This post is sponsored by STAINMASTER®.

I can’t believe this but it has already been a little over three years since we moved into our current home. It’s crazy how much has changed in those three years. It has certainly been a marathon and not a sprint with turning our house into a home. And for sure still a work in progress. One of the biggest changes this year was replacing all of the flooring in our home with STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl. All of the bedrooms had an orange colored laminate with water damage in various spots. Then all of the main living areas throughout our home had white tile from 1994.

The day we saw our home transform into what felt like a completely different home because of the new flooring, is a day I won’t forget! As a lot of you know, we teamed up with our amazing friends at STAINMASTER® who helped make this a reality for us. Picking out a new flooring can be overwhelming but when you tune into the price, function and look of a floor, it can become easy to pick. Here’s why we decided to go with STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl and why we didn’t install another type of flooring.

Tile- For one thing, we were over 100% over tile being in all of our main living areas.  When we first moved into our home, I found it very interesting that the previous homeowner used black grout with white tile. Fast forward to a week later when I started scrubbing the black grout and it revealed its true color: a very light gray. Talk about feeling completely grossed out when I looked around and realized all the black grout was years and years of dirt build up. It took me two weeks to clean all of our grout and that’s when I knew we wouldn’t go the route of tile when it was time to replace the flooring.

Laminate – After experiencing the water damage in the bedrooms with laminate, we knew we wanted to try something different. 

Carpet– I love a cozy carpet in a bedroom (especially STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ carpet). But living in Florida with warm weather year round, we personally prefer a hard surface over carpet in our home. It helps to keep it cool!

Hardwood/Engineered Hardwood – As beautiful as it can be, we want to be able to live in our home without the worry of spills, scratches and dents. Typically with this type of flooring, you’re constantly on the lookout and being careful not to damage it. This also happens to be one of the pricier options to go with.

Luxury Vinyl: Which now leads me to luxury vinyl. This past January I had the amazing opportunity to attend the STAINMASTER® Influencer Summit which also included a tour of their factory. I was able to see first hand what makes this luxury vinyl durable, functional and beautiful! This is what sealed the deal for me knowing that we would want STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl throughout our entire home. Here’s why: 

• Durable + easy to maintain 
• Pet ClawShield™ (Which means it resists scratches from everyday life as well as pets.
• Pet ActionTraction™ (great for pets and great for a busy lifestyle)
• 100% waterproof 
• Resists odors from pet accidents.
• Color selection

Fast forward to now and we’ve been living with our luxury vinyl for several months. I love the visual impact the flooring has on our home. That excited feeling walking into our home and seeing it still hasn’t worn off. We went with the color called Alpine. Although this particular color is no longer available, Stainmaster® offers a huge color selection. Applewood and Early American are two of my favorites that are comparable to Alpine.

With STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl, we’re able to actually live and enjoy our home without having to worry about messing up the flooring. What I didn’t realize (and very excited about) is how easy it is to maintain the flooring. Besides sweeping and vacuuming being easier without fighting grout lines, mopping is a breeze! I use a basic spray mop (with the proper cleaning solution made for luxury vinyl) and everything comes up so easily! Fresh spills or a spill that’s found a few hours later (hello waterproof), it cleans up without the worry of ruining the floor.

And then there’s our crazy, busy lifestyle of a project always going on in our home and a busy toddler running around. I’ve made it a point to find scratches and dents in our flooring. So far none! It seriously gives me a peace of mind knowing we can truly live in our home without the worry of messing up our flooring. And believe me, I’ve been there before with flooring easily scratching and denting after paying for what you thought would be great flooring. Lesson learned, always go with STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl™. At least that’s my motto!

Now that you know why we went with STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl and how much we’re loving it, it’s time for a little Q + A! I asked over on Instagram to submit any questions you may have about our flooring. If you have a question that isn’t here, leave it in the comments! I’ll get to it and add it to this post.

Your Questions Answered

1. Did I have to remove the tile for install?

We choose to remove our tile so there wouldn’t be an unlevel/height difference when transitioning into the bedrooms. But you don’t have to remove it to install the luxury vinyl. STAINMASTER® luxury vinyl can be installed over tile as long as it is smooth, flat and level. You can find out more information here. 

2. Is it waterproof and scratch resistant?

STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl is 100% waterproof. As far as scratching, there’s a special coating on the luxury vinyl, ClawShield™, that helps to resist scratching. 

3. Is it hard to install?

With this luxury vinyl being a floating floor that is a click and lock system, it is easy to install! Even a beginner DIYer can install this flooring with the right tools on hand. You can find out the tool requirements here and watch out our tutorial here under my Instagram highlights when we installed the flooring in our playroom. 

4. Does it sound hollow/make a loud sound when walking on it?

Every type of flooring is going to have a sound when walking on it. For us personally, we do not experience a hollow sound when walking on the luxury vinyl. 

5. Do you have to put transition pieces in doorways?

Transition pieces are not required for large spaces or doorways. You’ll notice a transition piece in the doorway of the playroom, guest bedroom and Oliver’s bedroom in our home. Those are there because the flooring in those rooms were installed months before the rest of the flooring. If they had all been installed at the same time, there wouldn’t be a transition piece. You’ll notice with the master bedroom and the entry points to the kitchen, there aren’t any transition pieces. 

6. Does it give off an odor after installation?

We personally didn’t notice a smell after install. 

7. Can you install luxury vinyl in bathrooms?

You certainly can! Janna over at Yellow Prairie Interiors installed STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl in her bathroom. It turned out stunning! And Jess over at @Carcabaroad used it in her climate-controlled garage. Keep in mind, luxury vinyl can only be used in a temperature-controlled area.

8. Can you install over existing linoleum?

You certainly can. Just like the tile, make sure the surface you’re installing it over is smooth, flat and level. You can find out more information here including what you can’t install the luxury vinyl over. 

9. What is the price point with this luxury vinyl?

The best thing to do, is to find a store near you that carries STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl (or other STAINMASTER flooring you may be looking at) to get a quote. 

10. I’ve heard luxury vinyl is the way to go. Is it and why?

It depends on who you go with. I can honestly say, after trying another brand a few years ago, you can’t go wrong with STAINMASTER® PetProtect™ luxury vinyl. You can’t beat the price point, the maintenance and the benefits of the ClawShield™, ActionTraction™, being 100% waterproof and the overall durability of this flooring. These are things you aren’t going to get with laminate, hardwood, engineered hardwood and tile. 

11. What is the difference between STAINMASTER and other brands?
I can’t tell you the specifics about other brands but after reading this post, hopefully you see why I’ll tell you to go with STAINMASTER® time and time again. Their attention to detail, the quality and durability of their luxury vinyl make them stand out from the rest. You can live in your home without the worry of messing up your flooring.

12. How easy is it to clean?

It’s a breeze to clean! Sweeping and using a vacuum on it is very easy. My favorite thing is the fact that dirt, grim, dust, etc. doesn’t get lodged between the planks. You do need to use a pH neutral cleaner on the flooring. No need for excessive amounts of water (a damp mop is sufficient). 

13. Are there a lot of color options?

Ranging from light to dark and everything else in-between, there are a lot of colors to choose from! Start browsing the colors here and then find a store near you so you can see the colors in person.

Wanting more luxury vinyl flooring information? You can check out our experience with hiring out the bedroom installs here and the entire before and after of our home here with the flooring install.

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