Having a single type of flooring throughout a home or story means you don’t have to worry about the transition between two types of flooring at a doorway or opening. If you have more than one type of flooring or unique wood floor patterns, creating the smoothest transition between materials is important to give your home a polished look.

Transitioning between different types of flooring can mean going from hardwood to carpet between the hall and bedroom or from carpet to tile between the bedroom and bathroom. Sometimes the transition will be between hard surfaces like tile and hardwood.  Each of these types of transitions may require something different to protect the materials.

This picture illustrates a smooth transition from tile in the kitchen to hardwood in the hall. There is a nice and tidy line between the two materials. Having similar colors between the tile and wood also eases the visual transition as well as the texture transition.

Some homes use raised threshold between rooms and different types of flooring. When used with wood, the door threshold, sometimes called a saddle threshold, will be made of the same types of wood flooring and in a matching stain as the wood floor to aid in continuity.

How you transition between two types of flooring is both a personal choice and what is best for the longevity of the materials. Carpet will have different considerations than tile or wood. For decisions involving flooring, it is always best to ask your flooring retailer or installer. They can recommend the best option for both you and your flooring.