Kitchen Floors
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Archived Q&A and Reviews
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2008 - 2013 Recommendations
Recommendations for kitchen flooring
May 2012
We need to upgrade our kitchen and are stymied in deciding about flooring. Currently we have what I believe is a vinyl product. It buckles, scratches and dents. We are thinking either wood or bamboo. Our kitchen is about 12X17 and there are only two of us; no babies or small children. I'd appreciate some guidance. Thanks. Not yet floored.
I know it's not something you mentioned considering yet. but we LOVE our kitchen's cork floor. After a fair amount of research, we used Expanko. It's been over six years now, and we have no regrets. http://www.expanko.com/CORK/products-CORK.html If you'd like to see it in our Albany home, let me know! rk
When we remodelled our kitchen we installed oak flooring. Several years later our dishwasher overflowed water onto the floor and ruined it. We replaced it with Marmoleum-the new term for the original linoleum. Great stuff. Take a look when you consider the options. Roger
Much as I love the look of wood flooring, I shy away from using it in Kitchens. However, since you have no babies or small children it will probably hold up fine in your house. All woods get dented when you drop pots on them. Bamboo will hold up fine, but there are a lot of choices. Engineered flooring is the most dimensionally stable. Make sure it's tongue-and-groove. A top-nailed floor is definitely not recommended. . Andus H Brandt, Architect
We have cork in the kitchen and would recommend it. We have the burl-looking pattern, and it hides all dirt amazingly well. It is fairly 'soft', so it hides dents and cuts (knife drops) well. Our floor we installed ourselves--snap together tiles--and after eight years it is still looking good and holding up well. Haven't had an issue with water either. Bryan in oakland
2004 - 2007 Recommendations
2003 & Earlier
Recommendations for kitchen floor materials?
Dec 1999
I would like to have recommendations for kitchen floor materials. I'm thinking either wood or tile or ? Any success stories? Thanks. Barbara
My husband and I have just gone through the whole debate on what to put on our kitchen floor. We had originally thought we would put down linoleum (to keep costs down) but couldn't find anything we liked, and the few patterns we did like actually turned out to be incredibly expensive. We thought about Pergo (or something like it) but our kitchen floor slopes and we were therefore warned that the material would buckle. From there we thought about hardwood floors (which actually turned out to be cheaper than the linoleum or the Pergo), but we heard a lot of people complain about scratches, water damage, and food stains. If you do use hardwood, make sure to get an oil based finish (not a water based finish) on the floor so that you minimize water damage. Our contractor swears that hardwood in a kitchen works fine, and we've also met other people who are really happy with their hardwood. Our concern was that it would start to look worn down (particularly near the doorways) and that we would have to maintain it fairly often. We finally decided to go with tile because it seemed to be the most durable surface and we found that it would only be about $200 more than the hardwood. The biggest selling point for us was on the maintenance - it's really easy to take care of. The downsides, of course, are that it's supposedly harder on your feet and back and it's probably not as child-friendly as the hardwood. I don't have any data yet for you on how it's going since the tile installer just started on our house today. If you do opt for tile, there's a wonderful place called Italics in Emeryville that sells beautiful Italian tile very reasonably priced. Good luck! Jana
We just put linoleum in our kitchen because we have a period house. Marmoleum is quite beautiful, and is somewhat natural as well. It is also soft which is good for babies, and easy to keep clean. Hilary
ISO floor cloth or floor canvas for kitchen
Feb 2012
Hi all, I'm hoping to find a local store or artist that carries/makes floor cloths, or floor canvases - like area rugs but made from canvas that's painted and then varnished so it looks pretty but will protect a softwood floor under the kitchen table. I'd love any recommendations. Prefer local, but all great suggestions are welcome. Feel free to email me directly. Oh, maybe this goes without saying but we're not looking to spend a whole ton of $$... Thanks very much, Carol
One of the artisans at the Sawtooth Building on 8th and Dwight in west Berkeley creates beautiful floor cloths like you desrcibe. Her name is Janet Lee Smith, I would love to own one of her designs. Jane
We had similar requirements for a countertop and are happy with the soapstone counter we chose. We went to the M Teixeira showroom-warehouse in SF. We had them guide us to the varieties that are "hardest" because Soapstone is quite soft. We have a few small dings in spots where a pot slipped out of our hands at the sink and fell on the counter. Color choices are varying shades of grey, and be aware that the color changes quite a bit depending on if you oil the stone or let it dry out.
For flooring I was convinced into putting in a wood floor (it was tile before). Much easier to clean than tile with the grout. It did get a few dents from moving the fridge around. So far has not seemed damaged by all the water we drip on it (it has been around 2 years). Glasses do break if they drop to the floor, but I'm not sure that a different floor surface would have made any difference.
Hi! We ended up going with quartz. Meets all the criteria you're looking for (except probably the environmentally friendly aspect but not sure). We looked at a TON of places and ended up having the best luck with a place in the San Leandro/Hayward area (there are a TON of value options out there). We ended up using HB Kitchen and Bath. We paid them extra to install as well since we were out of their "installation" area. Overall we are very happy with the result
https://www.yelp.com/biz/hb-kitchen-bath-hayward
As far as floors, we stuck with our hardwood and it's been fine but I know a lot of people like Vinyl or tile. Best of luck!
No flooring advice but for counters, Soapstone! I LOVE our soapstone counter - I use it for rolling and baking ALL THE TIME because it is so smooth and easy to clean - heat resistant and bacteria resistant because it is so dense. Sometimes I just like to rub the counter, it feels so beautiful! LOL I don't use mineral oil on mine, I like the non-shiny look - it is not as 'tough' as other countertops so you can't cut on it and need to take care not to drop heavy things on it, but it is perfect for bakers (and chemists! It's often used in labs!). Good luck!
We're in the process of choosing a countertop replacement (our existing counter is ceramic tile, with lots and lots of grody grout lines), so I can't report on experience, but it's looking like we'll go with an "ultra compact" sintered stone surface. Brands Dekton and Neolith have eco-friendly credentials and offer some recycled-materials options. These products are similar to porcelain slabs, but are made from a mix of porcelain, glass, and stone, combined with very high heat and pressure. Most of them are made to look like marble (in much the same way most quartz is made to look like granite) but you can also get some solid colors and other options.
The decision process went like this: Granite (and other natural stone slabs, like quartzite) is heat resistant but requires regular sealing in order to keep it easy to clean. Quartz and solid surfacing are no-maintenance but not heat-resistant (the resins will scorch or crack at typical oven temperatures). Soapstone offers both low maintenance and heat resistance, but is invariably gray, which is not a color we want. So then I discovered porcelain slabs. Porcelain is easy to clean, no sealing required, and super heat resistant; porcelain slabs -- which are essentially a really giant tile -- have been common in Europe but are becoming more popular in the US. The cons are that it chips more easily than other countertop materials, and there are fewer fabricators and installers who know how to work with it. And there aren't as many choices for the edge profile as with granite or quartz, because the material is difficult to shape the same way, and the color/pattern on the surface does not go all the way through the body of the material. The "ultracompact" products like Dekton have mostly the same pros and cons, but when installed well, are at least theoretically a little less prone to chips and cracks, and there are some options for the edge profile (some of them have "through body" color/pattern) and finish that you don't find with porcelain.
We've decided to go with a plain solid white, so now we half a dozen different samples of veeeeery slightly different whites sitting out on the counter. Picking one of those may be the hardest part, lol.
For countertops, slate!! We purchased from a vendor in SF that offered large slabs to choose from and different edges.
Pros: indestructible (it's the same material they use in chemistry labs), natural material (in keeping with the spirit of our 1920s Craftsman), easy to clean, only seal once. We roll out dough regularly, no problem. Cons: not as cheap as IKEA quartz (though less pricey than our next choice, soapstone), not as many colors to choose from it's essentially black to grey and veining will vary.
Marmoleum makes a great kitchen floor. Not really inexpensive, but environmentally friendly. Goes great with clear finish cabinets. If you are doing painted cabinets, a hardwood floor might be more to your liking. But to me, a wood floor with wood grain cabinets is too much wood.