Floors. They’re often the last thing we think about when we walk into a room. But we use them probably as much if not more than any other part of our home.

“We walk on our floors, we play on them, we lay on them. Our kids play on them,” says Andy Gale with the Colorado-based company Sustainable Flooring. “It’s worth investing a little bit more in the floor. A hardwood is a hardwood is a hardwood. That’s not necessarily true.”

Gale says the first mistake customers who are considering replacing or purchasing new floors for their home often make is they become fixated on a budget that will require costly maintenance in the near future.

He says that buying flooring for $3 per square foot might seem like a good deal initially, but flooring at that price will likely need to be refinished in six months and completely replaced in five years.

He explains that a more realistic budget is to expect to pay around $5 to $7 per square foot, and then pay a contractor around $3 to $5 per square foot for installation.

He says though you pay a little more up front, you are rewarded with a durable, and generally more reliable floor that you shouldn’t have to replace anytime soon.

He said beyond that, when it comes to the difference between purchasing a pre-finished hardwood versus one that needs to be finished and installed by a craftsperson onsite, the difference will be what you want to see beneath your feet.

“You will see the individual planks more once they’re installed,” he said of pre-finished hardwood varieties. That’s compared to a site finish where the planks will be more monolithic looking.

He says that for site-finished flooring, homeowners should be prepared to add time and money to the project as the process is more labor-intensive.

Bryan Rathbun, who runs the family-owned Rathbun Hardwood Floors in Colorado, was trained in Germany by craftsman. He says that with Colorado’s dramatic temperature fluctuations, homeowners should expect some seasonal movement if they have hardwood floors.

In drier climates, wood tends to shrink in cold months, and cracks can easily appear between boards. One way to mitigate that is to have a humidifier attached to your heating system, and to maintain a relative humidity between 30 and 50 percent when possible during winter, he says.

Rathbun adds that some cleaners can also damage wood floors. Those include any with a label that says it shines, polishes or adds luster. Vinegar and water is also a bad idea, as vinegar is acidic and will negatively impact the life of a floor’s finish, according to Rathbun.

Rathbun recommends the Bona-Pro Series Hardwood Floor Cleaner. He says the cleaner is specifically designed to prevent damage, and will ensure the adhesion of a new coat of finish later if repairs are needed.

With innovations in the flooring industry, there is an abundance of colorful and quirky options to fit a home’s style if hardwood’s not your thing.

“Cork is a wonderful flooring product, and you can get it in a variety of budgets, and at major retailers,” Gale says. “It’s a little softer in terms of walking on it. Yet it’s surprisingly resilient, and it’s completely appropriate for most home environments. It has inherent slip resistance, and it also has a lot of value in providing sound mitigation.”

Cork is also lauded as a renewable material that works well underfoot. The same tree can be harvested for cork for more than 200 years. It is susceptible to moisture damage, which is why it’s not generally recommended for bathrooms.

Bamboo is another option to look at beyond hardwood, home experts say.

“We sell a strand-woven bamboo which is much more like a hardwood,” Gale says. “It’s about three times as hard as oak, and three to four times as stable, and resistant to moisture changes.”

Bamboo can also be easier on the wallet. “We sell a very durable strandwoven bamboo that retails for under $6,” he says.

Whatever you do with your floors, Gale says the best way to ensure they’re beautiful and comfortable for years to come is to regularly clean them.

“It’s not your feet or shoes that are generally wearing your floor surface. It’s dirt, an abrasive material,” he says. “That holds true for carpet and wood floors equally.”