Flooring for every room in South Dakota
A house is not one floor. The living room, kitchen, bedrooms and entry each ask for something different, and we plan them one at a time, then make them meet cleanly at every doorway.
A tip for this room
Lighter oak tones keep a north facing room bright through the short days of winter, while warmer mid tones calm a room that gets strong western sun.
Living room
The living room is where a new floor shows most. In a typical ranch house it sits at the front, behind a wide picture window, and in winter the low sun crosses the whole room in the afternoon. That light shows every seam and every change of direction, so the layout matters as much as the material.
We usually run planks or boards toward that window, from the front of the room to the back, so the light falls along the length of each board. When the living room opens into a hall or dining area, we look at running the same floor through all of them for one calm surface.
Floors that suit it
- Luxury vinyl plankQuiet and even, and runs straight into the kitchen without a break.
- HardwoodWarm and natural, close to the oak many ranch homes started with.
- LaminateCrisp wood grain with a hard top layer for busy family rooms.
What we look at during the visit
- Which wall is the straightest place to start the first row.
- Where the floor meets the kitchen, hall and front entry, and how each transition will look.
- The fireplace hearth and any built ins the floor has to fit around.
A tip for this room
Running one floor through the kitchen and the dining nook makes a small space feel wider and removes a transition strip from the busiest path in the house.
Kitchen
Kitchens in older ranch homes are often small and connected to a dining nook or a back door to the garage. The floor here takes dropped pans, chair legs and constant cleaning, and people stand on it longer than anywhere else in the house.
Vinyl plank is the most common choice we see for these rooms because it is comfortable to stand on and easy to keep clean. Tile is the other strong option, especially when the kitchen floor continues to a back entry. Either way, we plan how the floor meets the cabinets, the dining area and the rooms around it.
Floors that suit it
- Luxury vinyl plankSoft underfoot at the counter and easy to wipe clean.
- TileVery hard wearing, plus backsplash tile on the wall.
- Baseboard and trimQuarter round along the cabinet base and a clean edge at each doorway.
What we look at during the visit
- Whether the floor goes under the appliances or stops at the cabinet faces.
- How the new floor height lines up with the appliance openings under the counter.
- Where the kitchen floor will meet the living room, hall and back door.
A tip for this room
If the hall is getting plank and the bedrooms carpet, we set the transition right under each closed door, so the change is hidden when the door is shut.
Bedrooms
Bedrooms in a ranch house usually sit together along one hall at the back of the house, often three of them with a closet in each. They are the rooms where comfort matters most, and where the choice between soft and hard floors is really personal.
Carpet with a good pad is still the warmest floor for a cold morning. Many people now choose plank or laminate for the bedrooms too, with an area rug beside the bed. We can lay the whole bedroom wing in one floor or treat each room on its own, closets included.
Floors that suit it
- CarpetThe warmest and quietest choice for cold mornings.
- LaminateA hard floor that is simple to keep clean of dust.
- HardwoodNatural wood with a soft, warm look.
What we look at during the visit
- Closet sizes and doors, and whether the closets get the same floor.
- How the bedroom floor meets the hall, and if the hall gets the same floor.
- Door clearances, since thicker carpet or plank can catch a door bottom.
A tip for this room
A matte, slightly textured tile hides grit between sweeps and feels more sure underfoot in winter boots than a polished face.
Entry
Every house on the prairie has a door that takes the winter: the front entry, the back door from the garage, or both. Boots, grit and salt crystals come in with every trip, and the floor right inside the door wears faster than anything else in the house.
A textured porcelain tile is the toughest option for this spot, and a large mat on top catches most of what comes in. Vinyl plank is a softer alternative when the entry opens straight into the living room and you want one floor through both. We plan the edge where the entry meets the rest of the house so it stays neat and safe.
Floors that suit it
- TilePorcelain tile stands up to boots, grit and salt.
- Luxury vinyl plankA softer, quieter option that blends into the next room.
- Baseboard and trimA low threshold at the door and a neat edge into the rest of the house.
What we look at during the visit
- How the door swings and how much the new floor will raise the threshold.
- Where a mat or bench will sit, so the tile layout centers on the doorway.
- The edge where the entry floor meets the living room or hall.
Where two rooms meet
Most of the small decisions on a flooring job happen at the doorways. When a kitchen of vinyl plank meets a living room of the same floor, we can run it straight through with no strip at all. When tile in the entry meets wood in the hall, or carpet in a bedroom meets plank in the hallway, we pick a transition that is low, sturdy and close in color to both floors.
We also think about direction. Planks usually run the length of the longest room or toward the main window, and the same direction carries through the rooms that connect to it. That keeps the house feeling calm and wide, which suits the long, low lines of a ranch home.
Start with one room or the whole floor
Tell us which rooms you are thinking about. We measure them all at the visit and write each one into the estimate.