Most homes end up with some mix of three floors. Hardwood, luxury vinyl plank and laminate cover nearly every room in a house, and each one wins somewhere.
The trick is to start with the room and how you use it, then pick the material. This guide compares the three side by side and then walks through the house room by room.
Hardwood, LVP and Laminate at a Glance
| Feature | Hardwood | Vinyl plank (LVP) | Laminate |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Real wood, solid or engineered | Vinyl planks with a printed wood look | A printed wood look on a wood-fiber core |
| Water | Wipe spills quickly | Most is sold as waterproof | Varies, some are rated for spills |
| Scratches | Shows them, but can be refinished | Good, depends on the wear layer | Very good, check the AC rating |
| Underfoot | Warm and solid | Softer and quieter | Hard, can sound hollow |
| Below ground | Engineered only | Yes | Check the product |
| When it wears | Sand and refinish | Replace planks | Replace boards |
| Typical installed cost | About $6 to $18 per sq ft | About $6 to $20 per sq ft | About $5 to $12 per sq ft |
The cost ranges come from This Old House’s 2026 cost guides and include materials and labor. They’re typical national ranges, and your price depends on the product, the prep and your home.
Room by Room
Living and Dining Rooms
These are the rooms people see first. Hardwood shines here, and it’s where its warmth and long life pay off.
Laminate gives you a wood look that stands up to traffic for less money. Vinyl plank works well too, especially with pets.
Bedrooms
Bedrooms are low-traffic and low-risk, so you can choose on looks and feel. Hardwood or engineered wood is the classic pick. Vinyl plank is quieter underfoot, which helps in upstairs rooms.
Kitchens
Kitchens get water, dropped pans and hours of standing. Vinyl plank handles all three best.
Hardwood works for careful households with mats at the sink and dishwasher, and laminate works if the product is rated for kitchen spills.
Bathrooms and Laundry Rooms
These rooms see standing water, so we’d choose a vinyl plank sold as waterproof. Skip solid hardwood here, and read the warranty carefully before you put laminate in.
Our guide to vinyl flooring for bathrooms covers the details.
Basements
Basements sit below ground, where moisture never fully goes away. The National Wood Flooring Association says solid wood belongs on or above ground level, while engineered wood suits basements because it expands and contracts less.
Vinyl plank is often the easiest fit, since water won’t ruin it. Our post on vinyl flooring for basements goes deeper.
Entryways and Mudrooms
Grit, salt and slush arrive here first. Use vinyl plank or another waterproof floor, plus mats inside and out.
Our guide to flooring for high-traffic areas covers busy spots in more detail.
Home Offices
Rolling chairs grind the same spot all day. Any of the three works with a chair mat, and without one, laminate’s hard surface holds up best.
Factors That Cut Across Every Room
Pets and Kids
Look for scratch resistance and water tolerance. Laminate rated AC3 or higher and vinyl plank with a wear layer of 12 to 20 mil or more both handle busy households.
If you want wood, choose a hard species. The Wood Database rates shagbark hickory at 1,880 lbf on the Janka hardness scale and white oak at 1,350, compared with 1,220 for red oak.
Humidity
Wood floors move with the seasons. The NWFA recommends keeping your home at 30 to 50 percent humidity year-round, which in a Chicago-area winter usually means running a humidifier.
Noise
Floating floors can sound hollow without a good underlayment, and many condo buildings have rules about sound between units. Ask about underlayment before you settle on a floor.
Resale
Wood floors are a proven selling point. The National Association of Realtors’ 2022 Remodeling Impact Report estimated that new wood flooring recovers 118 percent of its cost at resale.
Budget for More Than the Floor
The price per square foot is only part of the cost. Most flooring jobs also include some of these.
- Removing and hauling away the old floor
- Subfloor prep, like leveling low spots or fixing squeaks
- Underlayment or a moisture barrier
- Transitions where the new floor meets another one
- Baseboards or quarter round
- Moving furniture out and back in
Ask for each one on the estimate, so two quotes for the same floor are really comparing the same job.
See It Before You Buy It
Samples look different in a showroom than in your house. Bring home a few, lay them on the floor in the rooms they’re meant for and look at them in the morning and at night.
For vinyl plank and laminate, open a full box if you can. Printed floors repeat their pattern, and seeing many planks together shows how natural the floor will look across a whole room.
Five Questions to Settle It
- Will the room ever see standing water? If yes, lean toward vinyl plank.
- Is it below ground? If yes, skip solid hardwood.
- Do you want a floor you can refinish instead of replace? If yes, choose hardwood.
- Is the budget tight? Laminate gives you the most wood look for the money.
- Who lives here? Big dogs and small kids push you toward vinyl plank or laminate.
Where to Go From Here
Each material has its own deep dive. Start with whether hardwood flooring is right for you, whether vinyl flooring is right for you or whether laminate flooring is right for you, or compare laminate and hardwood head to head.
When you’re ready to talk installation, see our pages on hardwood flooring installation, vinyl flooring installation and laminate flooring installation, or start with all of our flooring services.
Quality Installs is a family-owned flooring company founded in 2004, with an office in Glenview. We’ve completed more than 10,000 projects in homes and businesses.