Comparing Flooring Options for Your Kitchen

When designing a kitchen, it is critical to remember that it is the heart of the home for most people. As a result, every part of the space must be warm, inviting, and functional. Therefore, when building a new home or working on remodeling an existing structure, it’s best to start from the ground up. This is where choosing the right type of flooring to meet the needs and style of the home is essential. 

The following are a few tips to help determine how to pick the perfect flooring option for a kitchen.

Endless Options with Luxury Vinyl Tile

There are a number of benefits to using luxury vinyl tile (LVT) when designing a kitchen. First, despite being affordable for most renovation budgets, it is durable and resistant to staining, allowing the floor to maintain its appearance with minimal upkeep investment. It is also much easier to install than many flooring products, designed in manageable sections that feature a click-and-lock application. 

This makes it easier to perform repairs, should the need arise, as small sections are easy to interchange without the need to completely rip out adjoining areas of the floor.  

A final benefit to vinyl kitchen flooring is the fact that there are endless ways to customize the look and feel of the space. Luxury vinyl tile can be made to resemble hardwood, concrete, and porcelain tile without the higher price tag that these more traditional options carry.

Elegant Tile Floors

Although there is a strong trend toward sustainability in flooring, with products such as bamboo for its regenerative properties and stained concrete floors for their durability becoming popular among eco-friendly designers, there is still a strong argument to be made for one of the classic flooring staples: tile.

While some may argue that tile gets cold in the mornings and during the winter months, which can negatively impact HVAC costs, it makes a strong choice to pair with radiant floor heating, which is a sub flooring heating system that slowly disperses heat in a stove-like manner, keeping the kitchen cozy at all hours of the day. 

Tile is durable, elegant, and classic. It can be designed and cut into a number of different options to improve the ambiance of a vast number of kitchen design themes. Some of the best options for tile flooring include:

Ceramic tile

This product is fabricated from quarried clay. It is one of the more affordable tile choices and provides flexibility in design, as it can be prepared, molded, and polished in a number of creative ways.

Porcelain tile

This is the traditional product that comes to mind when thinking of elegant tile floors. Despite being heavier and more difficult to work with than ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles are more durable and less porous than other tile options. They will also substantially increase the value of the home once installed.

Mosaic tiles

Mosaic tiles are very small compared to standard tiles. These can be fabricated from a number of materials and can be cut into a wide array of shapes, providing a fun, patterned finish for the kitchen.

When working with tile, the overarching design trends are often trending in tile, as well. After a year of safer at home restrictions, people are looking to create busier interiors to break up the monotony of staring at minimalist interiors day after day. This is creating a rise in the popularity of mixed metallics, dramatic colors, and hexagonal cuts in tile to give kitchens a bold aspect.

Go Classic With a Wood Flooring Look

When it comes to classic design, it is hard to match wood floors. Today’s homeowners have access to a wide variety of wood flooring options, meaning they can customize their homes based on the color, style, and texture they want. Some of the popular wood flooring options include:

Laminate

This is one of the most cost-effective wood flooring options. It gives the impression of natural wood by compressing layers of fiberboard together and placing a photographic image of wood grain over the fiberboard. A protective coat is then added to give a finish to the product. While affordable and reasonably durable, it is not a wood flooring option that will boost resale value.

Solid hardwood 

This is the “authentic” hardwood flooring and, while expensive to install, will substantially increase home resale value. Solid hardwood floors are made from wood planks between 18 and 20 mm thick. They come with a tongue and groove to fit together during installation. Solid hardwood floors are durable and elegant but can be difficult to install and repair.

Engineered hardwood  

This product consists of several pieces of wood glued together to create a 14 mm slab. Once this is fabricated, a 4 mm slab of natural hardwood is added to the top, sanded, and finished. As a result, engineered hardwood floors give the appearance of solid hardwood but are generally more stable. They carry roughly the same value as solid hardwood. 

Rustic wood flooring  

The term “rustic” may refer to the grade or appearance of a floor. When referring to the grade, it is referring to natural wood that is heavily knotted and has other visible imperfections. Rustic grade hardwood can make solid hardwood floors more affordable but also of lower quality. Usually, “rustic” refers to the appearance. Rustic wood floors are typically any type of wood flooring product that has a distressed, unfinished look and will carry the same value as the overarching product class. 

Upgrade to Heated Flooring

When thinking about kitchen flooring, it’s also a good idea to consider the comfort and convenience of electric floor heating. This system can be installed under various types of flooring, like tile, vinyl, or wood, and it helps keep your kitchen warm and cozy, especially in colder months. 

Electric floor heating spreads warmth evenly across the floor, making it comfortable to walk on and potentially reducing the need for other heating sources. It’s a great way to add a touch of luxury and improve the overall feel of your kitchen, no matter what type of flooring you choose.

Making the Most of Your Flooring Materials for Your Kitchen

There are many flooring options that can make contemporary kitchens stand out. Products such as luxury vinyl tile, ceramic or porcelain tile, and wood flooring options each have plenty to offer in terms of appearance and durability to serve the kitchen for many years. The aforementioned breakdown can help designers and contractors, alike, choose the best flooring product for their specific kitchen renovation. Take the next step in creating your dream kitchen by exploring these options and more at Kevin Szabo Jr Plumbing. 

Author Bio

Max Shafer is a freelance writer who loves sharing his knowledge and expertise on home improvement projects and materials. He lives in Land O’ Lakes, Florida where he enjoys spending time with his wife and working on projects in his spare time. Max’s work as a freelance writer can be found on Building Product Advisor, a construction industry resource site.