to be swapped out, which can be a good way of delaying things if you need to save up for something more permanent.

You can cover up the floor with rugs
Rugs are an amazing way to add more protection to your flooring, and they also make it much more comfortable to sit on. A stained or dirty rug is much easier to clean compared to a full floor, and they can often be cheaper than laying down a whole carpet on short notice.

You can also use rugs to cover up surface damaged, as well as general wear and tear from daily use. A lot of tougher materials can have their design ruined by scratches without being broken enough to replace, which can make a thick rug ideal if you’ve got the space to lay it out properly.

Strong materials last longer
There’s no reason not to go for the strongest version of a material, as long as it’s within your budget. Flexibility can also help if it’s prone to warping in extreme weather, but you’ll generally do quite well with something sturdy and scratch-resistant. Stronger replicas of other materials, like some of the faux wood tiles by Amtico, can help you preserve the style you’re going for without making your floor weaker.

Some rooms need more protection than others
You don’t need to go for maximum protection in every room, though. Kitchens and bathrooms have a high chance of spills and stains, but it’s rare that you’ll drop anything heavy down, so an absorbent carpet might be all you need.

Exercise rooms and garages, on the other hand, need something stronger and probably won’t have to deal with direct spills all that often, so absorbency doesn’t matter as much. Think about how often the room is used and what kind of damage it could take in a worst-case scenario.

Vinyl can work everywhere
Vinyl is versatile enough to fit into most situations, depending on which type you use. Most luxury vinyl tiles are designed to copy the material they’re based on, so they can be much cheaper than buying real wood or marble. As tiles, they’re also far easier to replace and clean as long as you have some spares left over, and you might even be able to re-use them if you’re renovating the whole house.