If you are looking for two quick ways to update your home with a dramatic impact, yet with a minimal cost there are two simple steps… First Paint, and Second is Flooring…

Paint is a great way to give a POP of color, and play with fun trends and fashion.  It is quick and easy to change and update at a whim.  It really is the CHEAPEST thing you can do in a room that has a dramatic difference.  Sherwin Williams is my favorite, and I love Semi-Gloss… since with 5 kids it is easy to wipe and clean off

Laminate is a great flooring options for many reasons.  It is one of the least expensive flooring options (but mimics one of the most expensive flooring options).  It is quick and easy to install with a low skill level and limited (inexpensive) tools are needed. Laminate floors give a great elegant look, they are super easy to clean and care for.  If you buy a quality Laminate Floor it is VERY hard to scratch and damage.  My kids have roller skated on my flooring, dropped more items then I can count on my flooring, and my dog has torn across our flooring NUMEROUS times, and not a scratch!!!

Here is pictures of our FIRST laminate job that we installed ourselves.  The first three rows took forever… but after that we got the hang of it and it went really fast   I swear we did the rest of the room in the same time it took us to do the first three rows.

What I learned most was #1 spacers are needed, we forgot them and thought we could do without, it was a HUGE pain to shift the floor back over, as with each row you TAP in the whole floor moves a little, so by the end of the room, it is enough you have to try to move it back… which is NO SMALL feat.   #2, don’t buy low end cheap padding.  It didn’t lay flat and kept shifting and tore easily.  A huge pain in my butt.  We used a heavy rubber padding on our 2nd installation and what a difference.  It was heavy, stayed in place, laid flat, and was nice on my knees   Plus it really sounded like hardwood, and was WATERPROOF.  Also the cheaper the flooring, the harder it is to install.

All the newer laminates just “snap together”, so it is super easy to install.  I highly recommend trying to install it yourself if you are at all HANDY.  This is probably the easiest DYI job I have done.  Cuts don’t have to be exact, as they are covered by the baseboard or quarter-round (depending on how you install).  You are not RUSHING like with tile because there is no mortar drying   So you can take your time it is easy to snap together and looks awesome… you will be so proud of yourself.

Here is the photo of our first job Laminate Installing Job… not bad

Do-It-Yourself Laminate Flooring