The Best New House Eco-Friendly Flooring Options

Whenever you are choosing a new wooden floor for your new home, one of the aspects you would like to consider is how sustainable your new floor will be as being eco-friendly and making greener and more conscious choices is a popular and hot topic nowadays. Besides its rise in popularity and trendiness, making an ecologically friendly choice whenever you are investing your money into a new floor is a very important aspect that comes with a lot of benefits not just for nature but for you too. However, the essence of sustainable living is not something we are going to dive deeper into today. What we are about to share with you today are some ideas of popular and amazing eco-friendly flooring options whenever you want to make a greener and more conscious choice.

For the longest time, the main concern of the flooring industry used to be creating and making floors that are visually appealing and functional. However, besides these two is as important as always and topping the list of priorities of everyone looking for a new floor, the ecological aspect is nowadays part of the whole deal too. It couldn’t be any other way and we are happy to know that the industry nowadays is well-prepared and advanced enough to be able to offer not just beautiful, attractive, hard-wearing, and functional flooring alternatives, but also ones that are eco-friendly and correct and ethically sourced at the same time.

So beyond separating your recyclables, drinking from a metal or paper straw, and not using plastic bags, you can also do your part and make the effort to minimize our carbon footprint as a society by investing in an eco-friendly flooring option. It is not only good for the planet since eco-friendly flooring options are as beautiful, attractive, unique, and lasting as you would expect from your classical floor choices. So here are seven of the best alternatives out there:

Cork Flooring

Cork flooring is increasing in popularity more and more these days not just as an eco-friendly alternative, but also as the main competitor to real wood flooring. As a natural product, cork can be as good and lasting as wood, sometimes even better. Durable, beautiful, convenient, cork flooring is extremely solid and hard-wearing. The gorgeous and unique look is just a bonus for adding a lot of character and creating a cosy and inviting atmosphere in any room of the house. What makes cork flooring a sustainable choice? These type of floors are made only from a thin bark of cork trees, which is not damaging to the three and allows them to grow further.

To make the process even more sustainable, the bark is used for wine corks first and all the leftover is what your floor is made out of. The leftover cork is grounded and then pressed together to make a stable and durable floor. The whole process happens every nine years, which means that cork trees have enough time to replenish. Cork flooring is pretty much a great choice for almost all areas of the house, so don’t hesitate to choose this type of flooring for your bedroom, living room, kitchen, hallway, etc. Cork flooring is very convenient to use and resistant to high traffic, at the same time it has natural anti-fatigue properties. However, cork is very sensitive to moisture and humidity and prone to water damage, so don’t even consider having it installed in the bathroom or basement.

Bamboo flooring

You may think of bamboo flooring as a wood floor, but it is a whole different category of natural flooring. Bamboo is not a tree but technically grass. However, bamboo is solid enough to make up for a very durable and hard-wearing floor option. Believe it or not, it is one of the most hard-wearing, hardest flooring options available on the market worldwide. Add to that the unique looks and beautiful appearance and you simply get the floor of your dreams, especially if you are concerned for the future of the planet. Unlike any other traditional and exotic type of wood, bamboo is growing very quickly and you can rest assured that there is a constant surplus of material all the time. You can pretty much enjoy the natural beauty and look of “wood” while having the peace of mind that bamboo is an extremely quickly renewable source. You can consider having a bamboo floor installed in the bedroom, kitchen, living and dining room, and hallway, but extremely humid environments and flood-prone basements are not the best ideas for bamboo.

Reclaimed Wood

Ok, let’s say you are not completely convinced by the cork and bamboo flooring idea, you want the classic look of wood for your home, but you are concerned with the idea that trees will soon or later not be a renewable and sustainable source of materials anymore. We get it and we have a good and exciting idea to offer – why not consider reclaimed wood? Yep, it is still wood, however, you are practically recycling someone’s old wooden floor and enjoying its look and functionality installed in your home. What adds even more thrill is the fact that this will be a wooden floor with history and will be able to add a lot of character to every space. Plus, the old, weathered look for wood floors is extremely trendy right now so you are practically killing two birds with one… wait, this is an eco-friendly article after all… ok, you are setting free two birds at the same time! Reclaimed wood floors are a perfect choice for any domestic and commercial space where moisture and humidity are not an issue.

Recycled Porcelain & Ceramic Tiles 

Just like with reclaimed wood, you can nowadays purchase and install recycled porcelain and ceramic tiles. 70% of the tiles will be recycled, which is great when you are looking for an eco-friendly flooring option. Besides preventing tons of good quality materials from ending up in the landfills, you will also be able to enjoy a beautiful floor that is very durable and strong, super easy to maintain and keep clean. Recycled porcelain and ceramic tiles are a great choice for kitchen areas and bathrooms, but also suitable for living areas and bathrooms. They are a versatile option for any indoor space but keep in mind most of them are usually not suitable for exterior use.

Linoleum

Despite the bad reputation of linoleum throughout the years, we assure you that this type of floor is an eco-friendly option worth considering. Linoleum is entirely made out of natural materials such as resin, linseed oil, broken-down wood, etc. Besides, linoleum does not emit any bad chemicals and toxins into the air, which makes it not just a green alternative, but also a great choice for homes due to the increase in quality of indoor air. While linoleum floors are often found installed in the kitchen, make sure to also consider them for the bedroom, office space, living room, hallway, etc. While linoleum floors are water-resistant, they are not waterproof, so make sure to not have them installed in heavily humid and wet areas. Otherwise, linoleum floors are very long-lasting and hard-wearing, the best choice for high-traffic areas.

Recycled Carpet

The truth is that the majority of carpets offered on the markets worldwide these days are already made out of recycled materials to a large extent. Besides being an eco-friendly choice, carpets are also a low-budget and cost-effective one. Carpets remain one of the most commonly purchased flooring options due to their appearance, comfort, and the cosy and warm setting they are creating.

Rubber Flooring

That is right, rubber flooring is not only popular for gym and sports settings but also for domestic use. Rubber floor is an eco-friendly choice since it is made out of recycled tyre rubber. This type of flooring is very suitable for bathrooms and kitchens nowadays thanks to its functionality, resistance, and easy-to-maintenance nature.