Best Flooring for Kitchens
Choosing the best flooring for your kitchen is a crucial task. The kitchen is the heart of any home. More so than any other room. It takes a beating from the high-volume of foot traffic. It is used daily for cooking and dining and is the central hub for parties/get-togethers. A natural spot for congregations of any sort. When choosing the best kitchen flooring, you want something that is both beautiful and durable. With a variety of types and styles to choose from, it can be hard choosing the right flooring option for your home.
For the most part, deciding on a kitchen floor comes down to personal preference. The most important factor to take into consideration is durability, as kitchen floors need to endure regular foot traffic and exposure to moisture. Choosing a trendy design that creates the perfect atmosphere is worth considering as well.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring, or real wood flooring, has been a popular option for centuries and continues to be a luxurious choice that creates a warm feel in an otherwise utilitarian space dominated by stainless steel and metal textures. It is important to note, real wood floors can be water-resistant but NOT waterproof. Messes and spills should be cleaned up as soon as possible. Consult your contractor to ensure the floor has been properly sealed. They can be slippery but design choices like hand-scraped or distressed finishes along with plank width/length can improve traction. Aside from that, they are more durable than laminate and are perfect for homeowners who have an open-floor kitchen and want it to seamlessly blend with the rest of their home. Cherry and walnut finishes give a classic look, while lighter finishes like blonde and honey are more modern. The planks can be arranged according to length and width, size and shape, vertically or diagonally, to create simple yet sophisticated patterns.
Engineered wood flooring can be preferred to solid wood flooring to due how its manufacture gives additional stability to prevent the boards from naturally expanding. This is crucial considering there is additional risk of splashing in a kitchen.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate floors are designed to mimic the rustic design of hardwood floors but at a discounted price. Like hardwood floors, they are water-resistant. However, waterproof options have recently entered the market featuring a rigid, waterproof core for enhanced strength and durability, while still maintaining the advantage of traditional laminates like flexible installation. Once the planks have been clicked together, they can be permanently glued down or, for uneven subfloors, floated over.
Vinyl Flooring
As of recent years, luxury vinyl flooring (LVT) is becoming a popular option amongst homeowners as a kid and family-friendly alternative to hardwood due to its softer surface. Offered in planks and tiles, they consist of several layers of vinyl with either a wood-plastic or stone-plastic composite core (WPC and SPC rigid core, respectively) that mimics the look of wood and stone. Both have a foam or cork backing that creates a cushion for your feet and deadens sound. Vinyl is very durable and waterproof. Ease of installation is another one of its perks as it can be installed floating over the subfloor. There is a near-infinite spectrum of colours and patterns to choose from with vinyl, topped with a wear layer for added protection against scrapes and spills. Sometimes, they can look off when placed next to real hardwood or stone if you have an open floor plan; not to mention, the resale value of your home will be higher if you opt for the latter options. Nevertheless, they are a great and flexible choice for your kitchen floor.
Today, many hard surface vinyl floors come with built-in underlay, like our Aquacore Range, to save you more money per square meter on your flooring.
Rigid Core Vinyl Floor (SPC) laid in the high-end herringbone pattern, part of our Aquacore Range
Summary
Suitable kitchen floors include:
Real wood flooring
Laminate flooring
Luxury vinyl flooring
Vinyl is the absolute safest option. Being fully waterproof, the floor will not be damaged in the event of a flood. While some laminate and real wood floors are water-resistant (or have water resistant finishes) they are not fully waterproof and will be ruined in the event of a flood.