I'm doing a massive remodel. The door from my garage/shop will open into an exercise room, with adjacent laundry room. I'm putting cork in the exercise room. I think I will just put a rug at the bottom of the shop stairs, and a second rug on the landing at the top of the stairs, and just be regular about beating/vacuuming them to keep grit from tracking in. It that isn't enough, I just will not wear shoes in the house, or do as we do at our mountain home and brush the shoe bottoms before entering.

@gayled-- what did you ultimately decide to do? We are having hardwood installed in a kitchen and adjacent powder room, and was planning on it for a back hall between the garage and the kitchen.

Today I realized that I had inadvertently failed to spec floor coverage for the back hall, so we need to add flooring for the back hall to the work to be done. It's not a large space but will be graced by the presence of many teenage boys and two beagles, so I am now toying with the idea of a small area of tile in that back hallway. Wondering if you did something different on the adjacent floors you descibred in your home.

Thanks!

jgs7691 - I'm sticking with the hardwood. I can't find anything else that will work. This is an entry to the house that only my husband and I and our two dogs will use. It's a small area that leads to the laundry room (which will be tile) a larger foyer area with two closets and the master bedroom. It will look like a crossword puzzle if I use different flooring. We're in New England so during the messy weather we're going to have to leave our shoes in the garage - very cold piggies! I'll also use a runner/throw rug and hope for the best.

Your beagles probably won't be a problem, I'd be more worried about teenage boys. :)

Good Luck