The BEST flooring for a kitchen

[AIR]

Well the past couple weeks I installed a nice laminate wood floor in my parents family room, hallway and dining room. LOOKS AWESOME! I just picked out some sweet base trim to put the finishing touches on it. I have also decided to install a new kitchen floor for my parents. My Dad had put down one of those vinyl tile which looked OK for a few years but now is just falling apart. I am trying to decide what the best flooring option would be. I am pretty sure I will go with some Travertine tile. Not sure if I want to do a pattern or even what color to go with. Any ideas? I kinda dig the travertine with some accent pieces put into the pattern but I am not sure if I have the skill required to lay out the pattern. I was thinking about a light tan color for the tile but my mom was concerned about it getting dirty to easy.:xxrotflma

[Dan Auito]

We have tan tile in our kitchen and dirty is not an issue. Convince her!

[Debbie]

I have porcelain tiles in my kitchen. They're in diagonal with random inserts at the corners of the tiles. Looks great! Makes my extra big open concept kitchen/diningroom even bigger!

There are two things:

1) I wish the grouts are a little darker. Because even with clean floor, the grouts has a tendency to look dirty.

2) To avoid mopping, especially on my hands and knees, I researched and found the bestest I've seen. Get your Mom this: Bissell Steam Mop. No soap. No wax. No perfume. Just a small container of water, wait 10 seconds and "mop". Sterilizes the floor. Great for people with allergies. Even my parents and mom-in-law were impressed and bought one.

Here's the link:http://www.housekeepingchannel.com/r_91-Bissell_Steam_Mop_Bare_Floor_Steam_Cleaner

[Tim]

When we redid the kitchen a few years ago we considered various kinds of tile for the floor. While we did go with a tumbled tile for the floor in the laundry room and the backsplash in the kitchen, we went with the same rosewood 3/4 inch tongue-n-groove flooring in the rest of the first floor.

Glass things can fall onto a wood floor and it is not a foregone conclusion they will break. Ann dropped a full mayonnaise jar on the floor and it did not break. It definitely would have had it been tile.

And, the wood flooring is warmer to boot.

[Debbie]

And, the wood flooring is warmer to boot.

I agree. While I prefer hardwood flooring over tile, I still liked tile as well. Should tile break, I'll get hardwood floor. But so far, with our kids and dog dropping stuff on the tiles, no break.

Nevertheless, Jeff won on this round. Our next custom made house (years from now), I'll get to have hardwood floor.

[Debbie]

Before I forget, Bissell steam mop does not have attachment to clean the grouts.

[mike_mn]

When we redid the kitchen a few years ago we considered various kinds of tile for the floor. While we did go with a tumbled tile for the floor in the laundry room and the backsplash in the kitchen, we went with the same rosewood 3/4 inch tongue-n-groove flooring in the rest of the first floor.

Glass things can fall onto a wood floor and it is not a foregone conclusion they will break. Ann dropped a full mayonnaise jar on the floor and it did not break. It definitely would have had it been tile.

And, the wood flooring is warmer to boot.

I bet you have a sweet divot in the floor where that mayo jar dropped now...Depends on your perspective. Clean the tile from the broken jar or look at a divot in the floor the rest of your life...

FYI, this comes from a disgruntled hard wood floor in kitchen owner

[Tim]

Mike, actually no. When she called me at the office that is exactly what I was expecting but it didn't put a divot in the floor.

Now, the 100 pound lab/dalmation mix is a WHOLE different story.

[BSH]

My vote in a kitchen is definitely porcelain tile with slightly darker (not very dark though) grout lines. I have had wood in my kitchen, and it just does not survive sloppy me. I splash too much water around, and I'm not one to wipe it right up. Well, the dog goes behind me and licks the floor clean, but I'm sure that's not good for the wood either. :-) Anyway, true travertine (marble) is not a good idea in kitchens because it is porous (as is any marble). Stains will soak in more readily.

Yup, if you drop something on tile, the something will probably break. That's how it goes. However, the way I see it, is this: think back to all the crappy houses you've walked through over the years, considering buying or flipping or whatever. How did the kitchen floors look? What were they made of? Nine times out of ten, the tile will be in the best shape of all. Even if was abused, even if the grout looks gross, you can make it look like new.

'nuff said.

[haynesm]

Removing "Divots" in true hard wood floor. place a damp cloth over the area, iron with setting on low to med. Heat creats steam, sewlls wood. However need to be aware of finish on floor. This works on regular wood but not sure of fiberwood

[BSH]

Yes, I've done this. It does work.

[brianb_cobbres]

Well the past couple weeks I installed a nice laminate wood floor in my parents family room, hallway and dining room. LOOKS AWESOME! I just picked out some sweet base trim to put the finishing touches on it. I have also decided to install a new kitchen floor for my parents. My Dad had put down one of those vinyl tile which looked OK for a few years but now is just falling apart. I am trying to decide what the best flooring option would be. I am pretty sure I will go with some Travertine tile. Not sure if I want to do a pattern or even what color to go with. Any ideas? I kinda dig the travertine with some accent pieces put into the pattern but I am not sure if I have the skill required to lay out the pattern. I was thinking about a light tan color for the tile but my mom was concerned about it getting dirty to easy.:xxrotflma

Just say no to Travertine. It is pourous even when sealed and it is fragile when compared to ceramic tile. I just installed several hundred square feet of Travertine in my masterbath and although it looks nice I doubt I would install it in a kitchen due to the high potential for staining and hard drops.

Laminates will delaminate
Wood will rot and dent

Your best bet will be synthetic materials, solid stone products, or ceramics due to stability and strenght. That said, there are some new cork products on the market that I am going to look at for my own kitchen.

[Debbie]

Brian,

Expect an early Birthday present. I'll be sending you multiple large boxes of Thumbtacks!

You're welcome!

[brianb_cobbres]

Brian,

Expect an early Birthday present. I'll be sending you multiple large boxes of Thumbtacks!

You're welcome!


Errr, I was serious. :SM031:

Cork is water resistant and flexible to resist damage from drops and provides a certain level of padding underfoot which makes it an excellent alternative to other flooring options. It also comes in strips and assembles much like laminate floor so it is easy to install. Nice all around options.

http://www.flooranddecoroutlets.com/new/category_details_zone.php?mcid=50


If you were just trying to be funny then hardy har har, please turn in your funny bone card. You license has been revoked :smiley1:

[Debbie]

OMG!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!

I can NOT believe that you took me seriously!