What is the best material to use on your kitchen floor? Whenever anyone plans their kitchen remodeling project, it's usually the 2nd question -- after deciding on the kitchen countertop material. What type of flooring you use in the kitchen is very important. The kitchen has become one of the most important rooms in the house. More and more homeowners are spending more time in their kitchen. Kitchens usually have a lot of foot traffic. Even people who do not cook extensively in their kitchen still spend a large amount of time, on their feet, on those floors. The kitchen flooring needs to be comfortable, durable, low maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing.Many love the look of natural stone - like marble, slate, granite, or travertine - for their flooring material. It can be very durable and could withstand a lot of traffic. But most natural stone flooring needs to be sealed to avoid stains, and there can be a lot of potential for staining on a kitchen floor. It's also too hard to stand on for lengths at a time.
Decades ago, people put carpeting in their kitchens. Carpeting was certainly comfortable to stand on. But, again, because of spills and stains, carpeting is not a great idea for the kitchen.
Your best bet is to consider a tile, wood, or laminate flooring. Vinyl, laminate, or linoleum flooring brings back horrifying images of bad kitchen designs from the 60's and 70's, but check out some of the latest versions of these materials. They've come a long way to looking more like wood but with less maintenance requirements.
Wood is also a great option for kitchen flooring. Nothing can compare with the look and feel of natural wood on kitchen floors. It can be purchased in a contrasting color or stain to the cabinets to really stand out and make a statement. But keep in mind that wood is not impervious to moisture and there can be a lot of moisture in a kitchen.
Two materials to consider as a slight alternative to wood - Bamboo flooring and Cork flooring. Both are similar but have less environmental impact and can be more durable and less expensive than a traditional hardwood floor.
The nice thing about going with vinyl, wood, cork, or bamboo is that you can soften the material further by adding non-slip rugs to the room.
To help keep installation costs down, make sure you go with a compatible flooring material that will match up with your current kitchen floor substrate. If you've got a concrete substrate in your kitchen, your flooring contractor may need to install additional materials before installing a hardwood floor. This can add to installation costs. Especially if adding a thick wood flooring affects cabinet and door height in the room. If you've got a wood substrate, you may not be able to go with ceramic tiles directly applied to the wood because of structural weakness. Adding to the wood substrate could also increase installation costs. It's best to save money if you can make sure your flooring choice matches your kitchens substrate.
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