*This post is sponsored by Floor & Decor. All opinions are 100% mine! See my full disclosure HERE. Thank you for supporting the brands that help support our family!*
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the incredible store, Floor & Decor, offered to collaborate with me on a big home project Mr. B. and I have been dreaming about doing for YEARS.
Our carpets were 12 years old and let’s just say they were probably so full of bacteria you could have hosted an entire science experiment based on one small square section in a high traffic area.
Seriously – between baby spit up, stomach bugs, 2 little boy’s potty training seasons, spilled Cokes, dribbled pancake syrup, and that time Happy Buddy took a Red Sharpie to it for a good 3 minutes before I discovered the horrific scene, it’s safe to say that our carpets had seen better days.
And that’s putting it nicely.
As we discussed what we wanted to do to replace the carpeting, we went back and forth between wood tile, engineered hardwood, and bamboo flooring.
I liked the wood tile because it would give the look I wanted as well as work well with our humid, South Florida climate.
The engineered hardwood was a great option, too, but the closer we looked at it, the more we felt it just wasn’t designed as well as real wood.
And real hardwood floor just didn’t seem like a practical option because of where we live (not to mention it is the most expensive option).
But then my in-laws introduced us to bamboo. Ohhhhhh the BAMBOO.
We finally settled on THIS ONE from Floor & Decor and we are IN LOVE.
Here are the 5 main reasons why we went with the bamboo flooring.
#1 – It Looks Like Hardwood (And is even stronger!)
Mr. B. and I eventually realized that we preferred the softness and warmth of wood flooring as opposed to cold tile. We love that bamboo looks and feels just like hardwood! And it happens to be 2-3 times stronger than red oak! If you buy stranded bamboo like we did, then that is even stronger. This kind of toughness is great for families with busy kids and pets.
#2 – It’s Eco-Friendly
Bamboo plants grow REALLY fast (unlike red oak), so bamboo materials are not in as short supply as hardwood materials. Yay for taking care of the earth!
#3 – Easy to Install
Installation of our bamboo floor took only 2 days as the individual floor planks interlock and click into place – no messy, toxic glues needed! It’s so easy to lay these floors down even my 3-year-old learned how to do it.
#4 – Easy to Care For
All you need to clean these floors is a broom and a damp mop – no fancy chemicals required (in fact, you do NOT want to even think about touching these gorgeous floors with chemicals). Mr. B. likes to use the Swiffer Sweeper with the Dry Sweeping Cloths
#5 – Resistant to Moisture (HALLELUJAH)
I love that bamboo does not warp or shrink as readily as hardwoods when in a high moisture environment (ie. South Florida). In fact, my father-in-law took a sample plank of bamboo and literally SOAKED IT IN THE BATHTUB for several hours and it looked exactly the same as it did before taking the plunge. That is some strong, durable stuff, right there.
Now, would you like to see the before and after photos of our bamboo flooring in action?? 😉
Before (Living Room)
After
Before (Dining Room)
After
Before (Kitchen)
After
Before (Front Entrance)
After
Before(Hallway)
After
Before (Master Bedroom)
After
Before (Happy Baby’s Room)
After
Before (Happy Buddy’s Room)
After
And check out these BASEBOARDS (happy sigh).
I had NO idea that changing the floors and the baseboards would transform our little house so much!
For the record, Mr. B. and I cleaned our house for 2 hours before I took these ‘After’ photos for you. And we may or may not have locked our children in Happy Baby’s bedroom and told them they were only allowed to play in the corner and not make a mess until we were done. Hahahaha!
Also, until I examined these photos, I never realized how much the chevron pattern is taking over our house. When I like something – I REALLY like something.
The other day as we were driving home from school, Happy Buddy (who was originally not in favor of the new floors because he didn’t want his race cars to go too fast) commented, “I can’t wait to go home and see the floors again.”
And Mr. B. and I keep walking around our house saying, “I can’t believe we live here!”
A HUGE thanks to Floor & Decor for helping us complete this project. We truly cannot imagine going anywhere else should we ever need flooring or tile again!
If you are thinking about replacing your floors, make sure you stop by Floor & Decor for inspiration, direction, and everything you will need to turn your dream into a reality.
So, what do you think?????
Have a great weekend, friends!
– Julie 🙂
The floors look GREAT! Good for you! I had a question about the paint in your living room…the gray…do you remember the brand and name? I’ve heard gray or “greige” is the way to go, so I’m looking for ideas for our home. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! It was a Benjamin Moore color called Grey Horse I believe! 🙂
Wow what a difference! The floors look amazing. Did you place it over your tile in the kitchen and entrance? We have awful 80s tile and I’m dreading tearing it up to place wood/laminate.
Hi Lisette!! We did have to demo the tile. We hired someone to help us with that! Phew it was messy! 🙂
Thank you! I thought so since it looked so perfectly done, I can’t wait to do ours!
Beautiful!!!
I don’t understand how it all flows through each room and hallway? Did you cut it to fit yourselves? I am so clueless about home renovations!!!
We hired someone to install the floors! They did an amazing job of making everything flow seamlessly! 🙂
Love! We live in north florida and are looking at wood flooring so I appreciate this post of comparisons! I will be taking a look at bamboo for us for sure! It looks lovely in your home!
I love it!!!!
They look beautiful, Julie! I think you made the perfect choice. Your house is so pretty.
Beautiful!!! This came out so beautifuly- your house looks like a model home! I love that you chose bamboo! It’s definitely a healthy-home product! Very nice job!!!
I’m glad you are enjoying it! I love floor and decor too! So many options!
Bamboo is on my wishlist!!!!! 🙂
Your house is beautiful and now even more beautiful with the new flooring! It gives such a fresh clean look…and the baseboards top it off!
So happy for you!!!! Looks amazing!
They look great! A friend of mine recently installed bamboo flooring in her house, and they were also debating between wood and tile. 🙂 Love Happy Buddy’s room! We have the same quilt, bunting, and ABC art at our house! 🙂 I wish we had a Flooring & Decor store near us! By the way, I just discovered your blog last week while searching Pinterest for Advent ideas. 🙂 Love it!
Unbelievable! These floors are absolutely STUNNING. ELEGANT. Trying not to envy. 🙂 But… May I come live at your house please?! Seriously though, the difference in “before” and “after” is like night and day. Your home looks so warm and inviting and the consistent bamboo flooring (‘way to go, Floor & Décor!!) makes the rooms (and even the hallway) look larger! Awesome new baseboards, too — they’re like the perfect picture frames for the pretty walls and beautiful floors! Thanks for inviting us to come in and look around, Happy Home Fairy. I love your new floor — and love your HAPPY home! (P.S. Next time I visit Floor & Decor, could I borrow your adorable little “shopping monkeys” for their newly acquired expertise in flooring?)
Wow! It looks so great! The contrast of the floor with everything else is lovely and such a change from the carpeted version. My favorite part of this is Ryan cleaning the floor every night before you go to bed. Oh, if only that would last!!
Your look beautiful! However, I urge others to please make sure they know where their bamboo floors are coming from. Bamboo floors are FULL of glues – that is why it is even possible for it to be hard. One needs to worry about Formaldehyde or the VOC levels the floor is giving off. Others should know not all floors -especially bamboo-are created equal and that the deforestation that happens to create bamboo fields actually creates controversy on its Eco-friendly reputation.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_floor
http://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Not-All-Bamboo-is-Created-Equal
By the way, I LOVE your blog and I hope you don’t mind me making others aware of the potential cons of this product.
Hey Angie! Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I had researched bamboo a TON and came across this same info. That’s why we ended up buying from Floor & Decor because their bamboo could be trusted to follow strict local and federal government regulations. But your comment was good because people need to know that there is harmful bamboo out there! Just not from Floor & Decor. 😉 Thanks for stopping by and for your encouragement too! Merry Christmas!!!
Oh, it looks so beautiful, fresh, crisp and all tied together! Sigh, I need to do that!
You’re floors look beautiful! BUT may I ask, where did you get the nativity scene in the final picture??? I L.O.V.E. it!!!!!!!!
beautiful new floors! love the color too.
I love this post! We are wanting to get hardwood floors in our house in the future. I have always wondered about bamboo… and now I’m sold! Your house looks beautiful!!!
Oooooo Emily! FUN! Let me know if you go for it! We love ours. 🙂
That legit looks amazing. Your house was cute as a button before, but now it looks AWESOME!
Thank you, Steph!!!
I love the before and after pictures. What a difference! I’m closing on a house next week and we’re planning to put down bamboo and paint the walls gray. What brand and color flooring did you use? I really like that color.
Lauren
My husband and I are going to be replacing the floor in our kitchen over the summer, and we’ve been trying to decide what kind of material to use for the job. I’m happy that I found your post, you make a great case for bamboo flooring! I especially like how you mentioned that bamboo flooring is easy to install. We’re probably going to be doing the installation by ourselves, so this is a great feature to have! I’ll be sure to mention this to my husband so that we can start looking at bamboo floors as soon as we can. Thank you for sharing!
Vicky! Thank is so awesome! I hope you love them as much as we do! 🙂
Hi. The floors look great! What color/type did you select? Looks like Floor&Decor has loads of options.
Hi Jen! This is the one we chose from Floor & Decor – https://www.flooranddecor.com/bamboo-wood/antique-hand-scraped-wire-brushed-locking-stranded-solid-bamboo-100095322.html#sz=12&start=35. 🙂
Great. Thank you!
Hi Jen,
we are planning to install the exact same floor bought from F & D in Pompano this weekend! Your pictures help me visualize it better, thank you!
A couple of questions – how do they feel after a year of having them? Any wear and tear?
And also – did you have any odor after installing? I am told these contain glue although it is not supposed to be harmful, but our kiddo is very sensitive to smells.
Thanks!
Hello! How exciting! We love loooove our floors!! I will say they can scratch fairly easily if you are not careful, so watch out for that! We put furniture pads under everything except the bed and one day the bed got dragged across the floor and left a big gash! But other than that, no odors, just gorgeous floors! If you get a scratch, you can take a walnut and rub it over the scratch and the scratch disappears! It’s amazing! I am so excited for you!
Hi Jen,
Do you remember the name of the bamboo manufacturer? We don’t have a Floor and Decor and our city. Thanks.
Iva
Floors look amazing! We have oak hardwood throughout our 30 year home, but are thinking about bamboo in the kitchen. Love the shade of your floors, too!!
Thank you, Martha! We love them!
Hi Jen,
Your floors look amazing! Quick question – 1 year later, how does bamboo hold up to stains and spills? Is it quite resilient?
Thanks,
Jam
Looks beautiful! I have engineered wood and my cats have scratched it and damaged the finish wherever they got sick on it. Do you think the bamboo would hold up better? I need to do something and love the soft under foot feel of wood versus tile, how are yours holding up?
do you remember the color you purchased? We are in the middle of this decision right now, and it’s hard to imagine a whole room full of a sample. Yours look beautiful!
Hi there!!! The link of the color we bought is in the post!! I hope that helps! We looooove ours!
I was not able to bring up the website for the color bamboo floor you chose. Could you please tell me the name of the bamboo?
Wow, Your floors look great! We keep getting told that bamboo flooring in central Florida is a bad idea due to the humidity. We also were told not to get bamboo floors because we have two boys and two dogs. My wife was curious if you open your windows up every so often when the weather is nice and if so does it effect your floors?
Thank you! Our floors are doing great! I will say that they scratch pretty easily, so dogs may present an issue. We have 3 boys and it hasn’t been terrible! We just have to make sure no one drags anything heavy across the floor. 🙂