Choosing the right material and style of kitchen flooring for your home can make all the difference in the world. Unfortunately, there’s so many different types available today that it can be a little frustrating at times. Not only that, you’ll find that each one has it’s own group of supporters. So let’s take a look at some of those options!
Which type should you pick? Definitely you should be looking at something that’s both stylish and fits your home but that also best suits your budget and personal taste as well. Here are a few of the most common types of material being offered today by various flooring companies.
Used to be, picking out a floor wasn’t all that hard as you really only had a couple of choices, tile or linoleum. Even though these more traditional flooring favorites still have their supporters, you now have so much more to choose from. So before you think you only have a couple standards, take a look at some different options first.
A lot of people these days are actually installing wood flooring during their kitchen remodeling project. Wood is actually making a huge comeback as more and more people are looking to add value, comfort and style in both older and newer homes. A major factor in it’s return to dominance is due largely to the more open floor plans whereby family rooms, dens, playrooms or living rooms blend together with joining kitchens. Having wood floors in all these areas lend a hand in offering both a seamless and inviting design that’s also warm and personable.
Wood
Wood floors are awesome. They come in a variety of styles and finishes. One of the more trendy picks is an antiqued, weathered look. The problem is this type of finish doesn’t do really well in kitchens as they’ll need regular waxing to maintain that look. But that’s ok because that’s not the only type of finish you can have. Probably the best wood floors are those that come pretreated with a more durable sealant like a polyurethane instead of oiling and waxing yourself. Also, if you are installing them yourself, there’s definitely less smell and mess during installation using pretreated wood.
There’s some benefits to having a sealed wood floor. For one, they don’t need to be waxed. Plus, they are easy to keep clean with a quick sweep and light mop. One thing to keep in mind though, just because it’s sealed doesn’t mean your done. You will still need to reseal it every five years or so, just be sure to follow all the routine maintenance specified by the manufacturer.
The main drawback with hardwood flooring is always price. It’s not the cheapest option available, in fact it’s one of the most expensive. Dependent on the variety of wood you choose, it could run you upwards to $8 a square foot to install. One way you can combat this is to use reclaimed hardwood from older homes that are tear downs. In fact these type of salvage yards are cropping up all over the place. Plus you’d be doing your part in helping the environment as well by saving a few tree’s.
Engineered
A more practical choice than wood though is engineered flooring for kitchens. Engineered floors are more durable, resilient, easy to clean and easier to install than wood. Plus you get the all natural look of real wood but in a much thinner, more secure flooring. Instead of being solid, engineered floors simply have a core that’s covered with a real wood veneer that is then sealed in a protective coating. They are much easier to install because most require no nailing and are simply floating floors. Also, because they are not solid, they are relatively less expensive than solid hardwood.
Because they are made with a real wood veneer, you can get engineered floors in all the same staples that you can solid. This is really good because you are not locked into the same basic pine and oak look. You can actually reach out into more exotic species like a deep Brazilian cherry, a creamy maple, a sweet looking walnut, a touch of hickory or even a solid cherry to give your kitchen floor some design appeal.
Laminate
Using laminate in the kitchen can open up all kinds of possibilities. Although laminates and engineered are made very similar, laminates are actual high definition photo in place of the actual wood veneer. This has allowed for many manufacturers to really stretch what and how laminate floors are made.
You can get laminates these days that look nothing like wood. In fact they can come in so many various finishes ranging from stone to tile to wood, that you can really go wild in your kitchen and get the right type of floor for your needs. So if you want a tile floor in your kitchen but don’t really know how to lay tile or want to deal with the mess, you could use tile laminate flooring that would be much easier to install as well as simply “float” above the concrete floor.
Bamboo
Bamboo floors are becoming one hot item in kitchens across America these days because you can get some really uniquely looking wood floors. But to clarify though, bamboo really isn’t wood at all. It’s actually classified as a grass that grows in more tropical type environments. Bamboo is seen as a “green” environmentally friendly material because of the rate of growth the actual plant can gain and that the actual harvesting does not kill the plant so it will continue growing.
Most bamboo flooring is treated to make it a little more sustainable to the occasional accident that can occur in kitchens. So if you got little ones that may spill the milk sometimes or you get a little sloppy boiling that water, your floor will still be protected. One thing to note, it’s been studied that bamboo will actually resist warping better than most all other wood floors.
Rubber
If you are looking to upgrade to more of a commercial-grade kitchen, one feature that homeowners are starting to turn to for flooring is rubber. Thankfully, most rubber flooring manufactured today also has the environment at heart as the majority of them are made from products like recycled tires. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll have a dull, black looking kitchen floor like the tires on your car.
In fact, rubber floors actually come in a spectacular range of colors. If you are looking for an impenetrable floor for your kitchen, than rubber might be something for you to look into. Made to withstand all the day to day punishment that any kitchen can deliver, these floors are both durable and easy to clean.
Plus, if you’ve got back or feet problems but usually spend an inordinate amount of time cooking, rubber floors have a natural “give” making it softer and easier on your body. They come in either tiles or rolls and range up to around $5 installed per square foot, but most are a little cheaper than that.
Stained Concrete Floors
Typically, people have always thought that concrete is a material that’s supposed to be used under the finished floor for support and more along the lines of a practical outdoor surface for a patio or deck. However, that train of thought is quickly giving way, especially in kitchens. With the new decorative treatments that are being brought out for concrete, it’s now finding a beautiful new life indoors.
Yes, I’m talking about the concrete that’s underneath your existing kitchen floors now. When you get rid of that old surface, that concrete and be whipped into shape so it’s a durable and beautiful floor. Sure you might have to do some patching or sanding, but the finished product is something you can be proud of for years to come.
There are many other ideas that we can explore, and we will, but for now, these are some of the more trendy kitchen flooring options available today.
