Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

If you like the look of bamboo, but the funds for installation aren’t in the piggy bank right now, you could save some money by choosing a laminate flooring that looks like bamboo.

While it maybe not be the “real deal,” it can be an attractive and easy-to-maintain upgrade from carpeting. If someone in your family suffers from allergies (especially to pets, mildew, mold, etc.), then it can even improve the overall health of that person (I noticed a huge change when my parents’ switched from carpet to laminate flooring in the downstairs half of the house–for the first time in years, I didn’t need to whip out an inhaler when I visited!).

Installing laminate can really be affordable if you’re willing to take on the project yourself. I helped my dad when he did it, and while I wouldn’t say it was “easy” (there’s a learning curve), it was definitely doable. And if you’re just doing a couple rooms, it can even be accomplished in a weekend.

To further save money, get your laminate flooring from a liquidation store. I didn’t think that Lumber Liquidators would have that big of a selection, but I found this bamboo laminate flooring at their online shop. As I write this, the cost is $1.29 a square foot, making it much more economical than real bamboo, which is double or triple that (at least), even at a liquidation store. Also it’s not as DIY friendly as laminate, which interlocks via a snap-and-click feature.