Can we talk kitchen flooring?

[Deleted]

One of these days I'm redoing my kitchen and am torn on the possibilities for flooring.  I love the look of tile, and slate would be gorgeous, but honestly, I like how practical linoleum is in that it's softer.  The rest of our home is walnut, so something in the wood family wouldn't really work.  Is there something as beautiful as tile or slate that is softer, both for the comfort of my back and because we drop things?

[kaylie]

We have hardwood in the kitchen, which I love the look of but it's a beast to keep it looking clean.

It sounds like linoleum might be the best option for you, but if you want more of a tile look, there's a product line by Trafficmaster called "Ceramica" that is a groutable vinyl tile. This is the one we're putting in our mudroom: www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Ceramica-12-in-x-24-in-Concrete-Resilient-Vinyl-Floor-Tile-30-sq-ft-case-16215/202191246?N=5yc1vZaq27

I looked at the sample area in store and it's actually a pretty good imitation. Of course you can tell by touching it, but I love that it comes in the 12 x 24 inch size and that it won't be as cold as tile in the winter.

We briefly considered cork flooring, but after talking to some people who have it in their kitchen it didn't sound like it would hold up well to abuse.

[simpsongal]

I'm a little confused why wood is out - is it b/c your cabinets are wood and you don't want too much wood? I love having wood floors in the kitchen. Ditto OPs re: real linoleum. My dream kitchen has a black & white linoleum floor.

Tile, and tile composites are so hard and cold. No bueno.

[Deleted]

I really don't want to deal with matching or closing with the rest of the house, plus the cabinets are wood and another texture really is needed. Looking at real linoleum though, it seems a little cold and modern for what we have. Ugh, I don't know! Guess it's good this is still a future goal.

[pitterwoo]

I really wanted linoleum in my kitchen, but in the reno we uncovered the original oak floors in great shape, so we had to go with it. They are nice.
I think the look of vinyl has really come a long way, and I too prefer its softness to tile. I would look at some of the higher end vinyls if linoleum doesnt work for your aesthetic.

[House4Me]

What about limestone? My in-laws had it throughout the house, It was gorgeous but would probably crack if you dropped something heavy on it.

[thatgirl2478]

After having ceramic tile, wood, cheap sheet vinyl and decent quality sheet vinyl, I'd go with a good quality sheet vinyl any day.

Ceramic & wood were a PITA because of the grout/joint lines. Cheap sheet vinyl (that you find in apartments) is just crappy, but the good quality stuff is thicker and feels nice underfoot. The stuff we have (we didn't install, just kept it from the previous owner) has been mistaken for tile on many occasions.

[heliocentric]

We are strongly leaning towards colored cork, but I'm nervous about the durability. I keep hearing mixed reviews.

My parents installed vinyl tiles (Armstrong Alterna, I think), but they are larger than 12x12" and they are grouted, so it doesn't look like vinyl at all. They've been really happy with it and I admit that I usually turn my nose up vinyl, but it does look really nice.

[munkii]

I'd go with quality sheet vinyl (pro: a lot of manufacturers are using recycled material these days) or linoleum. I've been curious about rubber floors (like gym floors) but would never be able to do that in my house because of allergies. If you're not allergic to latex, maybe that's another option.

[stephm0188]

We have vinyl plank flooring in our house. The first floor is a wood-look, and our master bathroom is a tile look.

[munkii]

Jan 31, 2015 10:47:02 GMT -5 @juno said:

Jan 31, 2015 9:50:18 GMT -5 munkii said:

I'd go with quality sheet vinyl (pro: a lot of manufacturers are using recycled material these days) or linoleum. I've been curious about rubber floors (like gym floors) but would never be able to do that in my house because of allergies. If you're not allergic to latex, maybe that's another option.

Is that true about vinyl and recycled materials? I've read that while vinyl mfgers love to claim it's recyclable, it's difficult and almost never done in practice. Do you have reading on it or have you noticed recycled content in product literature?

I had information on a disk that died a few months ago.  Google isn't being terribly helpful, but it seems its easier to find residential recycled vinyl in tiles and planks and commercial recycled vinyl in sheets.