Solid Wood Floors
Old-growth Eastern white pine is just the flooring to evoke the character of an 18th- or 19th-century New England farmhouse. Carlisle Restoration Lumber selectively harvests this lumber from historic private stands and mills it in planks that are 6 to 20 inches wide by 6 to 16 feet long.

Manufactured Wood Floors
Sold in this country since the early 1980s, manufactured wood is constantly evolving. The basic construction involves a sandwich of thin layers bonded together in alternating directions to provide stability. Hartco's Pattern-Plus 5000 Maple planks, come in 18-inch, 36-inch, and random lengths.

Laminate Planks Floors
Over the last 20 years, home centers have blossomed with do-it-yourself laminate flooring. Although laminate flooring looks like wood, it's made of plastic and high-density fiberboard pressure-laminated into a 5/16- to 1/2-inch-thick product. On top, a high-quality photograph reproducing the grain and color of natural hardwood is clear-coated to resist fading, stains, impact, and scratches.

Laminate Tiles
Laminate in a square tile format imitates granite, slate, marble, or other natural stone. Durable and easy to clean (no grout!), Provence Iron Shale-pattern laminate tiles from Pergo, Inc. are more comfortable and, at $3-$5 per square foot, more affordable than real stone. The Pergo Select line's lifetime warranty covers stains, fading, wear-through, and water damage.

Sheet Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring has come a long way from the fake brick of the 1970s. Embossed textures and fashion-forward patterns have elevated what was once a kitchen standby to a floor covering suitable for any room in the house.

Armstrong's Urban Settings collection of Solarian sheet vinyl features enhanced details, color, and texture, such as that found in new pattern Kahiki, where wood parquet meets a folk-art twist. Beyond the great looks, this material is guaranteed not to rip, tear, or gouge. A 12-foot width means few, if any, seams and faster installation.

Vinyl Tiles and Planks
Combine the benefits of vinyl with the design flexibility of individual pieces and you get vinyl tiles and, more recently, faux wood plank shapes. This creative arrangement from Nafco frames four 12-x-12-inch Roman Stone tiles (in Green Stone) in 3-x-36-inch Lorraine Oak vinyl planks (in Chestnut). The company's Tritonite wear layer is adapted from a ceramic compound that protects the space shuttle during reentry.

Porcelain Tiles
High heat actually makes porcelain tiles tougher than most natural stone. This installation, from Crossville, Inc., debuts the Color Blox series of 20 through-body hues ranging from bluish-black "Night Night" to "A Day at the Beach Blue" and "Yellow Brick Road." Create your own playful pattern by mixing vibrant shades and 6-x-6-, 12-x-12-, and 18-x-18-inch sizes.

Linoleum Floors
Real linoleum once brought mood-lifting color to Depression-era kitchens, and this healthful material is widely available once again. Made from biodegradable linseed oil, pine rosins, and wood flour on a jute backing, Marmoleum from Forbo Flooring brings real linoleum back to the home.

Warm, soft, and quiet to walk on, the material's antibacterial and antistatic properties make it ideal for hospitals. But retro-minded homeowners also love that sheet-format Marmoleum comes in 150+ colors you can sculpt and combine into graphic visual effects. And that's what all of today's flooring options provide: a blend of practicality and personality.

Carpet Tiles
Carpeting adds warmth and color to virtually any room. But if you think wall-to-wall carpeting limits your creativity, check into modular carpet tiles from InterfaceFLOR. The 19.5-inch squares can be repositioned and replaced as needed, no glue or costly labor needed. Mix colors, create patterns, or duplicate the wall-to-wall look with a single color.

Glass Mosaic Tiles
Iridescent glass mosaic tiles shimmer like mother-of-pearl, offering a moisture-proof, high-end look that particularly suits bathroom installations. The Tessera line of tiles from Oceanside Glasstile comes in four sizes: 1-x-1-inch, 1-x-2-inch, and 2-x-2-inch squares, and 1.75-inch hexagons. These sheet-mounted tiles can be mixed and matched to create a variety of patterns. Many Oceanside products are created from recycled glass for an ecologically sound installation.

Stone Mosaic Tiles
Stone offers a lifetime of durability and luxury; rugs offer elegant patterns that define an area within a room. Get the best of both worlds by installing a "rug" created from quiet tones of stone mosaic tile. Waterworks' hand-cut tiles range from less than one centimeter to three centimeters, and can be polished, tumbled, or chopped.

Ceramic Floor Tiles
Perfect for rooms with water, slate-look ceramic tiles create a floor that's waterproof, stain-resistant, and easy to maintain. The downside is a cold, hard surface that won't cushion your legs when you stand on it and that can be slippery when wet. Add a soft, fluffy rug to cushion your feet and amp up the safety factor.

Bound Vinyl Mats
Add a modern dimension to your floors with flat-weave Chilewich mats made of pliant vinyl. These 6-x-9-foot mats, which won't fray at the edges, come in Chestnut, Bamboo Charcoal, Titanium, and Bark. The mats are soft, washable, and stain-resistant and come with a 5-year warranty. A soft urethane backing adds comfort while it prevents skidding.