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Congratulations on the new house! Between the paperwork, the packing, and the moving trucks, you’ve already handled enough complexity. Now comes the part where you turn those rooms into a home.
If you’ve started looking at flooring, you’ve probably noticed it isn't as easy as it should be. The market is often flooded with technical jargon and dizzying price points that make high-performance floors feel out of reach for the average family.
At Proximity Mills, we believe buying a floor shouldn't require a PhD in construction or decades of work in the floor manufacturing industry. We’ve done the legwork for you. Here are four straightforward tips to help you choose a floor that stands up to real life.
4 Floor Buying Tips for Every New Homeowner
1. Focus on High-Performance Floors, Not Just Appearance
It’s easy to fall in love with a color in a showroom, but as a new homeowner, you need to think about how that floor will look in five years.
Life happens—spills, pet claws, and heavy foot traffic are part of the deal.
- Waterproof vs. Water-Resistant: For kitchens, mudrooms, and basements, look for truly waterproof options.
- The "Scratch Test": If you have kids or large dogs, prioritize floors with high-performance wear layers.
- The Goal: You want a floor that looks as good on day 1,000 as it did on day one.
2. Ignore the Jargon
The flooring industry loves to use complicated terms to justify higher prices. You’ll hear about "mill specs," "proprietary coatings," and "exclusive technologies." Most of this is just noise.
When you strip away the industry terms, what matters is quality construction and durability. We’ve curated our collection to ensure every product meets an industry-leading standard, so you don't have to decode a manual to know you’re getting a good deal.
3. Seek Value
High-performance flooring shouldn't be a luxury reserved only for the wealthy. Many homeowners find themselves frustrated by the idea that you have to overpay to get a floor that won't fall apart.
We believe in providing accessible quality. By focusing on efficiency and high-performance materials, we offer floors that compete with the best in the industry at a price that makes sense for a real-world budget.
4. Buy Through a Trusted Professional
Big-box stores often lack the expertise to guide you through a long-term investment like flooring. We believe in a middle ground: stunningly straightforward products sold only by local, top-rated, locally-owned, flooring stores who are the experts in your community.
These experts can help you measure correctly and ensure a proper installation, which is just as important as the floor itself.
Trust in the Proximity Mills Promise
We created this brand because we’re parents, pet owners, and busy professionals just like you. Your new home should be a place of comfort, not a source of stress. By choosing a floor that is durable, transparently priced, and expertly curated, you can check "flooring" off your list and get back to making memories.
Simplify your search by using our flooring visualizer to give you a realistic view of what your remodel could look like. From there, you can order these floors straight to your door or you can find a local dealer and discuss our various products.
Our flooring collections include:
- Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP): Proximity Mills’ LVP is offers a waterproof surface and is incredibly durable. Available in both SPC (Stone Plastic Composite) for maximum stability and WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) for added comfort underfoot.
- Hardwood: The timeless beauty of real wood species like Oak, Hickory, and Maple - designed to handle the environmental changes in a modern home.
- Carpet: Designed for comfort and noise reduction without sacrificing durability, featuring advanced carpet fibers that stand up to spills and stains.
- Carpet Tile: Easy-maintenance, machine washable carpet tiles that don’t require glue or tacks, making these floors easy to install.
