For most New Jersey homes the answer is all three, in different rooms. Luxury vinyl plank for kitchens, bathrooms and basements, hardwood for living and dining rooms, carpet for bedrooms and stairs. Choosing one material for a whole house is usually a compromise in at least one room.
Quick comparison
| LVP | Hardwood | Carpet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | $5 to $11 | $8 to $15 | $3 to $8 |
| Waterproof | Yes | No | No |
| Below grade | Yes | No | With care |
| Refinishable | No | 4 to 6 times | No |
| Scratch resistance | Excellent | Moderate | n/a |
| Resale appeal | Good | Strongest | Neutral |
| Typical life | 15 to 25 years | 50+ years | 7 to 15 years |
Choose LVP when
Water is a realistic possibility, which covers kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, mudrooms and any finished basement. Also when you have dogs, because nothing else resists claw marks as well, and when the room sits on a concrete slab where solid wood simply cannot go. With a 20-mil wear layer it will take whatever a family can throw at it.
Choose hardwood when
The room is on or above grade with a wood subfloor, and you want a floor that outlives you. Hardwood is the only one of the three that can be refinished rather than replaced, typically four to six times across its life, which changes the cost-per-year arithmetic considerably. It also still carries the most weight with buyers. The National Association of Realtors Remodeling Impact Report puts hardwood refinishing at roughly 147% cost recovery at resale.
Choose carpet when
Comfort and quiet matter more than durability: bedrooms, family rooms, and stairs where it is also the safest surface underfoot. Carpet is the cheapest way to finish a large area and the warmest floor on a January morning. It is the shortest-lived of the three, so treat it as a ten-year item rather than a permanent decision.
The cost-per-year view
Upfront price and long-run cost are different questions. Over twenty years, hardwood often costs less per year of service than carpet, because it can be refinished instead of replaced while the carpet has been through two full replacements. LVP sits in between. If you plan to move within five years, upfront price matters more; if this is your long-term home, look at the whole life.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run one material through the whole house?
You can, and LVP is the one that handles every room. You give up the resale pull of real wood in the main rooms and the comfort of carpet in bedrooms, but for rentals and busy family homes it is a defensible choice.
Which is best with dogs?
LVP with a 20-mil wear layer, comfortably. Waterproof for accidents and extremely hard to scratch through.
Does LVP hurt resale value?
Not against carpet or laminate. Against real hardwood in a main living space, buyers do still notice. In kitchens and basements nobody expects wood, so LVP costs you nothing there.
Is carpet bad for allergies?
Less clear-cut than the old advice suggested. Carpet traps particles rather than circulating them, which helps if it is vacuumed with a HEPA machine and deep cleaned periodically. Unmaintained, the reverse is true.