Your home’s high-traffic areas take a daily beating. Rooms like entryways, hallways, kitchens, and mudrooms with heavy foot traffic are prone to spills, muddy and wet footprints, pet claws, and dropped items.
Choosing the right flooring for these high-traffic areas can extend the life of your space, reduce the need for maintenance, and help keep your home looking clean and stylish. The best flooring materials for these busy areas combine durability, ease of cleaning, and visual appeal.
In this post, we’ll break down the top flooring options for high-traffic areas, sharing the pros, cons, and key considerations for each.
Whether you’re raising kids, hosting often, or just wanting a low-maintenance space, there’s a flooring solution that will fit your needs. Read on to help you determine which type of high-traffic flooring will best suit the needs of your home and family.
Tile is a great, durable flooring option for any space in your home that requires frequent cleaning, and is particularly suitable for high-traffic areas prone to high moisture levels, such as mudrooms, hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, or walkways. Any busy place in your home that requires regular mopping would be well-suited for tile.
Tile offers an incredible range of styles—from porcelain to natural stone, each with its own benefits and maintenance needs. As you explore options for your high-traffic spaces, consider the durability, texture, and maintenance requirements of the material to find the best fit for your lifestyle and design preferences.
There are several factors to consider when selecting tiles. To start, it’s a good idea to choose a through-body tile with a color that runs throughout the material, rather than a tile with a white base and a colored glaze or print on the surface. A tile that has a consistent color from surface to bottom will have a more durable appearance over time, as any nicks or chips won’t be as visually apparent. Additionally, through-body tile is easier to repair or replace if noticeable damage occurs.
Although ceramics tend to come to mind when thinking of tile flooring, a variety of material options are available. Natural stone tiles, such as slate, are an excellent choice for entryways and other areas where items may be dropped.
Have you ever felt embarrassed when guests drop by unexpectedly and your floors aren’t looking their best? You’re not alone. That’s where natural stone tile really shines—its rich texture and subtle variations are great at disguising everyday wear, dirt, and pet hair. If surprise visitors are a regular thing at your house, stone tile can be a great option.
When it comes to using tile in your home, there are, of course, some safety considerations to be aware of. We know that tile can become slippery when wet, so if your high-traffic area may be exposed to water (think snowy boots in winter or rain-soaked shoes in spring), it’s best to choose a tile with a slight texture to prevent slipping accidents.
Where there is tile, there is grout. Notoriously unpleasant to clean, grout is necessary to hold tiles in place and prevent water from infiltrating behind your flooring, but it can take some serious elbow grease to keep light-colored grout looking clean. Darker grout is, of course, better for areas that tend to collect dirt, as it can better hide stains over time. If you prefer the look of lighter grout, be prepared to clean and seal it regularly to maintain its appearance.
The tile size you choose will determine the amount of maintenance that will be required. If smaller tiles are calling your name, your flooring will have more grout lines. More grout lines are harder to clean than fewer, but the more grout there is on your tiled surface, the more traction there will be, making the floor less slippery and safer. And, just as you may imagine, larger tiles mean fewer grout lines. So, with a larger tiled surface, you will spend less time scrubbing, but there will be more potential for slipping and sliding. If you can source a large tile that has a surface texture, though, you can reduce both the amount of grout there is to clean and the chance of slipping on a slick surface.
Pictured Above: Natural slate tile laid in a Versailles pattern as part of a primary suite addition.
Best for: High-traffic areas, bathrooms, kitchens, entryways, mudrooms, laundry rooms
Best for: Moderate-traffic areas, kitchens, laundry rooms, backsplashes
Best for: Entryways, kitchens, mudrooms, patios
Best for: Kitchens, hallways, bathrooms
Best for: Bathrooms, living areas, low-traffic spaces
Best for: Bathrooms, entryways, formal living areas
Pictured Above: Marble tiles installed in a herringbone pattern within a primary bathroom renovation.
Natural hardwood—also referred to as solid wood or solid hardwood flooring—is a classic and dependable flooring option for high-traffic areas. Its strength and longevity make it an excellent choice for homeowners who want a long-term solution.
One of the biggest pros of solid hardwood flooring is its ability to bounce back from everyday wear. Scratches, scuffs, and dents don’t have to be permanent—solid wood can be sanded and refinished several times over its life (typically 4 to 7, depending on the thickness, the experience of the person who installed it, and the experience of the person who refinishes it). That means your floors can look new again, even decades down the road. Well-maintained hardwood floors should last generations.
This repairability and hardwood’s timeless and high-end finish make solid wood flooring such a smart long-term investment. For families or homeowners planning to stay in their homes for years to come, solid wood flooring offers a versatile aesthetic, durability, and a lifespan that often matches the home itself.
Some types of wood are better choices for hardwood flooring than others. Choose harder wood species such as oak, maple, or hickory for the best performance in busy areas throughout your home.
Pictured Above: Natural hardwood flooring found throughout the historic first-floor Arlington Heights renovation.
If you love the look of natural wood flooring but want to explore other resilient flooring options, engineered hardwood is a good alternative, though it has less refinishing potential.
Engineered hardwood is made from a composite wood base composed of layers of plywood or fiberboard topped with a thin veneer of real hardwood. The veneer is sometimes thick enough that the flooring can be sanded and refinished, but only once or twice. Some engineered hardwoods can't be refinished at all due to how thin the hardwood veneer is. If you go with this type of flooring, consider choosing high-quality options with a thicker wear layer for more durability and the option to refinish down the road.
Pro Tip: Keep in mind that even with the high-quality, thick-veneered engineered hardwood option, over-finishing can expose the lower-quality wood core underneath. Additionally, excessive refinishing or aggressive sanding can shorten its lifespan, so professional assessment is always a good idea before starting the process.
Contrary to what some homeowners may think, engineered wood flooring is not always a budget-friendly alternative to solid wood. Depending on the brand and the finish, it is sometimes more expensive than natural hardwood. However, flooring installation costs for engineered wood may be lower than natural hardwood installation costs because the material does not need to be finished, which creates a faster installation process.
Pictured Above: Example of engineered hardwood flooring installed in the Pinehurst remodel.
Luxury vinyl flooring (LVP) is another option to look into when searching for high-traffic flooring. LVP is available in a huge variety of styles and colors, making it easy to match any design preference. This great variety of styles comes in a wide range of price points, ranging anywhere from $0.89 to $15.00 per square foot.
Luxury vinyl flooring has many benefits, and it can initially appeal because it is much less expensive than hardwood. LVP is not only at an appealing price point, but also requires little maintenance. LVP is easier to clean and maintain than solid wood flooring, along with being waterproof and scratch-resistant, making it ideal for busy households with kids and pets. This material is often used in high-traffic and moisture-prone areas like kitchens, mudrooms, and basements.
Luxury vinyl flooring is a layered flooring option. It has a built-in underlayment, which provides structure and cushioning. This is the bottom layer that touches the subfloor. Atop this is the wear layer. This surface layer protects the flooring and subfloor against damage. Just like with engineered hardwood, when it comes to LVP, a thicker top layer will offer better durability and longevity.
This type of flooring can be installed as a floating floor, meaning that it doesn’t have to be glued or nailed down. Because this floor can float, it may convince a homeowner that installing LVP can be a simple DIY project. However, the opposite is true. For luxury vinyl flooring, it’s best to hire a professional to install this type of flooring correctly. Before even beginning, the subfloor may need to be leveled for a proper fit. Additionally, precision cutting of this type of flooring is absolutely crucial– if large gaps are left between boards, the floor can make clicking sounds or feel too floaty, all while placing excessive strain on the vinyl tiles.
Luxury vinyl flooring is flexible, but improper installation or uneven subfloors can lead to excessive movement between the planks and the subfloor, causing the material to crack or break over time. To avoid issues, installing LVP correctly and ensuring the subfloor is level is important. Be sure to order extra square footage during your initial purchase to account for waste during installation and have replacement planks on hand. Since many styles get discontinued or phased out, finding a perfect match later may be difficult if repairs are needed.
So, what’s the best choice when it comes to flooring to suit your family’s needs? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to choosing the best durable flooring. It all comes down to how your family lives, the aesthetic and atmosphere you’re trying to achieve, and the kind of space you’re updating. Between muddy paws, spilled drinks, and the hustle and bustle of daily life, your floors need to keep up, and well-chosen flooring should support your lifestyle without sacrificing the look you’re trying to achieve. As you have learned from this article, many durable flooring options are available, each with its own set of pros and cons, and the best choice depends on your family’s unique and specific needs and requirements.
Working with the right design-build company means you’ll have expert guidance built into every step of the process. A great team won’t just help you choose beautiful flooring—they’ll take the time to understand your family’s lifestyle, needs, and priorities and then design a solution that checks every box. From selecting the right material to ensuring a flawless installation, the right partner will leave you feeling confident that your choices are not only beautiful but also smart, functional, and built to last.
Want more tips to help you make smart, informed decisions about your remodel? Download our free eBook, Smart Strategies for Home Renovation Budgeting. It’s packed with expert insights, real-world examples, and practical tips to help you plan any home improvement with confidence and clarity. Whether you're setting priorities or balancing costs, this guide is a must-have resource for homeowners ready to invest wisely in their space.