Types Of Kitchen Flooring

Although we’ve written about kitchen flooring before, times and trends have changed since the last time we wrote.  It’s for these reasons that we want to revisit the important subject of how best to choose the right kitchen floor for your home.

Like most things in life, kitchens come in all shapes and sizes, and for many people serve very different purposes.  If you’re a young, high flying single, it may be that your kitchen doesn’t have enough space to swing a cat and possibly sees little in the way of cooking (of course not all young, high flying singles eat out every night of the week, but you get the idea).  On the other hand, if you’re a family, with a dog, a couple of cats and a busy social life, your kitchen is likely to tell a completely different story.

So, how do you go about choosing the right type of kitchen flooring for you?

Here are the four main things that we believe will drive your choice on type of kitchen flooring:

1. The first thing you need to look at is your budget.  While granite or an exotic engineered wood floor might be the thing of your dreams, if your budget doesn’t rise to these options, then you might be forced to think again.
2. The next thing you should look at is the wear and tear your kitchen is likely to suffer.  If you’re the latter of our two scenarios above, then the likelihood is that you need either a thick layer engineered wood floor with a lacquered surface or even ceramic tiling to stand up to life in your house.
3. The third thing on our list is the care and maintenance you’re prepared to tolerate.  If you’re someone who insists on pristine looking floors throughout your home, then you probably shouldn’t opt for a light, oiled wood floor or indeed a neutral coloured rubber floor that could suck up stains and make them stand out if you’re not speedy enough in mopping them up.
4. The fourth thing, and in some ways the driving thing for many people is the look you’re trying to achieve.  For example, if you’re hoping for a country kitchen look, there’s little point in plumping for rubber or granite, you’d be much better with a rustic engineered wood floor.  On the other hand, if cutting edge design is more what you’re hoping to achieve, then unless you choose really carefully, a vinyl is unlikely to fit the bill.

When it comes to actual flooring materials that are suitable for the kitchen, these haven’t changed all that much since we last wrote, but include (amongst other things of course):

1. Vinyl
2. Rubber
3. Carpet and carpet tiles
4. Ceramic tiles
5. Laminate
6. Granite and stone
7. Wood and engineered wood

Vinyl

Vinyl flooring is today considered a bit ‘old hat’, but in fact if you shop around carefully, there are some really stunning vinyl options to be found.  That said, designer vinyl tends to come with a designer price tag, ie.  it doesn’t come cheap.  When it comes to ease of maintenance and stain resistance however, vinyl is a tough act to beat.  The durability of any vinyl floor will depend on how well the vinyl has been fitted and the quality of the product itself.

Rubber

Once again, rubber flooring that’s of good quality tends to be a more expensive option than you might imagine.  A good way of reducing sound in any kitchen where noise pollution is an issue, a top quality rubber floor can also look great.  Once more, an easy to maintain and relatively stain resistant option, the only other main downside of a rubber kitchen floor is that you might tire of it sooner than you think.

Carpet and carpet tiles

Carpet and carpet tiles are pretty much a kitchen flooring option that’s dead and buried for the time being.  It will probably come back some day (even if we don’t think so right now), but from almost every point of view: hygiene, stain and smell resistance and care, it’s a negative.  That said, it’s warm under foot should you need to trundle into the kitchen in the dead of night for a cup of tea!

Ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiled kitchen floors are really popular with our European neighbours and have enjoyed a real rise in popularity in the UK in the last decade or so.  An affordable and easy to maintain flooring solution, the only real disadvantages with ceramic tiling in a kitchen are noise and temperature.  They do have a tendency to make a room echo-y and are cold under foot unless you benefit from under floor heating.

Laminate

Any regular reader of this blog won’t need to be reminded that laminate flooring is typically just a photocopy of wood or stone that’s been bonded on to a back board and topped off with a plastic covering.  This sort of flooring is a good short-term solution for anyone seeking a cheap kitchen floor, but doesn’t go far beyond that stopgap.

Granite and stone

Granite and stone are really popular flooring options these days and it’s easy to see why.  Completely natural and easy on the eye, both of these solutions are easy to maintain and long lasting, but again, like ceramic tiles, tend to be cold under foot if you don’t have under floor heating in your kitchen.

Wood and engineered wood

While solid wood flooring isn’t recommended for installation in kitchens because of the moisture and temperature fluctuations, engineered wood flooring works really well.  Resistant to expansion and contraction, a good quality engineered wood floor will withstand even pretty extreme rises and falls in temperature and moisture levels.  An affordable, flexible and good-looking solution, an engineered floor will enhance any kitchen environment, while being easy to maintain as well as standing the test of time.