The kitchen is one of the most-used rooms in the house – we prepare food here, stand and chat, and many people have a kitchen/dining room combo with a dining table where meals are eaten. Aside from the living room, it is often described as the focal point of the house, so a decision like choosing the kitchen flooring is especially important.
Because of the high usage and potential for spills and heavy drops, the best flooring for kitchen areas should be robust, durable, and easy to maintain. But which are considered the most popular flooring types and how can you choose the right one? I take a look at this in the below guide – enjoy!
Popular Kitchen Flooring Options
To get right into it, let’s take a look at the most popular kitchen flooring options including vinyl, tile, and laminate to name a few examples.
Vinyl Flooring
LVT flooring is especially durable, easy to install and is available in a wide range of patterns and styles that mimic wood, stone, and concrete. These are available as planks or tiles and oftentimes can be installed without professional help.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring is made from solid wood such as oak, maple, and hickory. This flooring looks incredible but is usually the most expensive choice and more difficult to maintain.
Tile Flooring
Traditional ceramic tiles look fantastic and have a great variety of colours and styles. The harder materials they are made from make them durable, but this also means they can be prone to chips and damage.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is usually the cheapest kitchen flooring option available but it offers a diverse range of colours, styles, and patterns, and the maintenance is excellent.
Cork Flooring
Cork flooring is relatively cheap and gives your kitchen a more rustic look. It’s great for maintenance and if you want a flooring with minimum upkeep it’s a great choice.
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring is cheaper than hardwood flooring as it has a top layer of solid wood, but a core of cheaper compressed wooden fibres.
Durability and Resistance
Kitchen floors are perhaps the most prone to wear and tear, spills, and damage. Meals are prepared in the kitchen and food and liquids can easily be spilt. Also, it’s not uncommon to drop things like dishes, saucepans, and cutlery – I smashed a plate only last week on my kitchen floor!
This increased chance of drops and spills can damage floors easily. Therefore, if you are prone to clumsiness, you may want to invest in a flooring type that doesn’t dent or scratch as easily such as vinyl or laminate.
Maintenance Considerations
Due to the high usage of kitchen floors, you have to consider the maintenance too. How easy is the flooring type to clean? For example, LVT click flooring is one of the easiest types to clean as you can lightly mop it and wipe away stains in seconds.
In contrast, hardwood flooring can soak up stains and tile flooring scratches and dents much easier than vinyl or laminate. You have to select the best flooring for kitchen areas that you can easily maintain and that fits with your usage levels.
Style and Aesthetics
Everyone wants their kitchen flooring to look good so style and aesthetics play a huge role in the decision-making process too. I find that a great starting point is looking at your kitchen units and decor to see what colour scheme you want to use and which floor colour would work the best.
For example, if you have darker wood kitchen units, you may want a lighter flooring option that adds a little contrast.
With a colour scheme decided, you should be able to narrow down the suitable flooring options. Hardwood, cork, and engineered wood flooring are more limited in terms of colour options as they typically reflect natural wood colours. In contrast, vinyl and laminate flooring can mimic a range of styles including wood, stone, and concrete and thus usually have a wider range of colours and patterns.
Budget Considerations
Cost is always sadly a consideration and most people have a set budget to work to. This is unavoidable and if you are looking for a budget option, traditional laminate flooring is considered the best option.
Vinyl flooring is also budget-friendly without sacrificing quality, while hardwood flooring is one of the most expensive options but offers the best longevity and durability.
Find The Right Kitchen Flooring Solution for Your Needs
I hope you are now more informed and have some insight into choosing the best flooring for kitchen areas. There is no definitive answer and you have to look at factors like cost, suitability, and who lives in your household. With these things in mind, you should be able to select the right flooring that gives value for money and will withstand your family usage.
