LifeProof Sterling Oak vinyl flooring has been an amazing addition to our home. We installed it ourselves, and here’s a review of how it’s held up 1 year later. I’m also including tips on how to clean LifeProof vinyl flooring to keep it in good shape.
LifeProof Sterling Oak Vinyl Flooring Review: 1 Year Later
A bit over a year ago I shared a detailed post reviewing 10 vinyl plank flooring brands we’d considered for our home. If you’re considering luxury vinyl plank flooring—whether DIY or from a professional contractor—check the post out.
I did an absurd amount of research. We ultimately decided to go with LifeProof Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring in Sterling Oak. It’s a gorgeous grayish-brown color that was exactly what I was going for.
I shared a post with 10 tips for DIY LifeProof luxury vinyl plank flooring installation, including the finished product. They turned out fantastic, and I was really proud of the project!
We were immediately happy with the change from the gross carpet to the vinyl flooring. It looked chic and seemed like it would be easy to keep clean. But we wondered how it would hold up.
And I’ve gotten a ton of emails over the past year from people asking if we were still happy with the floors. So I decided to do a follow-up post 1 year later (really about 1 year and a few months, but who’s counting).
How Has Our LifeProof Vinyl Plank Flooring Held Up?
Well, I’m not going to leave you hanging. We’re still super happy with our flooring choice. I’ve actually said to Mike many times, “I cannot believe what a good decision this was.” But why? What has made choosing the LifeProof vinyl plank flooring such a good choice? There are three main reasons for us.
1. It looks great.
Honestly, why would you pick anything that didn’t look great? It’s the trifecta—you want something durable and easy to maintain, but you also want it to look great. I loved all of the different colors offered and am extremely happy with the Sterling Oak.
It is a great mix of grays and browns. The grain patterns and color combinations are also very stylish looking. I love the upgraded look it gives the room.
It was also easy to install. It was my first time installing flooring by myself, and I could handle it. This would be a breeze for someone with any experience installing flooring. And it would certainly be a breeze for a professional contractor!
2. It is durable and has held up well.
What else is there to say? It hasn’t shown much—if any—wear. I actually got down on my hands and knees to look for scratches before writing this post. One great thing about this flooring is that the grain patterns hide scratches and imperfections well (if they’re there at all).
We have brown engineered hardwoods in the hallway and upstairs, and they have so many visible signs of wear on them. Dings and scratches galore! It’s frustrating.
So we’re pleased with how these look after a year. I can’t speak to whether or not dogs scratch the floors because we don’t have one. But we have the floors in a fairly highly trafficked room and we have two cats and a toddler.
We were also a bit worried about our murphy bed creating a depression in the floor around the bed’s base. (Btw, you can check out the post about our DIY murphy bed if you’re interested.) It’s anchored to the wall using lag bolts, which transfers some of the weight, but it’s still very heavy.
Despite this, we haven’t noticed any indentations around the base. So I honestly find it hard to believe that a couch would create indentations like some negative reviews say!
What about buckling or warping…?
I was also worried about any potential buckling or warping occurring with the seasons changing. For example, in the summer I was worried about the humidity leading the floors to expand and buckle.
It shouldn’t be a problem if you leave enough room as instructed around the edges of the room, but I was still paranoid! I was also worried about shrinking in the winter.
None of this happened. The floors are laid on a concrete slab, and we didn’t notice any changes throughout the seasons. Even in the very humid Maryland summer. Yay! There is one spot I want to point out, though.
The coordinating door transition piece has done just a tiny bit of warping on one end, pictured below. This isn’t really something you ever notice when you’re in the room. And, quite frankly, it’s probably related more to user installation error (me)—not the product.
3. It’s easy to maintain.
We’ve loved how easy it is to maintain and keep clean. My husband told me to make sure to include how well it stands up to cat vomit. Cat owners (and pet owners in generally, really) know that pets are messy. Cats can vomit. Cleaning it up is very easy—just a quick wipe.
I also had a large potted plant overflow a decent amount from its saucer, and we didn’t notice it for a while. The floor was totally undamaged after we wiped it up—no issues or discoloration at all.
We also come in with dirty or wet feet from the yard, and it has been really durable and easy to clean on that front as well. Speaking of cleaning…
How to Clean LifeProof Vinyl Flooring
I’m going to be honest…we don’t do much cleaning on this floor! We mostly just tidy up the floor and run our Deebot robot vacuum to clean up pet hair and dust. We absolutely love this vacuum.
It works great on our engineered hardwoods and carpets as well! It does a great job transitioning to different rooms and from vinyl flooring/hardwoods to area rugs. Absolute must have for pet hair!
After that, we just spot treat spills with a regular microfiber cleaning cloth and water. We occasionally do a Swiffer sweep or microfiber mop of the floor. But honestly? It’s not usually needed.
Which is great! If you’re a bit more cleaning-conscious than I am, you can also check out Home Depot’s full recommendations for cleaning vinyl plank flooring.
For more of the projects in this space, check out our modern plywood planter with hairpin legs DIY, the build plans for the retro cat house side table, the hanging plant pot holder DIY, the black toy box/bench build, the kids play work bench, and the DIY photo ledge shelving!
Pin my review of LifeProof Sterling Oak Vinyl Flooring…1 Year Later!
Brittany is a seasoned DIY home and garden expert, running a creative brand since 2014 that inspires others with approachable plant care guides, woodworking tutorials, and decor projects. She is a certified project manager and has completed extensive coursework in the art and science of growing your own plants. Her work has been recognized by major publications, and she routinely collaborates with fellow DIY industry leaders—but her favorite thing to do is inspire you! Learn more about her here.
Can you tell me what MIL thickness you used for your basement? I read another post here indicating that they are getting quite a few scratches from furniture and I wondered if maybe that was the difference?
Hi! We used the thinner mil thickness, because back when we installed these, they didn’t have a thicker option. I’m sure there are some scratches after years of having them, but there’s nothing noticeable. We remain happy with them!
I have had our floor same colour for 1 year. We have dogs as yell. I have noticed it does get quite dirty with the dogs and dirt sits in the grain. We do clean often due to the dogs. It takes a lot more upkeep than I thought. It may be scratch resistant but we certainly have our fair shore of scratches. Not really so much from the dogs but from furniture. It is better for us but I am a bit disappointed after all the hype
Oh that’s a bummer. Thanks for your input–we don’t have dogs, so I can’t really speak to that experience. But it’s helpful to know for others.
Merry Christmas. what colors did you use on the walls in the room where the office is? the dark color and the light color.
Hi! The light color is Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray. I had Behr paint color matched for it because I was using Behr paint for the dark wall, I believe it’s Cracked Pepper.
Looks great! What color did you use for the walls in the entry way or the picture with the cat in it!
Thank you!! It’s Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray 🙂
Hello, What color did you use for the bedroom walls? Thank you!
Hi! It’s Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray 🙂
I have similar flooring and color. It’s been installed for a year and a half. We absolutely love it. We have 3 dobermans running in and out, rain, snow or sun out. The only problem that happened is I dropped my iron on it and it left a small dent, which is hidden in the pattern. Now I iron in the carpeted hallway.