Cure for cold feet

Is your floor at home tile or linoleum over concrete? That's a built-in formula for cold feet. But there's nothing like the feel of wood plank underfoot. So, deep-six that concrete chill and replace it with the warmth of hardwood flooring.

The easiest method is to install factory-finished parquet or laminated hardwood over the concrete. Just make sure it's clean. Then glue it down.

Another option is a floating floor. Individual laminated planks are glued together, but they float on a layer of foam. Both floating floors and traditional solid wood planks on plywood need plastic-sheet vapor barriers because moisture creeps through concrete. Without this barrier, wood floors twist, cup, split and come loose.

Done right, there's nothing like the beauty and warmth of hardwood.