With the prices of EVERYTHING going UP UP UP it’s time to chat about how to save money on your remodel! Today, let’s take a look at what you should know about shopping at discount tile and flooring retailer Floor & Decor. (Don’t worry, this isn’t sponsored, you’re getting my 100% unbiased opinion. 🙂)

First, what is Floor & Decor? It’s a giant warehouse-style showroom with what they describe as “showroom quality at warehouse prices.” They claim to be the “nationwide low price leader” with the “widest in-stock selection.” With locations nationwide, including local to the Seattle area in Everett and Tukwila, it’s sure to be on the radar of any DIYer or budget-remodel shopper. So…

What to know before you shop at Floor & Decor

#1 Don’t shop hangry, and don’t be in a hurry.

This is basic good advice for visiting any showroom. Floor & Decor showrooms aren’t kidding when they claim to have the widest in-stock selection, so don’t go there thinking it’ll just be a quick in-and-out experience. Not only do they have a LOT of inventory, I’ve also found the checkout process to be very slow. If you (or your partner) are tired, hungry, or in hurry, you’re not going to have a great experience.

#2 Go in with a plan, but be open minded.

Are you the kind of person that finds too many choices overwhelming? Make sure you’ve already strategized your design plan! For example, if you know you want a marble-look floor and wall tile that will coordinate with your preferred cabinet color and style, then you’ll be able to ignore all the options that *don’t* go with that design plan. A design strategy *really* helps reduce the overwhelm folks feel when walking into any tile store, especially big warehouse stores like Floor & Decor.

At the same time you can’t be *too* limited in your vision, because what they’ve got is what they’ve got. In fact, that’s point #3…

#3 What they’ve got is what they’ve got.

I recently shopped at Floor & Decor when I was choosing tile for my kitchen backsplash. I dutifully checked that my local store had plenty of stock of the tile I wanted and I placed my order. Sadly, when the order came in, I got this plain version instead of the diamond version I’d ordered. Unfortunately, by the time I got my order they were out of stock of the diamond tile. So the clerk and I checked other stores and discovered Vegas had plenty of stock! Yea! 🎉

Well, not so fast. I waited patiently for 6 weeks expecting the tile to arrive someday (I wasn’t ready for install, so I was willing to be patient.) When I finally realized that tile was never going to materialize, and I canceled the order. It wasn’t worth my time to fight it – there was plenty of other tile in the world to choose from.

Assuming they *do* have the tile you want in stock, I recommend you buy more than you need because of what I share in point #4…

#4 If you love it, buy plenty! (quality control is limited)

For another project in my home I ordered this deep blue tile from Floor & Decor. When we opened the boxes we were happy to find that all the tile was in perfect condition (not always true: sometimes when you buy from a big box store the tile inside the box is broken due to lazy handling) BUT NOT ALL THE TILE WAS THE SAME COLOR! That’s right, in a *sealed* box of tile we found the blue tile we’d ordered along with white and green tile from the same line. So weird! The GREAT NEWS is that Floor & Decor accepts returns (most tile stores do not accept returns, or if they do, they will charge a restocking fee). The fact that they accept returns is one of the best things about big box stores (this is true of Lowes and Home Depot, too) but since quality control is limited, it’s important that you over-buy, and then check your boxes thoroughly before your return window closes!!! 😬

#5 Service is also… limited

Shopping at a place like Floor & Decor is best for folks who are already a bit savvy when it comes to selecting finishes for a remodel. I can’t speak to the quality of their in-house designers, but I have to be honest and say that the information I’ve been given when asking the staff about the best grout, or how a certain tile will perform, is limited at best. And the signage isn’t always 100% accurate. 🧐 For example, we recently met up with a client for a Quick Action Session at Floor and Decor to help them select a waterproof LVP wood-look floor for their bathroom. The signage on the one we helped them choose indicated that the material was waterproof, but when we researched the product online we discovered that it was not rated as a waterproof material. 😩 

This doesn’t really surprise me, because we get what we pay for. Super-low prices means sacrifices somewhere. Often those low prices come with lower employee pay, limited staff training, and haphazard quality control.

So… should you shop there? Sure!!

You really can’t beat the prices, and if you are ready to buy, Floor & Decor is a great option for folks on a budget (or even folks who just prefer to spend more money on other things).

So why don’t *we* shop there for our clients?

Well, sometimes we do! When we have DIY clients who are ready to buy and just need an hour or two of focused guidance pulling together the materials for their bathroom, kitchen, or fireplace design, we’re happy to meet up at Floor & Decor, Lowes, or Home Depot. More than once we’ve pulled a whole bathroom or kitchen suite of materials together for a client who’s ready to make decisions and is willing to work within what is available at that store!

But when we are creating a full design plan, we have to feel confident that whatever we select will be available in a few month’s time (since we don’t know exactly when the client or their contractor will be ordering the materials). For those projects we tend to shop at Seattle Tile (retail) or CFM (wholesale) so that clients don’t feel pressured into buying as quickly. (Note, lead times are CRAZY right now, so no matter where you shop, pay close attention to when your materials will be available so you don’t end up with a crazy delay in your project!!)

But again, we really do shop there for ourselves!

I know I shared a lot of reasons above that might make you wary of shopping at Floor & Decor, but please don’t let that dissuade you from shopping there! Several of the designers on the Seriously Happy Homes team (including yours truly) have bought tile at Floor & Decor and love the results!! It’s just important to understand the pros and cons and go in as an educated shopper so you can have the best buying experience possible! Maybe we’ll see you there – in this new (very expensive) reality, we’ll all be looking for a good deal! 😀

Ready to plunge into the world of tile shopping, but need a hand? That’s what our Design Helplines are all about, giving you time over Zoom with a non-biased designer to talk you through the options for your project, and help you avoid expensive mistakes. (Non-biased? Yep! Since we don’t buy or sell any products to our clients, we don’t care if you pick a $1 tile or a $100 tile.) We’re here to help if you need it!

Have fun shopping!