What is the best type of flooring for a hallway?

Author: Joelle Batz  |  Last update: Wednesday, October 29, 2025

For peace of mind and to ensure your surfaces remain attractive over the years, the search for the best hallway flooring and entryway flooring should begin with waterproof hardwood, laminate, and luxury vinyl flooring options for premium scratch and moisture protection.

What is the rule of 3 flooring?

Apply “The Rule of Three” to Home Flooring

This rule says you should use three flooring types at maximum throughout the whole home. For example, you might use hardwood in public areas of the house, except the kitchen and bathroom, where you use vinyl linoleum.

What is the most durable flooring for an entryway?

Vinyl is one of the most resilient flooring materials. It's durable, moisture and scratch-resistant, and easy to clean, which makes it a great, low maintenance option for entrances and hallways.

What flooring will not go out of style?

If you enjoy lighter flooring, white oak and white maple are two of the best choices for a neutral color that won't go out of style anytime soon. If darker tones are more your type, walnut and cherry woods are both classic looks, according to Washco for Martha Stewart.

How should flooring be laid in a hallway?

Hallways: Prevent a choppy look for hardwood flooring in hallways or narrow rooms by laying the planks outward from the doorway. Sightlines: Positioning hardwood to run from the main entrance of a room toward the opposite wall can help the space look less busy by simplifying the sightline.

What Flooring is Best? LVP | Laminate | Hardwood

What flooring is best for hallways?

Porcelain tiles are perfect for hallways because of their exceptional strength and resistance to wear. They come in a wide range of styles, colours and finishes, enabling you to achieve your desired look, whether it's marble, slate, wood, concrete or slate effects or even patterned hallway tiles.

What type of flooring is easiest to maintain?

Popular low-maintenance flooring options include ceramic and porcelain tiles , luxury vinyl tile, engineered hardwood , stone, concrete and carpet tiles .

What color vinyl plank flooring is timeless?

If you're looking for a natural and elegant look for your home, beige vinyl flooring is the way to go. This flooring option is perfect for any room in your house, from the living room to the bedroom. Plus, beige vinyl flooring is easy to clean and maintain, and it will give your home a timeless look.

What color flooring goes with everything?

Floors with a white finish go with almost everything. A light burlap-like color is a great choice because you still get a light floor, without installing a truly “white” floor. You can use a variety of wood species to create a light floor.

Is vinyl flooring any good for a hallway?

Quality vinyl flooring for your hallway could be the attractive, practical and cost-effective solution you need. Durable and easy to clean, vinyl flooring is perfect for the busy spaces in your home or workplace that see a lot of movement and activity.

What type of flooring is most scratch resistant?

Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) flooring is one of the best waterproof and scratch-proof flooring options. It gives a natural hardwood look and offers great durability and resistance to water and scratches. Luxury Vinyl Plank is made up of multiple layers, including a tough top layer that protects against scratches and dents.

Should I use laminate or tile for hallway?

Since entrances and hallways are high traffic areas, you'll need to choose a durable laminate with a thick wear layer. This will ensure that it can stand up to the challenges presented by entrances, such as dirty shoes, wet umbrellas, and muddy boots, without sustaining any significant damage.

Should flooring be the same throughout the house?

Choosing the same flooring for all the rooms creates a unified and harmonious environment, and creates a visual effect that expands its dimensions, which allows us to better plan a reform. However, in open-plan dwellings such as studios or lofts, the flooring can help to delimit areas in an organic way.

What is the 3 4 5 rule flooring?

Put a mark on the board at the 3 feet point. Now, measure the adjacent board from the same corner to 4 feet and put a mark there. Then, measure the distance between the two marks. If it is 5 feet, then you have a perfectly square corner.

How not to install flooring?

Common Flooring Installation Mistakes Homeowners Make
  1. Choosing the Wrong Material.
  2. Not Preparing the Subfloor.
  3. Improper Floor Care.
  4. DIY Flooring Installation.
  5. Transitions.
  6. Moisture Level Check.
  7. Incorrect Measurements.
  8. Working in the Wrong Order.

What floor never goes out of style?

Natural Wood Flooring

The allure of natural wood as the ultimate flooring choice is undeniable and has stood the test of centuries in both residential and commercial settings.

What are the disadvantages of luxury vinyl plank flooring?

10 Disadvantages of LVT Flooring
  • Price. ...
  • Artificial Looks. ...
  • Low Repair Potential. ...
  • Difficulty to Remove. ...
  • Limited Durability. ...
  • Discolouration. ...
  • Weatherproofness. ...
  • Harsh Underfoot Feel.

What is better than luxury vinyl plank flooring?

But while a damaged luxury vinyl plank may need to be replaced, an engineered hardwood plank can be sanded and refinished several times. Ultimately, engineered hardwood floors are likely to last 25 to 50 years or more, while luxury vinyl plank flooring may need to be replaced in 20 to 30 years.

What is the quickest flooring to install?

Table of contents:
  1. The Easiest Flooring to Install: Our Top 5 Picks.
  2. #1. Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)
  3. #2. Laminate.
  4. #3. Engineered Hardwood :
  5. #4. Carpet Tiles.
  6. #5. Cork Planks.

What flooring holds up best?

8 Most Durable Options for Flooring
  • Vinyl Flooring for high-traffic areas.
  • Laminate Flooring for high-traffic areas.
  • Hardwood Flooring for high-traffic areas.
  • Ceramic Tile Flooring for high-traffic areas.
  • Porcelain Tile Flooring for high-traffic areas.
  • Natural Stone Flooring for high-traffic areas.

What is the longest lasting floor finish?

1. Aluminum Oxide. Aluminum oxide is a naturally occurring mineral that provides an extremely long-lasting protective coating on hardwood floors.

Which direction should flooring go in a hallway?

Wood Floor Direction: Hallways

The floor generally runs parallel to the lengthiest part of your house. Typically there are rooms along the hallway, meaning you will follow along with the floor until you've reached the desired room.

How to start the first row of vinyl plank flooring?

Lay the first row of vinyl plank flooring along the wall, leaving the manufacturer-recommended amount of expansion space between the plank's edge and the wall (usually about 1/4-inch). If the planks are cut, make sure the cut edge is facing the wall.

Is it better to be on the top floor or bottom floor?

Ground floors offer easy access and outdoor space but may lack privacy and quiet. Middle floors balance privacy, noise, and views, though without direct outdoor access. Top floors boast the best views and privacy but come with higher costs, potential temperature extremes, and longer elevator waits.

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