Flooring is the single biggest visual surface in any room. Get it wrong and the whole space feels off. Get it right and a refresh feels like a remodel.
Most Lansing-area homeowners I talk to have already gotten conflicting advice. Their contractor says hardwood. Their friend just installed LVP. Pinterest keeps showing them large-format tile. They want a real answer on which is right for their home.
This guide will give you exactly that. Real costs, real lifespans, room-by-room picks, and four recent OFC projects across Williamston, Okemos, and East Lansing that show each flooring type doing what it does best.
Mark Dixon is a Designer and Project Estimator at Odd Fellows Contracting in Greater Lansing, MI. He's an NKBA Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer (CKD) and NARI Certified Remodeler (CR) and has been designing kitchens and bathrooms for homeowners across the Greater Lansing area for years.
In this blog, you'll learn how LVP, tile, and hardwood compare on cost, durability, water resistance, and resale in the Lansing area, plus room-by-room picks for kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and main living spaces.
Hardwood flooring in our Okemos Full Kitchen Remodel, one of the four projects we'll walk through below.
| Feature | LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) | Tile | Hardwood |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Synthetic PVC layers with printed wood-look top | Ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone | Real wood (solid or engineered veneer over plywood core) |
| Water Resistance | 100% waterproof | 100% waterproof (grout needs sealing) | Moisture-sensitive. Not for full baths. |
| Material Cost | $2 - $7 per sq ft | $5 - $30+ per sq ft | $4 - $15 per sq ft |
| Install Cost | $1 - $5 per sq ft | $7 - $15 per sq ft | $3 - $10 per sq ft |
| Lifespan | 10 - 30 years (depends on wear layer) | 50+ years | 50+ years with refinishing |
| Refinishing | No. Planks get replaced. | No. Tiles get replaced. | Yes. Multiple times. |
| Comfort Underfoot | Soft and warm (WPC) to firm (SPC) | Cold and hard. Better with radiant heat. | Warm and forgiving |
| Best Rooms | Basements, kitchens, secondary baths, mudrooms, laundry | Primary baths, mudrooms, fireplace surrounds, entryways | Main living, dining, bedrooms, kitchens |
| Resale Impact | Neutral in most rooms; can hurt in luxury homes | Positive, especially in bathrooms | Positive, especially in main living areas |
Each material wins on different dimensions. Most Lansing-area homes use a mix, not one flooring throughout.
LVP is a synthetic waterproof flooring made of multiple PVC layers with a photographic wood-look top layer. It's the most budget-friendly option of the three, the easiest to install, and the only one that's 100% waterproof. It's also become the dominant flooring choice in Lansing-area remodels under $80,000 over the last few years.
LVP is engineered in layers. There's a wear layer on top (the part you walk on), a printed design layer (the photograph that makes it look like wood), a core, and a backing. The two specs that matter most when you're choosing LVP are the wear layer thickness and the core type.
The construction quality differences between $2.50 LVP and $7 LVP are huge. Cheap LVP is what people complain about when they say it "feels plastic." Quality LVP with a 20+ mil wear layer and a quality core is what we install in Lansing-area homes that hold up for 20+ years.
A Lansing-area LVP install for a typical 200 sqft kitchen runs roughly $600-$2,400 in materials and $200-$1,000 in labor.
10-15 years for budget LVP. 20-30 years for quality LVP with a 20+ mil wear layer. Performance depends more on wear-layer thickness than brand.
In our Maple Shade Williamston Kitchen Remodel, the homeowners wanted to update their outdated thin-plank hardwood across the kitchen, dining area, family room, and garage entry. We installed vinyl plank flooring through most of the main floor. They got the look they wanted, durability for their family, and saved meaningfully on the budget compared to refinishing or replacing with new hardwood.
Vinyl plank flooring through the kitchen and main floor in our Maple Shade Williamston project.
In our Briarwood Okemos Bathroom Remodel, we used luxury vinyl plank flooring in the bathroom paired with a cultured stone walk-in shower. LVP in a bathroom is one of the most common picks we make, especially for secondary baths where tile would be overkill.
Wood-look LVP paired with a cultured stone walk-in shower in our Briarwood Okemos bathroom.
Tile is the most water-resistant and longest-lasting of the three flooring types. It's also the coldest underfoot, the hardest, and the most expensive to install per square foot. It's worth picking carefully because it earns its place in specific rooms, not everywhere.
There are three main categories homeowners run into:
Within each category, there's a range from basic patterns to premium large-format and designer patterns. Large-format porcelain (12x24 and bigger) is trending hard right now in Lansing-area primary bathrooms.
Tile install is where labor costs run up. A complex pattern, a herringbone or chevron layout, or natural stone all push installation cost higher. Budget at least $12-$45 per square foot all-in for quality tile work.
50+ years. Properly installed tile in a residential home will outlast everyone reading this article. The maintenance variable is grout, which needs re-sealing every few years.
In our East Lansing Bathroom Remodel, the goals were direct: new tile shower and new tile flooring. Tile shower walls plus tile flooring is the classic "primary bathroom" combination, and it's the right call when you want the bathroom to feel like part of a real remodel rather than a refresh.
Hex tile flooring paired with a tile shower in our East Lansing bathroom remodel.
Hardwood is the only flooring of the three you refinish instead of replace. It costs more up front, but it lasts decades and meaningfully boosts resale value, especially in Lansing-area homes where buyers expect real wood in the main living areas.
Solid hardwood is one piece of wood, 3/4 inch thick. It can be sanded and refinished 5-10 times over its life. It moves seasonally with humidity, which matters in Michigan's freeze-thaw climate.
Engineered hardwood is a real hardwood top veneer (typically 2-3mm thick) over a plywood or composite core. It's more dimensionally stable, performs better over concrete slabs and in basements, and works better in homes with heated floors. It can typically be refinished 1-2 times, depending on the veneer thickness. Premium engineered hardwood with a 3mm+ veneer can be refinished multiple times.
For most Lansing-area homes, engineered hardwood is the smart choice. Solid hardwood is the right call when you want maximum refinishing potential and you're not worried about basement or slab installation.
Premium hardwood (wide plank, white oak, wire-brushed finishes) sits at the higher end of the range. Standard hardwood in narrower planks sits at the lower end.
50+ years with periodic refinishing. The hardwood floors in older Lansing-area homes built in the 1920s through the 1950s are often original, just refinished a few times along the way. That's the kind of longevity you don't get with LVP or tile.
In our Okemos Full Kitchen Remodel, updating the hardwood floors was one of the homeowner's main goals. The result: warm tones of the new hardwood flooring throughout the kitchen, and the hardwood was brought into the bathroom space as well for continuity. That continuity move (running hardwood from one room into an adjacent space) is one of the design decisions that separates a real remodel from a surface-level refresh.
Hardwood flooring carrying through the kitchen in our Okemos Full Kitchen Remodel.
The most-searched flooring comparison in Lansing-area homes right now is engineered hardwood vs. LVP. Here's the side-by-side.
| Feature | Engineered Hardwood | LVP |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Real hardwood veneer over plywood/composite core | PVC layers with printed wood-look photo top |
| Cost (material) | $4 - $15 per sq ft | $2 - $7 per sq ft |
| Water Resistance | Moisture-tolerant, not waterproof | 100% waterproof |
| Lifespan | 50+ years with refinishing | 10 - 30 years (depending on wear layer) |
| Refinishing | Yes, 1-2 times typical; more with thick veneer | No. Planks get replaced. |
| Resale Value | Boosts resale, especially in main living areas | Neutral; can hurt in luxury home segments |
| Best For | Main living, kitchens, bedrooms, formal dining | Basements, kitchens, secondary baths, mudrooms |
Choose engineered hardwood if:
Choose LVP if:
For most Lansing-area kitchens, both work. For main living areas in higher-end homes, engineered hardwood wins on resale. For basements and bathrooms, LVP wins on practicality.
We tier flooring recommendations the same way OFC's cost guide tiers entire remodels: Refresh, Mid-range, and Luxury. Here's what we typically spec.
Hardwood is not recommended for basements. Engineered hardwood is possible over a properly tested and sealed slab, but the risk-reward usually doesn't pencil out.
Hardwood is the default for resale. LVP is fine if you're staying put long-term and want pet/kid-resilient flooring. Tile is rare in main living areas because of the cold/hard issue.
Lansing-area homes go through real freeze-thaw cycles, dry winter air, and humid summers. That matters when you're choosing flooring.
In a Michigan winter, indoor humidity can drop below 20% if you don't run a humidifier. Hardwood floors shrink and gaps appear between planks. In the summer they swell back. This is normal. The fix is a whole-home humidifier that keeps indoor humidity between 30-50% year-round. Without one, hardwood gaps are a recurring complaint.
Concrete slabs hold moisture, and Michigan basements are notorious for it. LVP's waterproof construction means it doesn't care about the moisture from underneath the way hardwood does. A moisture barrier underlayment is still required, but LVP is the right call in nearly every Lansing-area finished basement.
Tile is the right call for mudrooms with radiant heat. In an unheated entryway that goes from 0 degrees in January to 75 in July, the tile and grout expand and contract enough to crack. We'll spec porcelain over ceramic and check the subfloor before installing.
Older Lansing-area homes (anything pre-1980) often have uneven subfloors, knob-and-tube wiring near plumbing fixtures, and damage from previous flooring removals. No flooring performs well over a bad subfloor. We always check subfloor condition before quoting a flooring scope, and we factor any necessary repairs into the design phase before construction starts. This is one of the biggest reasons our fixed-pricing model works: the surprises get caught before you sign anything.
It depends on neighborhood and price point.
For Lansing-area homes in the $300K-$500K range, real hardwood in the main living areas materially improves resale. LVP is widely accepted in bathrooms, kitchens, and basements without hurting the resale ceiling. Tile is expected in primary bathrooms.
When LVP can hurt resale:
When LVP helps resale:
When hardwood is worth the upcharge:
Every flooring option has tradeoffs. Here's what each one isn't great at.
LVP downsides:
Tile downsides:
Hardwood downsides:
Six flooring myths Lansing-area homeowners hear regularly, and the real answer to each.
Myth 1: "LVP is just cheap vinyl."
Fact: Modern SPC-core LVP with a 20+ mil wear layer holds up to pets, kids, and 20+ years of use. The vinyl flooring of the 1990s and 2000s was a different product.
Myth 2: "Engineered hardwood isn't real wood."
Fact: The top veneer is real hardwood. The construction underneath is just smarter for moisture-prone areas. From the surface, you can't tell engineered from solid.
Myth 3: "Tile is the only option for bathrooms."
Fact: LVP works in most bathrooms. Tile is the right call mainly for primary bathrooms or rooms with curbless showers where water reaches the floor regularly.
Myth 4: "Hardwood can't go over a slab or in a basement."
Fact: Engineered hardwood works over a properly tested and sealed slab. Solid hardwood doesn't.
Myth 5: "All LVP performs the same."
Fact: Wear-layer thickness (mils), core type (WPC vs. SPC), and plank thickness drive most of the performance difference. A 6 mil wear layer and a 20 mil wear layer are different products.
Myth 6: "Hardwood always boosts resale."
Fact: It boosts resale in main living areas. In bathrooms or basements, hardwood is actually a red flag for buyers who'll worry about water damage.
Light, wide-plank LVP and wire-brushed white oak engineered hardwood are dominating Lansing-area kitchens this year. Large-format porcelain tile (12x24 and bigger) is trending hard in primary bathrooms.
The bigger trend shifts:
Yes, but selectively. Premium LVP shows up in basements, laundry rooms, mudrooms, secondary bathrooms, and sometimes primary bathrooms in high-end Lansing-area builds. What doesn't change is that real hardwood and natural stone still dominate kitchens, main living areas, and primary bathrooms in luxury homes.
The biggest shift in the last five years is that even high-end homeowners aren't ashamed of LVP in the right rooms anymore. The product quality has caught up with the perception.
Flooring is one of the first decisions we lock during the design phase of a remodel. Everything else (cabinet height, transitions between rooms, plumbing rough-in for the bathroom, the way we run baseboards) gets specced around it.
Our 6-step design-build process front-loads four steps into planning. By the time construction starts, the flooring is selected, the subfloor scope is known, and the price is fixed. You know what you're getting before we put a hammer to a wall.
Mark Dixon, the author of this guide, is an NKBA Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer and a NARI Certified Remodeler. Jerry Dowell, our designer and estimator, brings the same depth.
We've been remodeling Lansing-area homes since 1988. Clear process, fixed pricing, no surprises.
The right flooring isn't the most expensive one, the most popular one, or the one your friend just installed. It's the one that fits your room, your budget, and how you actually live in your home.
If you're planning a kitchen, bathroom, basement, or whole-home remodel in Lansing, Williamston, East Lansing, Okemos, Holt, or anywhere around Greater Lansing, we'd love to walk through the flooring decision with you as part of the larger design.
Still in the research phase? Download our cost guide for full pricing across kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and more.