Upgrading on a Budget: 10 Cheap Flooring Ideas for Your Cabin

High-end hardwood flooring costs anywhere from $3 to more than $14 per square foot these days. Even for the tiniest of tiny homes, that can add up to thousands of dollars for materials and installation.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were cheap flooring ideas to help you get the look of hardwood?

Lucky for you, there are tons of hardwood alternative materials on the market. Plus, if you’re up for a DIY job, you can install most of them yourself for nothing but a little elbow grease.

Are you looking for inexpensive ways to make your cabin floors shine? We’ve got ten ideas for you below, so keep reading!

1. Cabin Grade Hardwood

If you’re dead-set on having hardwood floors but don’t want to break the bank, there’s cabin grade hardwood. Unlike high-end hardwood, cabin grade planks may show defects like wormholes, mineral stains, and knots.

Due to their defects, cabin grade hardwood floors will run you about half the cost of traditional hardwood. Plus, if you like the imperfect, country appeal of cabin grade hardwood, you won’t feel like you’re sacrificing style for cheaper material.

2. Wood-Look Laminate

Laminate flooring is cheap, extremely durable, and now comes in wood-look planks and tiles. This isn’t your father’s laminate– you can buy snap-in-place planks that look virtually identical to wood flooring.

Plus, laminate flooring has been around for decades. Considering that laminate is always a good choice for children or pets, we think it’s the perfect choice for your cabin.

3. Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo planks look so similar to hardwood floors, you won’t be able to tell the difference. Despite their similar appearance, though, bamboo floors are a fraction of the cost of high-end hardwood.

That’s not all, though. Like laminate flooring, bamboo can stand up to anything you throw at it. This highly-durable material can also be repurposed once you’re ready for new flooring, making it the most sustainable choice on our list.

4. Wood-Look Porcelain Tiles

So, you don’t have to worry about rambunctious kids or messy pets and you want something more traditional than laminate or bamboo. You need wood-look porcelain tiles. Tile is less expensive than hardwood but can look nearly identical.

Wood-look tiles are also the DIYer’s dream flooring material. Even if you’ve never tiled anything before, you can finish your entire cabin is as little as a week. This factor makes tiling an even more affordable flooring option for your cabin.

5. Cork Floorboard

Another highly-sustainable option, cork floorboard is an unconventional flooring option gaining traction with homeowners. With its natural look and easy to clean surfaces, cork can add some serious character to your cabin.

Like tiles, cord flooring is incredibly simple to install yourself. If you want the look of wood, you can trim the corkboard into planks. Installation only requires a little time and a few basic tools to get started.

6. Peel-and-Stick Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring has long been a favorite among homeowners. It’s cheap, virtually indestructible, and can be made in a variety of colors and patterns. Wood-look patterns are all the rage these days.

Making things even cheaper is the fact that you can install peel-and-stick vinyl flooring with nothing more than a utility knife. Once you get the hand of vinyl, you can create patterns on your floor, for example, a wood plank pattern.

7. Plywood Planks

If your cabin is older, odds are it has plywood planks as its subfloor. Tear up the old carpet or damaged flooring. If you have plywood planks, all you need is a quick coat of polyurethane and you’ll have brand new wood floors for less than $50.

For those who are starting from scratch, you can purchase inexpensive plywood from a local scrap wood store. Stain the wood to the hue of your choosing and install it in a unique pattern for floors that are guaranteed to be one of a kind.

8. Concrete

Concrete isn’t just for commercial building anymore. These days, industrial and farmhouse styles alike utilize concrete as a design element. From countertops to floors, concrete will add a modern rustic flare to your cabin.

For hardwood lovers, concrete is also attractive because of its versatility. You can lay concrete between rectangular molds to force the flooring into a wood-look. Staining concrete is also an excellent idea if you want to add warmth to what can be a cold material.

9. Carpet Squares

Bring some much-needed color into your wood cabin with carpet squares. Unlike traditional carpet, squares are foolproof to install, perfect for your next DIY project.

This flooring material may be the most difficult to transform into a wood-look. If you’re flexible with your design ideas, though, this can be an excellent transition material to use while you’re saving up for your ideal hardwood floors.

10. Refinish Your Old Floors

This flooring option isn’t for the faint of heart. Refinishing old wood floors can be a serious DIY headache. Yet, the end result will give you the closest thing to real high-end hardwood floors.

You’ll first want to assess what you’re working with. Floors that are in decent condition may only need a new coat of polyurethane. Meanwhile, floors in poor conditions will require sanding, re-staining, and a final coat of polyurethane.

More Cheap Flooring Ideas

Getting the look of wood in your cabin has never been easier than with these cheap flooring ideas. So, what are you waiting for? Use this article to guide you on your journey toward new and better cabin floors!

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