How to Determine Flooring in a Doorway

Choose light colored flooring to make the entryway appear larger. Light colors make a room appear larger than it actually is. Darker flooring will make the area seem more constricted, but may fit well if your entryway is already large.

Choose hard flooring, such as laminate or hardwood, for the front and back doorways. Harder types of flooring protect better against the constant wear and tear your flooring will inevitably experience from shoes, mud, snow and rain that people track in from outside.

Determine if you wish to extend the flooring throughout the room or contain it within the doorway. For example, you may choose to lay a certain type of flooring – such as laminate – in the doorway, then separate the rest of the room with a different type of flooring. You often see this in doorways that lead in from the outside, such as the front and back entrances to the house.

Lay laminate flooring and hardwood flooring in the same direction as the light coming in from surrounding windows. Doing so will brighten the doorway’s lighting.

Complement your flooring with a doormat. Doormats can add a touch of colorful décor to your floor, and also protect against the elements when placed at the entry doorways into your house.