It's easy and quick to change the appearance of a room with a new coat of paint or a few rolls of wallpaper. Those materials are relatively affordable and planning is relatively easy: You can make design decisions with a few color chips or paper samples. Planning a new floor, on the other hand, represents a larger expense and more involved installation, so you need to make sure your decisions are right the first time. Once the floor is down it's much harder and more expensive to pick it up and start over.
   Making the right flooring choices starts your project on solid ground. Good decisions will result from spending time researching possibilities and examining your taste and personal style, consulting with professionals as necessary, and deciding how much of the installation you're willing to do yourself.

Basic questions
   Your goal in planning and design is to choose flooring that will contribute both aesthetically and practically to the overall scheme-n a way you can afford. To begin, act as your own designer by answering some of the same basic questions a designer would ask you when starting a project.

Where will the new floor go? It sounds like an obvious question, but the answer is important because the physical characteristics of the flooring you choose must be appropriate for its location. If you're planning a basement room, solid hardwood flooring is not a good choice. Carpet might work if the slab isn't damp. Vinyl sheet goods night be perfect, especially if the area is wide open, which makes the job easy.

How will the room be used? Entryways get hard use and plenty of traffic. An entry floor has to be tough-ceramic tile or stone is both long wearing and attractive. Carpet might wear quickly and stain. Floor in a family room should be comfortable enough to stretch out in, especially for children. Kitchen floors might get dirty faster than any other floor-vinyl hides dirt and wears well. Make a family list of the uses of the room - let your lifestyle help define your flooring.
Is the floor part of a complete makeover or is it the only element you're changing? If the walls and furnishings will stay the lame, take into account existing colors, window treatments, and furnishing style. If you're starting from scratch, pick the floor first and decorate the room around it.

What is the style of the room? The answer to this can be elusive, but your goal is to create an integrated environment that makes a unified style statement. If you're not sure what your personal style is or what style ideas you'd like to explore.

How will the new flooring relate to the rest of the house?
   No room exists in total isolation. The kitchen floor moves into the dining room and that into the living room or family room. Even though the flooring in each room should relate to the particular room's purpose and design, it also creates a visual relationship with adjacent rooms. That transition should be smooth and complementary, both visually and physically.

Plan the project in phases
   Planning a flooring installation is easier if you break the process into phases. It may seem obvious, but it's important to make your decisions about design before you move forward with installation plans. Problems, sometimes expensive ones, can arise if you start spending time and money before you're sure about what you want. It's easy to change your mind on paper or while poring over samples in the store. It's much harder when you're halfway through an installation and are unhappy with the result you're seeing.

Need design help?
   At this point you may want to seek advice from a professional designer. Home centers and flooring stores usually have a staff of consultants who can advise and guide you through the process. Many also offer the same design and installation packages provided by interior decorating firms.