What’s Cookin’?
Add spice to the kitchen with different flooring options that focus on comfort and ease
Flooring in the kitchen is one of the most important and also most complicated decisions to make. One must juggle aesthetic appeal with comfort and durability.
Not all is lost, though! There are flooring options that can accommodate all of your needs, while also offering fun options to liven up the room. No matter what, experts agree that comfort and ease of maintenance are important, and that finding the right flooring in the kitchen is important. Use these tips from the experts to aid your decision. Probably the most common flooring option for the kitchen is porcelain or synthetic tile. Because of its durability, reasonable cost and beauty, it’s the go-to option for many. “There are so many varieties of porcelain flooring these days. And it’s maintenance-free for the most part,” says Derek Zylewicz, president of Urban Homes in New York.
However, if you are looking to redesign based on beauty alone, wood floors are the way to go. “The most beautiful floor is wooden, but it’s not practical in the kitchen because it’s high maintenance. If you spill you have to clean it up right away, but in my opinion it’s the nicest,” says Zylewiecz.
Additionally, Stacie Hinman, principal designer at Kitchen Studio in San Fransisco, points to comfort as the main advantage to wood flooring. “The best floors for the kitchen are wood or cork. They are the best on your back and your joints.” Many consumers are choosing cork as a flooring option these days in an effort to go green. Cork is all-natural, so those who want to be more eco-friendly are attracted to this type of flooring. “It’s getting in the consciousness of more people to use all natural resources.
People want to use green resources. Cork is a good one, because there are different colors available,” says Hinman.
Another “green” flooring option is reclaimed wood. This option offers the same benefits as other wood flooring, along with some extra character. “There are a few companies that specialize in reclaimed wood. They collect it, they have stock houses of it, and usually the companies have their own installers,” says Hinman.