One of the biggest choices you have to make for the look of your home is carpet and flooring. Whether you are building a new home, buying an existing one or doing a remodeling project, carpet and flooring installation is likely to be a fact of life. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of flooring, and you should do a thorough evaluation before making your decision.

Many people choose carpet for at least some rooms in their homes, and there are a number of reasons why. Carpets offer insulation and sound dampening, which can be a plus in rooms such as bedrooms. In one survey, nearly four out of 10 people said they planned to put carpet in their master bedrooms. Carpet also can give your home the look you want depending on what type of carpet patterns you choose. If you want a certain floor to ceiling look in a room, you have much more choice of color schemes in carpet patterns than you do with other types of flooring. On the other hand, carpet does have some drawbacks. It attracts allergens such as mold and pet dander, making it not a great choice if anyone in the home has respiratory problems. Light-colored carpet patterns also are very hard to keep clean, and they stain easily. And, carpet patterns tend to go out of style more quickly than other types of flooring.

Hardwood is another flooring choice that many people use in their homes, with nearly half of those surveyed saying they favor a hardwood floor. Hardwood flooring is durable, is easy to keep clean and also gives your home a more upscale look. It’s drawbacks also are numerous, however. Hardwood tends to cost more than other flooring, it causes your home to be very loud and it also is much more sensitive to moisture and temperature variations than other types of flooring. It is best used in main rooms in the home.

Tile is more of a niche flooring type, with only about a quarter of people using it in their homes. You are most likely to find tile in kitchens, baths and laundry or utility rooms. Tile is well suited to these areas because it is best suited to moist environments. You typically don’t find tile used as a main flooring choice in homes anywhere outside of warm-weather environments. Tile has very few drawbacks, although it can crack or break more easily than other types of flooring.

Your other flooring choices for your home typically include laminate and vinyl. These choices have the advantage of being cheaper than carpet, tile or hardwood, but they also don’t look as good and they may not be as durable.

Whatever flooring choices you make for your home, you should weigh all the pros and cons, including cost, durability and ease of installation and maintenance, before making a purchase.