Lots of pictures of how our laminate floors are holding up almost 2 years later!
As a home decor blogger, I get lots of questions about the products that I use in my house. One of the most asked about products is our flooring. Nearly two years ago, we replaced the flooring in the entire front of our house and put down a laminate floor product. Today, I’m going to give my honest opinion about our choice to use laminate floors in the kitchen, eating area, living room, hallway, and playroom.
So, let’s rewind for a minute….When we moved into our home five years ago, the flooring situation was less than ideal. We knew that we’d eventually want to replace the linoleum floors in the kitchen and the white carpet that was everywhere else. Here are a few “before” shots to show you what I’m talking about. Yikes!
So, as you can see, the flooring really needed to be replaced. (As well as many, many other things!) I always hated the look of the cheap linoleum in the kitchen, and the white carpet was impossible for me to keep clean. I’d vacuum the entire house 2-3 times a week, and even then it looked terrible. Our shoes would leave footprints in the carpet, we spilled coffee on it more than once, and our dog would track in dirt and grass from our yard constantly. It always looked terrible, and I was SO over it.
When we first started talking about replacing the floor, I knew it was probably going to be laminate wood flooring for the win. As much as I would have loved to do hardwood, we were replacing SO much flooring, and I knew that laminate would be much more budget-friendly for the look I wanted.
I also knew that I wanted ONE kind of flooring throughout the whole front of the house. I didn’t want a patchwork of flooring. Which meant that I would be putting a laminate product in the kitchen. Which leads me to one of the questions I get asked most:
How do laminate floors do in the kitchen?
My honest answer: They do great! We do not have a problem with moisture, and I definitely make sure to wipe up water off of the floor as quickly as possible, but we have found that our flooring is very durable and well-suited to our kitchen. My daughter, like most five-year-olds, spills on it all the time, and it’s very easy to wipe up.
The kitchen is obviously one of the most-used areas in the house, and we have not noticed a bit of wear in here. They look as new and as nice as the day they were installed.
The flooring continues from the kitchen/eating area and into the neutral living room. Another question I get asked a lot is:
Does it look/feel real?
Ok. Well, I am not a flooring expert, but I think it does look and feel real. We chose a product that has a lot of variation of color and texture. It has a rough, wood-like texture, and there is a lot of variation from plank to plank. When people come to our house, they ask if it is real wood or not, so I don’t think most people can tell a difference.
Here is a shot that shows what the flooring looks like when you first enter the house. Another question I get asked a lot is:
Does it scratch easily?
No. Not easily. But we have scratched it. One time I dropped a sharp pair of scissors on the floor, and it left a pretty good ding in it. Another time, my husband dragged the stove out and then pushed it back, which left a few scratches in the floor. I just used a Mohawk Touch-Up marker (affiliate link) on the floor to color in the scratches, and you can’t even see them. It’s like they aren’t even there! 🙂
We were so happy with these floors that we had our hallway and playroom carpet ripped out last fall, and the same laminate flooring installed. I love the look of one continuous flooring throughout most of our house. I’m even trying to convince my husband that we shouldn’t replace the bedroom carpeting with more carpet…I just want more laminate! He’s not sold on the idea (he wants carpet under his feet), but I just want it all to be the same…we’ll see who get’s their way! 😉
So, the last question I get asked a lot is:
What kind/brand of flooring is it?
Our floor is a laminate product by Mohawk and the color is called “Toasted Chestnut.” That’s about all I know….ha!
So, hopefully, this answers some of the questions you may have about our flooring. To sum it all up: I am very happy with our decision, we have no complaints, and it has been a very durable and beautiful choice for our home! This post is in no way sponsored, and these opinions are completely my own.
Have a great day! 🙂
The color of your flooring is beautiful! I love laminate that looks like would because you don’t have the problem of worrying too much about water on the floor in the kitchen. Obviously you don’t want to keep standing water on it, but it will buckle much slower than real wood if there is some sort of water leak. Plus it just looks great!
Thank you so much, Randi! I agree 100% 🙂
Love this post as I have been debating between laminate and hardwoods for our future next home! We have hardwood in our current home but it scratches and gets beat up SO EASILY. We had laminate in our kitchen before we installed the hardwoods, and I always think back to how durable and beautiful they were (even if they were NOT the right color and texture!) I also agree they are so well made it is hard to tell the difference between laminate and wood anymore anyway. Thank you for this post! Just what I needed!
Oh, good! I am so glad you found this helpful! I have never had real wood floors, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I am so happy with their durability! 🙂
hey girl – love the floor! so pretty! We have laminate flooring in our kitchen, breakfast nook and mudroom. We like it, it holds up really nice!
Thanks, Shawnna! I think it’s just a smart choice for any room! Glad to hear yours hold up well too! 🙂
Your flooring is beautiful! I usually don’t like laminate but your color/style is so nice! We put in engineered hardwood (partially) almost 2 years ago and it’s been great!! You just don’t have to do hardwood anymore.
Thanks, Lisa! I agree completely! 😉
Looks great. Can you tell me about the shelf in dining room? can’t seem to find a blog on it. Thank you.
Thanks, Karen! The open shelving in the dining room is from Hayneedle.com. I love them SO much! 🙂
Thank you so much for posting such cool stuff on here!! We have recently purchased a house and will be replacing all the carpets with Laminate. I was jet set on wood but with 3 kiddos, 3 dogs, and life Laminate is just the best decision for us. I love the color of your floors I was just wondering how they do with showing dust/and or pet hair. They look like the perfect mix of light and dark..Id just like to know from someone who has them:) Thanks so much for all your info.
Thanks for your sweet words, Ashley. 🙂 They do GREAT with not showing dust or pet hair. They barely have a sheen, which I think helps too. I think sometimes when the shine is too much it shows a lot. Yes, they’re not too dark and not too light. 🙂
Love love love the color. As a matter of fact, I’m going today to my local store to find out if I can get the exact ones! So thank you!! ☺️
That’s great, Kelly! So glad to be helpful! Good luck! 🙂
I believe found it! Do you know where you purchased your’s?
We purchased from a local flooring company called Jimelle Flooring in Auburn, IN.
I hope you get the flooring you want in your bedrooms. I was on the fence like your husband. We just replaced all carpet with wood and I love love love it. Just use an area rug in the bedrooms. Carpet is dirty. No matter how well you clean it holds on to everything. And if you or anyone in your family has allergies hard flooring is a must. Good luck happy wife happy life
A few weeks ago we had our ice maker line leak and destroy a good portion of our kitchen floor. I have searched and searched and ordered so many flooring samples (I could probably patchwork an entire room of floor with as many samples that I have) to no avail. It wasn’t until I stumbled onto your blog and this post that I finally found exactly what I was looking for. I loved the look of your floors so much in these photos that I went to my local flooring store and ordered them today! Thank you so much! You can’t imagine the amount of relief I have now that the search is over, lol!
Oh my goodness! Well, first of all, I am sorry that your floor got ruined! But I am SO glad this was helpful to you! I’m so relieved FOR you…ha! xo
These are absolutely beautiful floors! We are building our house right now and I knew I wanted laminate even though I grew up in a house & my grandmother’s house was all hard wood. My family would just look at me like I was nuts when I would tell them I am CHOOSING laminate but this blog definitely helped me reinforce my decision & opinion. I do have one question though.. did you install them yourself? or did you hire someone? My husband and I are planning on doing the installation our selves (also an open floor plan, throughout kitchen, hallway, eating area & living room) so it will be quite the undertaking but we are trying to find any way to save money. I was just curious who installed yours & if you have any hints on that if you did it yourself! Thanks!!
I’m so glad you found this useful, Leah! We did not install them ourselves, so I’m afraid I do not have any useful tips in that department! Good luck installing yours! 🙂
Do you have any idea which type of Mohawk floors these are? Mohawk Barrington or Mohawk Bayview maybe??
I have no idea, Amy. I am so sorry I can’t be of more help. 🙁
Amy – I reached out to Mohawk to understand the difference and they told me pretty much the difference is in who sells them. Hope that helps!
From their e-mail “Bayview and Barrington are similar styles that are sold through different distribution channels. Bayview is only offered by our Mohawk Floorscapes and Mohawk ColorCenter aligned partner retailers. Barrington is available to independent retailers that offer Mohawk Laminate Collection products.”
Great to know! I think many people will find this comment helpful! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Love the floors they are beautiful! Can you tell me where you got the throw rug in your kitchen? Thank you!
Love the rug by your sink where did you get it?
Thank you! It’s from Home Goods. 🙂
I just found your white kitchen and wood floors and love the look! I have one more question about your floors, are they light enough they don’t show dirt or do they still need swept up a lot?
They don’t show dirt at all unless it’s really early in the AM when the sun is shining in really low across the floor…but that’s just because of the light, not because of the floor color. 😉
Thank you so much! It’s beautiful!
Love your kitchen. What colors did you use for the cabinets and walls if you don’t mind sharing
Thank you, Sarah! Cabinets are “White Dove” by Benjamin Moore, an the walls are “Vapor Trails” by Benjamin Moore. 🙂
I love your floors! We got the same ones last year!
What do you use to clean them?
Thanks!!
Could have fooled me. I ABSOLUTElY thought those were wood floors. Do you know how well they stand up to heat/humidity? I live in a warmer area and would like to consider this as a flooring option. It looks great! Thanks for inspiration! -J https://www.house4baby.com/blog/2018/1/24/prepping-for-tile
Thank you so much! 🙂 We live in Indiana where there is a mix of heat/humidity in the summer and cold/dry air in the winter. So far it has held up beautifully.
We did it! Probably wouldn’t have chosen laminate if I didn’t see this post, so thank you! Here are the results! https://www.house4baby.com/blog/2018/1/27/kitchen-tile-part-1
How do you clean these floors?
Vacuum and Swiffer. 😉
Hello! I love your style and the way you captured your living spaces through your lens!
Question… did you run the laminate floors under the cabinets and appliances?
Hi Sheen! Thank you so much for your sweet words! 🙂 The flooring does run under the appliances, but not under the cabinets. 🙂
LOVE your house! Where is your kitchen table from?
Thank you so much, Teresa. It’s a hand-me-down from my in-laws, which makes it impossible for me to source for people…sorry about that!
Love the floors,are they waterproof laminate? We are moving and planning to put laminate floors all over the house but wasn’t just sure between the waterproof laminate and the regular ones
Hi, Your flooring is beautiful! From the sample shown of this type flooring, it looks more plain than your pictures. Are there plenty of golden/reddish brown tones as well? thank you.
Thank you, Bernice! No, there are not golden or red tones in this flooring. I was staying away from the warm tones. Hope this helps! 🙂
Just curious…Do the laminate floors have a pad attached? Thank you for sharing!
Since I did not install them (we had them professionally installed), and was gone the entire time they were being installed, I have no idea. I’m sorry I could not be of more help!
I love your kitchen! Are your appliances black stainless? Is the finish holding up well? Thanks!
Thanks, Lori! The color of the appliances is called “graphite” which is kind of a dark metallic look. They do not show fingerprints like stainless, which is nice. 😉
HI- I’m hoping you can still read comments on this post…. I have looked for this flooring and only found Toasted Chestnut, not Roasted. Is that was you used?
Thanks!
Hi Angie! Yes, it is called Toasted Chestnut…did I write something different in this post? I only see Toasted Chestnut. xo
How do you feel about the sound it makes? I’ve heard that laminate has a hollow sound and is very loud when you walk on it. I’m wondering if that’s the older type of laminate or if this type also has that loud sound. Thanks for your time!
Hi Jodie! I have not noticed any hollow sounds when we walk on it. I hope that helps! 🙂
This post was so helpful! I have been looking for flooring and, like you, like the seamless look of all one floor; hardwood was a very expensive option, hence why we haven’t done it. This floor is EXACTLY what I am looking for and its laminate, I am so impressed. I actually think it is nicer than most hardwoods I have been looking at! THANK YOU for sharing!!
You are so welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful! xo
Love it! I am wondering if you also put the laminate in your bathrooms?
Hi Kelly! I did not put it in my bathroom, so I have no idea how it would perform in there. xo
This post…even though it’s 2 years old…is so timely for my husband and me! We just decided this week to replace carpeting in our living room and 2 of our bedrooms. Thing is…he was totally against laminate flooring until last weekend (Easter) when our son and family visited. Our son has installed laminate flooring in their living room, kitchen and foyer. I’ve always loved it. My husband (we are in our 70’s and have lived in this house for almost 50 years!!) says he won’t have anything but carpet…”always have, always will”!! My son and his wife were telling him about all the advantages of flooring vs carpet. He was still against it. He informed me on Saturday that he wants this laminated flooring! Yay! Picked samples up at our Menards…and it just so happens to be Mohawk! Double Yay! Thanks for this wonderful before/after story 🙂
Oh how funny! So glad this helped, Sherrie! xo
After seeing your post last year my husband and I got these floors installed in our home this January. We absolutely love them!! We get so many compliments on them. Unfortunately, just a couple days ago I did drop something pretty sharp on them and got a decent size ding. I seen that you attached the link to the touch up marker you have used in the past and wanted to confirm before buying it is the black/brown shade that you used?
Thanks!
I’m so glad this helped, Monica! And I’m so glad you’re happy with the floors! So, I have two markers, one that is black and one that is espresso, and both/either of them work great. I think that there is so much variation in color on the flooring itself, that either browns or blacks (or the black/brown) will hide the ding. Hope this helps! xo
Lovely room! Lovely floors! We had to change out the outdated wood laminate flooring in the kitchen/dining room about 6 months after we moved in. Thank God…
I had filled one of the sinks to soak pots overnight and came down stairs the next morning and water was sitting on the floor in a half circle. I quickly toweled it up but the damage was done. Laminate flooring where it butts up against each panel absorbed the water and permanently buckled. I waited to see if it’d go down. It didn’t.
So with the new laminate Pergo XL in a beautiful medium dark tone, I’m obsessive about any drops of water that fall in between the panels. I’m wondering if there is anything I can put on them to help seal where the water can get in. I’ve though about a liquid wax?
thank you
Thanks for sharing information about laminate flooring and its advantages. I have also installed a laminate floor for my entire house 1 year before and till it looks like a new one. It’s always good to see that I am living in a stylish room and the cleaning of the floor is also very easy. I have used mostly vacuum cleaner for cleaning purpose and wet cleaning is also very easy for laminate floors. As a whole, I have very much satisfied to use it.
Hello, was thinking about purchasing this flooring. How is it holding up so far?
Great!!! I truly have no complaints! xo
You managed to take care it properly and for sure those are of a quality one. Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I love your floors!! Are your walls a grey & if so do you think the grey looks ok with darker brown floors? We are getting ready to redo ours & im painting walls grey but don’t want to go with a grey floor also, I like the dark brown!!
Yes, they are gray. The exact color is “Vapor Trails” by Benjamin Moore. The floors and wall color look great together. 🙂