SO: Kitchen Flooring ideas

[jse107]

I need help.

We're completely remodeling our kitchen. Full tear-out, wall removal, new everything. We've chosen our cabinets (Crystal's Keyline French Country Square Panel in Nutmeg), our granite (Typhoon Bordeaux), backsplash (all tile), but cannot decide on flooring! We have oak hardwoods in the dining room and living room. They have large remnants on them to protect them from the 80 lb yellow lab we have. Our family room is carpeted, but has finished hardwoods underneath. Whatever flooring we choose for the kitchen will also be used in our powder room and front hallway.

I can't decide what to do. Tile would probably look best, but it's so hard and I cook a lot. The other thread on flooring indicated it's also hard to keep clean. Hardwoods are all the rage right now, but I'm worried that it will be "too much wood" and that it won't wear well. We've looked at the Duraceramic tiles, but I just can't fall in love with them. Truthfully, I like the idea of a high quality laminate or vinyl plank, but they're not going to match the wood flooring we have in the other rooms and I worry that it will be a "too much wood" thing again.

Help me. Please. You're my only hope!

[khalloc]

I have a 90 pound black lab. So I can totally sympathize. We have hardwoods (red oak) on 90% of the 1st floor and maple in our sunken family room and an awful tile in the power room and laundry room. So the hardwood is in the kitchen area. It has taken a total beating since we moved into this house 6 years ago. Alot of it is the dogs (we used to have a 3 legged shepherd) so both dogs did a job to the floors. Plus for awhile my DH INSISTED on mopping with bleach. Until my mother told him that you shouldnt do that to hardwood floors. LOL. So now our floors look like crap.

We are still planning on refinishing them and keeping the hardwood. I cant stand on tile all the time. We had it in our old house and it was really really hard!

have you thought about cork??

[flashy09]

My Mom just put in slate flooring in the the kitchen and it looks amazing!

[roseyloxs]

:yeahthat: Slate is what my dream kitchen would have.

[crl]

I have had cork in two kitchens and LOVE it. Soft underfoot, easy to keep clean. We chose a color that blended with the adjoining hardwood floors both times.

I have not had cork with a dog though. So I cannot comment on that part of the equation.

Catherine

[arivecchi]

We have large terracota tiles in our kitchen, breakfast nook and laundry/mudroom and I love it. So easy to keep clean and the dog and kids can make a huge mess without damaging the floors. It also looks warm and pretty.

[Mopey]

I have had cork in two kitchens and LOVE it. Soft underfoot, easy to keep clean. We chose a color that blended with the adjoining hardwood floors both times.

I have not had cork with a dog though. So I cannot comment on that part of the equation.

Catherine

This was going to be my suggestion!! Tons of styles and shades. Naturally anti-bacterial. And any dents or scratches naturally work themselves out. I have a friend who has hexagonal tiles of it in her kitchen and it is warm, comfy and really great looking IMO. Once it is sealed you will be okay for spills, etc. If I ever put in a kitchen floor this is what I will go for. They also make a style that is recycled wine corks (so like penny rounds)!! So fun!!

Good luck :)

[hillview]

We have large terracota tiles in our kitchen, breakfast nook and laundry/mudroom and I love it. So easy to keep clean and the dog and kids can make a huge mess without damaging the floors. It also looks warm and pretty.

:yeahthat: they look like slate. They are awesome. My cleaning woman just told me last week how much she likes them/easy to clear. I was worried they'd be too hard but so far so good. We had hardwood which I wanted to keep but DH wanted tile and he was right!

[AnnieW625]

My house was built in 1950 and when we redo the floor I want to put in linoleum. This is not the same as vinyl flooring. Armstrong sells the original (http://m.armstrong.com/flooring/linoleum-flooring?mob_id=mobile_AFPUSRES_FullToMobile), but it is also sold as Marmoleum by Forbo (http://www.forboflooringna.com/Residential-Flooring/). There is just something about it I like, and it turns out linoleum is made from cork. Not sure if it will work with the style of your house, but it is something to think about.

[Drag0nflygirl]

I agree that a laminate would be too much wood. I'd be really nervous with cork floors and a dog. What helped me was going to the best tile store in the area with samples of my paint, counter and cabinet. The lady there took one look and pulled a floor tile that looked amazing! I love the slate or terra cotta idea. I have a slate-look brown tile that is easy to clean, but because it's not a flat tone you can also never tell that it's dirty. Find someone who knows their stuff and keep looking!
Also, I had a really good experience with Faucetdepot.com. You didn't mention faucets, but I was super picky about mine.

[MichelCleark]

So, when I remodel my whole kitchen and kitchen flooring, I was planning to floor kitchen room with tiles but my contractor told me to use a laminate flooring for a kitchen because I have a white shaker cabinets and the laminate floor will enhance it's beauty. I am not against a tiles in a kitchen room. I think if you are planning for a tiles in a kitchen then terra cotta will be a best choice.

[JBaxter]

we have this tile in our kitchen. I love it because it doesnt show dirt. The grout is darker also http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o130/jeanaspictures/House/9.jpg
We just put a contract on another house and it has hard wood on the whole first floor Im not sure how I'll like it but it's pretty
2 views of the new house we have a contract on http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o130/jeanaspictures/house1.jpg http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o130/jeanaspictures/house2.jpg

[egoldber]

In our house we are building, we are having a distressed hickory flooring installed throughout the first floor including the kitchen. I love the look and ease of cleaning hardwood. Our cabinetry will be a natural cherry, and it will be a lot of wood, but that is very much the look now.

In our current house, we have tile in the kitchen and we used to have a vinyl floor. I really hate vinyl floors. I don't care how much you pay, I don't think they wear well or look good for very long. Tile is easy to keep clean if you choose a darker grout and wears well, but it does get hard on the feet. We put it in tile because we have hardwood everywhere except the kitchen and did not want to put in wood that would not match the existing floors.

[khalloc]

One thing to think about is with tile, everything is going to break if you drop it on the floor. Its also very cold under your feet (unless you go further and install radiant floor heating). So if you live in a colder climate its something to think about. We have hardwood now and dishes actually have a chance if you accidentally drop them. Its also at room-temp when you are walking on it which is a nice perk.

[JBaxter]

I wanted to chime in but I dont find my tile cold. We have a full finished basement so maybe that makes a difference but I would purchase another home with time.

[mikeys_mom]

I wanted to chime in but I dont find my tile cold. We have a full finished basement so maybe that makes a difference but I would purchase another home with time.

I agree. We live in a pretty cold climate. It is below freezing here from December through March or April and my kids run around barefoot all the time. We also have a finished basement and keep the house heated at 22C most of the time, so not sure if that makes a difference. It does get a bit colder than the hardwood in the rest of the house but I don't find it terribly cold.

We have white tile with dark grout in the entrance hallway and kitchen and other than looking dated circa 1980, it doesn't really bother me.

[KHF]

I hate the tile in our kitchen with a passion. Hate, hate, hate. It's "white" tile with a texture, so it's constantly dirty looking. No amount of scrubbing gets it clean. It was put in by the previous owners and it makes me want to scream every time I look at it. Plus it's hard to stand on, so I've had to buy all kinds of those little gel mats to put in front of the sink, stove and counters.

We had hardwoods in our last house in the kitchen and I loved them beyond all reason. So easy to clean, sturdy and beautiful. When I save up enough money, I will be getting hardwoods throughout the first floor of this house and getting rid of the mish-mash of tile, parquet and carpet that we have now.

[jse107]

Wow! Thank you for all the feedback--keep it coming! Pics welcome!

I'm (somewhat sheepishly) leaning toward cork. It seems as though the durability is about the same as the hardwood if I get full tiles, rather than a floating floor.

I need to go look at samples. Gah! Brain overload!

[crl]

Don't be sheepish-- I LOVE cork flooring for the kitchen and if the house we just bought didn't already have nice hardwood throughout, including the kitchen, I would be planning to put cork in ASAP.

I googled a bit and came up with this discussion of cork flooring with a couple of posts that address the dog issue.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg021800207742.html

Catherine

[maylips]

Definitely go look at cork - we're in the kitchen reno process and the floor was my first priority, as we have the same trouble you have - hickory floors throughout the downstairs and hickory kitchen cabinets.

Cork is NOT recommended for people with dogs and kids. Things like your kitchen table can create dents in the cork over time and the dog's paws can scratch them up. I really, REALLY liked cork for the environmental factor, how it looked, the softness and warmth, having something different for the kitchen, etc, but even the flooring salesperson told me to steer away from cork for durability reasons. My floor would go into the garage door/mudroom area and she told me that was waaaay too much traffic for cork. :(

I then looked at marmoleum floors. From my research, I found that the installer REALLY matters - he needs to be an expert in installing that type of flooring and unfortunately, around here, that flooring isn't common so I moved away from that as well.

I keep going back to the hickory hardwoods. It's actually my least expensive option, I know it will look good over time and that most people see any hardwoods as an upgrade. Someone reminded me that the 3D vinyl tiles I looked at - which I thought looked good and considered, even though they were $4 sq/ft (not cheap around here) - would still be "vinyl tiles" at the end of the day. Not something you brag about in a house listing, you know? And the hardwood is less than $3 sq/ft.

It's a tough decision, I know. I've driven DH crazy over every aspect of this kitchen project and I'm driving him crazy. I feel your pain!

[queenmama]

My house was built in 1950 and when we redo the floor I want to put in linoleum. This is not the same as vinyl flooring. Armstrong sells the original (http://m.armstrong.com/flooring/linoleum-flooring?mob_id=mobile_AFPUSRES_FullToMobile), but it is also sold as Marmoleum by Forbo (http://www.forboflooringna.com/Residential-Flooring/). There is just something about it I like, and it turns out linoleum is made from cork. Not sure if it will work with the style of your house, but it is something to think about.

I insist on having lino in my next house, but I never look at anything built after about 1970. ;)

We have ceramic tile in our kitchen now and I hate it. So cold and hard.

Lara

[Dcclerk]

I am a strong believer that houses look best with as much consistent flooring throughout the house as possible. You want it to be a neutral backdrop that can support the change of furniture, rugs, etc. throughout the house. If you look at designer magazines/blogs/etc., you almost never see a change in the flooring from one room to the next. Some places have tile, most have wood, but rarely is there much variation of the flooring itself.

Thus, in your case, unless you are going to change all of the flooring in the adjoining areas, I would go with your same finished oak. Vinyl and laminate never truly look (or sound) like wood, and after you have spent so much money to upgrade the rest of your kitchen, you don't want it to look like you tried to match, and it was a fail. I absolutely love true linoleum, but only certain styles of homes can really pull off the look. Cork, too, can be gorgeous, but the ones I have seen have not held up well to pets, let alone kids.

Also, as totally unsolicited advice that I'm sure you have already considered, you want to try to match the undertones of all of your finishes. Thus, if your granite has some pink undertones, you want to make sure your tile and paint and flooring colors don't have yellow undertones.

Good luck on your decision! These things are never easy, but it sure is exciting when it all comes together:)

[elbenn]

Lots of people have mentioned slate, but no one has mentioned quartzite. It is like a polished slate. It's really beautiful.

[swissair81]

We put pergo (wood laminate) on our entire main floor during our remodel. It really doesn't seem like too much wood. Likewise, we did the same carpet for our entire upstairs.

[arivecchi]

Per your request OP, some pics of our terracota floors.





We live in the Chicago area so both our wood and tile floors get cold. I usually wear slippers but my DH and kids walk around barefoot all the time. We did have wood floors in our two previous homes in the kitchen and I disliked the fact that the floors were looking worn in the high traffic areas such as in front of the sink.

Transition from wood floors in FR to breakfast nook: