You don’t have to choose between sustainable floors, price and your own personal style.
Picture a floor that stands up to spills, stains and active pets—and retains its good looks with the use of neutral cleansers.
Envision the floor that matches your style—and your values. It’s mindfully manufactured and promotes high-quality indoor air that supports your family’s everyday life.
Whether you’re renovating a starter home, building a forever home, or somewhere in between, resilient flooring helps you meet your needs today and for the memories ahead.
Understanding the name
The term “resilient” is often used to describe a community, business or even a natural area that demonstrates strength during hardship and the ability to adjust under pressure.
“Resilient” is also the name for a category of flooring products that possess the physical strength and flexibility to meet the realities of everyday family life—from walking and playing to spills and scratches, depending on the solution—with more options, and a pinch more confidence. It has more “give” than hardwood, stone, cement, or ceramic tile but less than carpet, making it an ideal choice for family homes.
The resilient flooring category is comprised of many specific floor types. While architects and designers are familiar with the phrase “resilient floors,” it’s quite likely you’ve encountered these floors under specific product names, such as luxury vinyl tile, rubber, linoleum, or cork floors.
7 types of resilient flooring
FLEXIBLE LUXURY VINYL TILE
The popularity of luxury vinyl tile (LVT) has blossomed due to its incredible design capabilities. Many LVT options are water resistant, pet friendly, and highly durable, and what’s more, modular installation options mean you can more easily replace individual tiles or planks as needed.
Rigid luxury vinyl tile
Rigid core flooring (also called multilayer flooring) provides many of the advantages of luxury vinyl tile – plus a few more. Many options provide underfoot comfort, sound absorption and warmth. Many also come with built-in resistance to water, humidity and temperature variations, giving you lots of options for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and entryways.
SHEET VINYL
Today’s sheet vinyl flooring typically comes in 6’, 12’ or even greater widths so you can create a seamless floor with excellent top-down moisture protection. It comes in an array of styles and colors that can mimic the aesthetic of more expensive stone and hardwood floors. Many sheet vinyl options combine lasting performance, low maintenance costs and sound-damping benefits into one great choice for budget-conscious homeowners.
LINOLEUM
Linoleum floors are made from natural, rapidly renewable ingredients. Linseed oil (derived from flax plants) is combined with limestone, pine resin, cork, wood flour and dye, and eventually rolled onto a jute fiber backing. Many linoleum flooring products also integrate recycled content. Depending on the solution chosen, this durable flooring type can often withstand heavy traffic and scratches while maintaining a beautiful appearance.
CORK
This material is renewable, it can be harvested every nine years from each cork oak tree—a significantly faster rate of renewal than many hardwood trees commonly used for floors. For flooring products, cork is ground up, compressed, and formed into sheets bonded with resins. Some manufacturers incorporate recycled cork and cork waste. Cork flooring is a natural insulator that often muffles sound.
RUBBER
Rubber flooring is often built to be durable and easy to clean. It offers many options for hard-wearing commercial or residential environments, including restaurant kitchens and gyms. Excellent water resistance and softness also make rubber a smart choice for your basement, rec room or utility room. Rubber flooring is available in a vast array of colors and textures.
VINYL COMPOSITION TILE
Vinyl composition tile (VCT) is most often used in commercial and institutional applications, such as supermarkets and schools. However, it’s also a very popular DIY product because it is easy to handle and install. Low-cost, durable VCT can be used in a wide range of color and design combinations to create unique, custom effects.
Multi-layered beauty
All seven types of resilient flooring are beautifully made—and beautifully responsible. But what’s the next step?
Envision the styles you want for your home.
Find your floor made by mindful manufacturers.
