Burning Question: What Wood You Pick?
We asked a similar question a while back with regards to your bedroom preferences, but on the subject of the kitchen floor, do you like sleek easy-wipe tile, simple stress-free vinyl/linoleum or warm and welcoming hardwood/cork/bamboo? There’s definitely more than one way to skin a cat- er, kitchen- so we’d love to hear what you prefer underfoot. Do tell.
And speaking of flooring, here’s how to install peel & stick tile, paint wood floors, pick the right rug, and even stain a concrete porch- all without breaking the bank (or even much of a sweat).
Image courtesy of Charles & Hudson.
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I just put ceramic tile in my kitchen. The rest of my house has the original hardwood floors that have been refinished, but even though there were hardwood floors in the kitchen, I decided to go with a ceramic tile instead. Not that I wouldn’t like hardwood floors, but they were covered in a nasty linoleum and didn’t appear to be in good shape at all based on what I could tell. My floors are also wide planked floors with gaps in between some of the boards, so I didn’t think they would be practical in the kitchen. Also, it would be too difficult to match to the existing hardwood floors, and as all my rooms run together, I thought it wouldn’t look right if I had wide planked pine floors throughout the house and then something newer in the kitchen that wouldn’t match. So, I opted for a ceramic tile because it looks nice, is fairly durable, and didn’t cost too much. Laminate wasn’t even an option for me, and I’ve heard negative things about cork and bamboo. I love my ceramic tile and am so glad I chose it!
I loooovvee wood floors in the kitchen. However when my parents renovated our kitchen about 8 years ago they put in these beautiful cherry wood floors and they ended up being really reallllyy soft. If you dropped a fork or a knife, there would be a very noticeable dent.
I also had no idea what cork floors were until today! You mentioned them here and then tonight on the DIY network I saw them installed. What a coincidence!
My first choice is wood. It’s so beautiful. However…my husband loves to cook. Need I elaborate? haha The floor can get quite dirty (and the stove and the counters, etc.). He has a beer brewing hobby and one time mid-process (it’s not my hobby so pardon my lack of beer-brewing terminology), the thick, hot liquid mixture (prob. 3 gallons) ended up on the floor. Oops! So, some sort of tile is going to be the most practical option when it comes to replacing the ugly linoleum that’s currently there.
I’ve gotta say, I love the old wood in your kitchen. However, I like the durability and easy upkeep of my porcelain tile.
ahhhh i am seriously in a dilemma going bananas- from linoleum, tile, linoleum, engineered hardwoods, tile, and now back to hardwoods!! seriously IDK! check out my blog to see the totally erratic back and forth can’t make up my mind business that is my kitchen renovation.
Wood. Our new wood kitchen floors are being stained at this very moment – woo hoo!
I’ll stick up for sheet vinyl flooring in my tiny kitchen. I’m in mid-Arizona, I’ll be 70 in June–and nothing’s nicer on my bare feet and easier to maintain (for decades) than vinyl. Of course, I love the look of wide-plank wood on floors. Of course, I love saltillo tile. They’re more work over the long haul than occasionally dropping a damp microfiber cloth on the floor and scooting it around with my foot. Of course, I can’t afford to change anything in my house…so maybe I’ve convinced myself that I like my floors (carpeting everywhere else). Remember…I’m 70 (almost). I can pass for 67.
@ Lucy:
Thank you so much for finding and posting the source of the kitchen above!
“Comment by Lucy on January 15, 2010 @ 12:44 pm
We are remodeling our kitchen next month and this is the exact style we are looking for, so I poked around on the source’s site and found the wall color – Lowes Valspar Silver Leaf. See here for the page discussing details of the remodel: http://houseobsession.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/the-big-kitchen-reveal/ “
We second that. Thanks Lucy!
xo,
s
wood!! i have a slate floor in my kitchen. it’s beautiful but cold (we should have spent the $$ on a heated floor)and rough on the feet.
I’ve had hardwood and now, in my new house, I have linoleum in the basement kitchen and Marmoleum in the upstairs main kitchen. I much prefer the hardwood. It looks warm and beautiful, is easy on the legs when standing for marathon cooking sessions, is easy to clean, and held up beautifully for the 18 years I had it in my old house. Just get a really good sealant on it, and you’re fine. Even when the dishwasher leaked water and it sat on the floor all day, the floor was fine.
Hardwood.
It’s warmer and more forgiving to things that are dropped.
I have it in my kitchen and I’ve never had any difficulty with it.
Actually, the wood in the photo you posted looks pretty ideal to me. I also love ebony floors.
I think wood looks beautiful but I think that limits your cupboard colour options. In my dream kitchen I would love dark wood (chocolate colour) or dark cherry cabinets. I know a finishing carpenter so this would be the way I would go. I think a dark cabinet would limit what stains you could use on a wood floor. I would not want white cabinets. I would not lay tile because I have heard from people that it is hard on your back if you cook for extended periods.
In my current home I have solid honey oak cabinets. They are custom and the former owner put them in. I do not like the current lino flooring but I would either lay newer lino/vinyl or put in cork flooring. I have no clue what wood stain would look good with the cabinets. I would be more than happy to use Allure flooring. It is designed for kitchens, bathrooms, basements,etc. I’ve seen it in Walmarts and Safeways.
We put in TrafficMaster Allure, African Mahogany Resilient Vinyl Plank Flooring in 2 of our bedrooms by ourselves. It is textured like wood and people have to be told it is not wood. So this is a great alternative to those who like wood but are worried about the cost. It is available at Home Depot. Great stuff. Incredibly easy to install and if you ever have a problem you can take one plank out and replace it. I would probably pick one of the tile ones for the kitchen though.
This is in our bedroom and in the guest room:
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=951019&Ntt=951019&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber
If this link doesn’t work just go to the Home Depot website and search Allure. It is amazing!
Tile!
My husband wanted tile but I insisted on wood and it is sooo hard to maintain. We’ve dented it multiple times(the biggest dent happened when we dropped an iron, pointy-side first), scratched it multiple times, and messed it up with water (from the usual drips but also when the newly-installed kitchen faucet connections burst–fortunately we were in the kitchen and were able to grab all our towels and turn off the connection, limiting the damage). Plus, it is very hard to clean–you have to use a special terry-cloth covered damp mop with special floor cleaner.
Next time I will save the wood for our master bedroom and the living room and dining room which get lighter use.
One other hint: get smooth tile. My brother and his wife have a tile with grooves, and the grooves run in “random” directions, making it impossible to sweep up all the dirt.
Jane
Oh, and if you go with tile, be sure to specify that they be closely set with non-sand grout. Sanded grout and wide grout lines are harder to keep clean.
The hubby and I decided to put bamboo floors throughout the house, even the kitchen and bathrooms.
They look great, it feels warmer than tile or linoleum underfoot, but the maintenance is a little higher. We had a cat that loved to knock the water out of her dish (all day) and any bit of water that sat on the floor was absorbed into wherever any two pieces of bamboo met and discolored that area. The cat may have thought otherwise- but we love wood in our kitchen.
~Lindsay
We have cork in our kitchen. It is so soft and quiet underfoot…and very durable. I wouldn’t put anything else down.
Wood flooring all the way, I don’t like anything else. I think floors should be seamless throughout the first floor which makes rooms visually flow together better and look larger as well because the boundaries are less obvious.
Cork! It’s eco-friendly, anti-microbial, it’s warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and will last forever. There are even prefinised kinds that are made as planks and install as a floating floor like wood or laminate.
I actually prefer ceramic tile…we have black in our kitchen, with black grout. Cleanup is a breeze, it doesn’t look cheap like some vinyl, and I’m not afraid to hurt it or get it wet (like some hardwoods).
The previous home owners renovated the kitchen before they sold the house. While the granite countertops, tile backsplash, and Viking appliances truly sold the house for us, I will never put slate floors in a future kitchen! They are beautiful and unique, but uneven and hard to keep clean.
Forbo linoleum touch solo (Forbo Belgium). It’s a nice textured linoleum. Works well with our floor heating. It’s easy to maintain and it has a warm look and feel. My dream kitchen floor would be wood, but the problem is that this room is the only acces to the garden, so it had to be easy to clean when muddy.
I love ceramic in a kitchen, so easy to maintain! Alas, our house isn’t worth spending the big bucks on, so when we redo our kitchen floor in the next year or so, unless we get a major steal we’ll be doing linoluem or resiliant {which we just put in the bathroom, and love!}
I’m wanting to rip out the carpet in our house and put in a rustic looking wood floor that is already showing distress. We live in the country and our floors take the abuse.
Love the floors in this picture, can you tell me any details about them????????? PLEASE!
We are trimming with old barn lumber and these look like they would look great with that.
Hey Shannon,
If you scroll back through the comments you’ll see a few people who linked to the direct article about this kitchen (we also linked to the website where we found it at the bottom of our post above, so feel free to follow that link and poke around for more info). Happy hunting…
xo,
s
Wood!! We are actually going to be installing unfinished pine flooring throughout our whole house in a few weeks, with the exception of the bathrooms, we’ll be doing them in Hex tile. I love the look of reclaimed wood, but of course it is WAY over our budget, so I figured the next best thing would be to get new unfinished pine, and then distress it and stain it ourselves. We’ll make our own history, right? :)
Kitchens and bathrooms will often be the biggest trouble spots when laying wood flooring in a house as the moisture content levels within these areas is normally high.
Engineered flooring is an ideal choice for any moist room but it’s crucial that you pay attention to the finish of the wood too. When picking an engineered floor for a bathroom or kitchen it is best to opt for one with a lacquered finish instead of an oiled finish. This is because a lacquered finish has been proven to be more water resistant since it is created from a blend of synthetic resins which offer a protective layer on the surface of the wood.
For more information, go to http://www.greenappleflooring.co.uk/wood-flooring-information-and-advice/
We have wood floors in the whole house except the kitchen. We installed cork tiles in the kitchen that match the color of the floor exactly. I love the cork it’s soft under foot, doesn’t scratch and it’s quiet in our open floor plan. I think that tile is cold, hard and loud. We’ve had the floor for 5 years now and with three active boys it still look brand new.