Many questions arise when choosing a floor. There are the obvious questions, of course, like “what room is the floor going to go in?” and “how much am I looking to spend on this project?” Then there are the not-so-obvious questions that may appear later on in the process, like “am I still going to love this floor after I’ve been mopping it for ten years?” and “am I going to trip over my cat because she blends in so well with the new floor?”

Much like with any endeavor (home improvement or otherwise), research is critical. It’s best to start at the very beginning and go back to basics to help prevent misunderstandings before they arise. Ever heard the old adage “measure twice, cut once?” That’s great, and all, but first it helps to know how to measure. The most important measurement to know when calculating the amount of flooring needed is the square footage of a room. For those of us who still have flashbacks to high school math class, it’s time to breathe a deep sigh of relief. This isn’t like that dream where you show up 15 minutes late to your final exam only to realize you’ve forgotten your pencil and your pants, I promise.

Want an example? Let’s start with a kitchen. The prettiest kitchen you can imagine. Maybe it’s sleek and modern, all gleaming chrome and immaculate surfaces just waiting for a gourmet chef. Or, maybe it’s a throwback to the 1950’s like the carnation pink one in burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese’s California home. Everything in the kitchen is perfect…everything except the floor.

After many hours of browsing design magazines and perusing Pinterest, you find it. It, the new floor of your dreams. It’s gorgeous, it’s affordable, it’s perfect (and sold by Floors To Your Home, of course!). You immediately get to work with your handy-dandy tape measure, and learn your kitchen is 10 feet long and 10 feet wide. 10 multiplied by 10 is 100, meaning your kitchen is a tidy 100 square feet!

To recap, in order to get the square footage of a space, start by measuring your room. It’s never a bad idea to measure more than once, just to double check. Then, multiply the length of your room by the width of the room. Voilà! You’ve just calculated your square footage.

Got questions about measurements, square footage, or anything else to do with picking a new floor? Contact the friendly staff at Floors To Your Home today!

- - - - Meredith is a content writer at Floors To Your Home. Away from the office she's a published author, hockey fan, music lover, and mom to a vampire-fanged rescue cat.

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