A Guide To Flooring In Your Kitchen

Flooring is like the veins that run through your home & are an intricate part on the flow and functionality of your home. Great flooring will go a long way, from the resale value of your home to the look and feel of each room. You will be in contact with it daily & it can even affect your daily cleaning routine! We've put a guide together that looks at some of the most common flooring (and some not so common!) installed into kitchens & what you should keep in mind when picking out your dream flooring. Maybe you envision walking over beautiful, welcoming wood floors, or perhaps a classic black and white checkered porcelain tile is the perfect addition to your kitchen.

Porcelain and Ceramic Tile:

Ceramic and porcelain tile are made from sand, water & natural clay. They are molded to form various shaped tiles, then are baked in a kiln to remove as much moisture as possible.

Porcelain tile is made with a denser type of clay & are baked at much higher temps, for a longer period of time. This process makes porcelain tile much denser and harder than ceramic.

Ceramic & Porcelain tile are very durable & are known to be stain, scratch and dent resistant. With a high traffic area like your kitchen, this is a great choice. This type of flooring is also very easy to clean, so from spaghetti to coffee spills you are safe. Overall, porcelain will last longer than ceramic & it can withstand wear and tear & increased foot traffic.

Some aspects to keep in mind with tile is it is a hard material and may be hard on your feet & legs. It is also slippery when wet & the grout used on the tile can discolor over time-all common issues that can be dealt with, but important to keep in the back of your head during your decision making!

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is a beautiful and an increasingly popular flooring option for kitchens. It offers a warm, natural-looking feel to your kitchen that we can't get enough of. Hardwoods like oak, poplar, walnut, ash, & mahogany are recommended over cedar and pine & the darker the wood the better, so as to wear a bit better over time with dirt, dents & scratches.

Hardwood flooring is also nice in a kitchen because the flooring can be seamlessly transition from room to room on your first floor--with the addition of a nice rug or floor runner, you can keep your high traffic areas covered throughout the house, or showcase your exquisite wood floor however you like!

Wood flooring are a bit more susceptible to spills, leaks & dents. To combat this, make sure to check appliances regularly for leaks and clean up spills right away to avoid warping and staining. You should also make cleaning & polishing your wood floors an active part of your cleaning routing to keep it in pristine condition.

Cork Flooring

Cork is a must to check out on your flooring journey! Because of it's air pockets, it is easy on the eyes, feet & the occasional dropped glass, which is an A+ in our book.

Cork comes in tons of colors & patterns & has a low environmental impact as obtaining it does not destroy the Cork Oak tree. (we like the sound of that!)

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is an alternative to wood flooring that is a highly renewable wood material (plants mature in 3-7 years, compared to oak which is 110+!), and is highly durable in high traffic areas. We are seeing this type of flooring more frequently in homes and with advances in technology, bamboo flooring is one of the strongest, versatile flooring options out there!

This type of flooring can be easily cleaned with a mild soap or a diluted Muphy's Oil & can easily last your home's lifetime!

EcoTimber is a top-notch brand that offers beautiful, formaldehyde-free flooring! Bamboo flooring is created by glueing strips of bamboo together, then these strips are heated and compressed to harden into flooring pieces--this is a big step in the bamboo flooring industry, and music to our ears!

Final Thoughts

By recognizing the huge role your flooring plays in your home is the first step in success---this can most likely be a lifetime choice and doing your research will be well worth it! We can't wait to hear what types of flooring you are looking to put in your kitchen!