For the most part, your 20 year old home looks pretty good. Even after two daughters grew up in the space and even after you have hosted numerous slumber parties and late night study sessions, the home where you have lived for two decades is still very nice, for the most part.
The two exceptions are the wood floor in the kitchen and the carpet. Quite frankly, you do not know how you have gone 20 years without replacing the carpet. The color that you selected was too light to begin with and the dirt on the stairs that go from the kitchen to the bedrooms is actually quite embarrassing. And while the wood floor by the front door and the carpet on the front stair are in very nice condition, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the kitchen wood floor and the high traffic carpet areas need some major work.
Although you hope that you have not waited too long to address the kitchen flooring, you fear that some of it may need to be replaced. You are slightly hopeful that the entire area can simply be sanded, stained, and resealed, but there are some areas by the refrigerator and the down stairs powder room that may need a more expensive approach.
Even though it is tempting to think about the new laminate flooring products that look a lot like a wood floor, you know that in your neighborhood a hardwood floor is expected. Without this high quality option, the value of your home would suffer if you should ever decide to sell.
The Flooring Choices You Make Help Determine the Value of Your Home
Whether you live in a large five bedroom, four bathroom home or you live in a smaller two bedroom, one bath house, the flooring decisions that you make can determine the value of your property. In addition, some flooring choices make it much easier to make sure that your home is clean.
Consider this information about the flooring choices that many Americans make and the impact those decisions have on the U.S. economy:

• Hardwood covers 34% of floors in homes in America, according to a Houzz survey.
• One way to prevent excessive expansion and contraction of wood floor boards is to keep a home?s humidity level between 30% and 50%.
• 54% of home buyers were willing to pay more for a home with hardwood flooring, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
• Hardwood flooring accounted for 1.7 billion square feet of the U.S. floor covering market in the year 2015.
• 90% of homeowners prefer hardwood or tile in their kitchen areas.
• 94% of real estate professionals recommend spending more on floors. These professionals indicate that by making an average investment of $600 to $900, the return in value can be as high as $2,000.

From high end parquet wood flooring to the newest trends in extra wide plank flooring, the choices that you make in your kitchen not only add to the beauty and the value of your home, they also can help you create a space that is easier to maintain and keep clean. Whether you are looking for the best way to refinish hardwood floors in your home or you have questions about commercial wood flooring options, making the decision to install a high quality product is often a good one.