For many families, the kitchen is a huge focal point in their homes. It’s not only a place where you cook meals, but it’s also a gathering spot for your loved ones and guests to spend time and make memories.

From farmhouse styles to more contemporary materials, homeowners have endless options for customizing the looks of their kitchens. When you’re trying to decide on the best flooring for the kitchen, consider factors like the amount of traffic it has, your family’s risk of messes, and your style preferences. Read on to learn about the best flooring for kitchens.

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What to Look for in Kitchen Flooring

When you’re planning a flooring project in your home, you must first decide on the material and style of flooring you want to install. Here are some things to think about when you’re shopping for new kitchen flooring:

• Does your family make a lot of messes? Your flooring should be able to withstand a little wear and tear based on your lifestyle. Certain floors are designed to be more durable against spills and other kitchen messes. Do you have kids or pets in the home that are more likely to cause an accident?
• How much comfort are you looking for? Do you spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals or entertaining large groups? Standing for hours in the kitchen can impact your joints and back. Some styles of flooring, like tile, can be uncomfortable after a long time. Resilient flooring, like vinyl and cork, can be more forgiving.
• What is your personal style? Your flooring should match your personality and design preferences around your home. Consider design themes like a modern style, a farmhouse look, or something funky-chic. Think of the patterns, textures, and colors that you’d enjoy seeing in your space.
• How easy is the maintenance? Some materials of flooring require higher levels of maintenance than others. If you’re looking for an easy floor cleanup routine, explore your options in vinyl and tile flooring. They’re often easier to maintain than hardwood floors.
• What is your budget? Some types of flooring, like authentic hardwood, are more expensive than others, like linoleum. Include your budget in the decision-making process for your new flooring. Also, make sure to measure the square footage of the area you want to renovate. Since many flooring manufacturers charge by square footage, having these measurements can help you estimate your costs.

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The Best Flooring for Kitchens

For years, homeowners continue to choose hardwood—or materials that resemble hardwood—as one of their top options for kitchen flooring. However, with new technology and unique family demands, there are new and innovative solutions for kitchen flooring. You just have to decide what’s the most ideal for your household.

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring remains a popular choice for kitchen flooring because it gives the home a warm, natural feel. It’s an especially great option for homes with open floor plans. Hardwood flooring can easily blend from the kitchen into a home’s living space.

Traditional wood flooring needs some level of care and maintenance, but more and more manufacturers are using sealers to help protect these classic floors. These finished hardwood floors require less maintenance. You can also try engineered wood flooring. It gives you an authentic wood look with a top veneer that provides more durability.

Tile Flooring

Tile flooring has been a popular option for kitchen flooring for decades. With many options for material (like porcelain, stone, and ceramic), tile gives homeowners a lot of options for customization. Tile flooring comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles; you can even lay it in various patterns for an artistic twist.

Tiles are known to be durable and are a great choice for homes with high-traffic areas. They’re also easy to clean and maintain. One of the drawbacks to tile flooring, however, is the grout in-between. It requires regular resealing to prevent staining. Also, tile flooring can be more expensive than other flooring options.

Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is a budget-friendly type of resilient flooring, which means it’s known to be pretty soft and comfortable on the feet. It can also be forgiving when accidents occur and someone drops a dish on the floor. Vinyl can come in planks or large sheets, which means installation requires exact measurements and precise cutting. Some engineered vinyl plank options, however, are easy to install and provide added stability and dent resistance.

Once installed, vinyl flooring is easy to clean, waterproof, and stainproof. You can choose from a variety of styles and colors, even some options that resemble wood flooring. One con of vinyl flooring, however, is that it can be susceptible to dents from the weight of heavy appliances after long periods of time.

Cork Flooring

Cork flooring is quickly becoming a popular trend in kitchen flooring, as it’s a more comfortable option than some traditional materials. This material has a unique look that can add to your home’s design aesthetic. It’s also an eco-friendly choice for flooring. Cork flooring tiles and planks are made from tree bark, which means they’re sustainable materials.

This warm, soft flooring can help relieve the strain of standing in your kitchen for hours when preparing family meals. Cork flooring is affordable and a great option for the DIY homeowner. However, it is not as durable as other flooring types, sometimes getting dents and scratches more easily. It can require a higher level of maintenance, needing to be replaced every 3-4 years.

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Shopping by Floor Style

Kitchen Floors by Color

Kitchen flooring comes in a variety of colors to complement your existing decor and cabinetry:

• Grey: This color of flooring can cool down a space and create a contemporary look. It’s a good option for many homes because it easily complements most decor.
• Honey: This shade for wood flooring gives a warm and welcoming tone, while still being pretty light.
• Blonde: This lighter wood shade gives your home a breezy and airy feel. It leaves room for lots of flexibility for decor.
• Dark Charcoal: This dark color can give the home a modern and trendy look. Use it to contrast with other decor around your home.
• White: Bright and bold, white can help to open up your home. Whitewashed wood can give it a beachy vibe, while white tile modernizes your space.
• High variation: Many floors are designed with patterns or multiple colors to add character and personality to your space

When you’re shopping for new flooring, consider choosing colors that contrast with your kitchen. For instance, dark espresso floors pop against white cabinets for a dramatic look. Or, if that’s not your style, go for a simple and modern monochrome style.

Kitchen Floors by Texture

Some flooring materials also come with an option for different textures:

• Distressed: This makes it appear as if the wood plank has been through extreme wear and tear. It may include scrapes and burns to achieve an aged look.
• Hand-scraped: This wood has been marked with long scrapes that vary in size and appearance in each plank. After being installed, it creates a special handcrafted effect.
• Wire-brushed: This flooring has subtle wire scratches on the wood panels. They can appear smoother and more uniform than other textures.
• Reclaimed: This wood has been recycled from barns or pallets and has unique textures that could tell a story.

In addition to color and texture, you also have the design option for how your tile or planks will be laid. Many professional floor installers can use designs like a herringbone pattern, large square tiles, wide planks, and chevron to name a few.

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DIY vs. Professional Flooring Installation

Many homeowners prefer to complete their own projects around the home. While you can save money when you install flooring on your own, it can be more beneficial to work with a professional. Installing kitchen flooring requires delicate work and advanced tools to get the job done correctly.

Hiring a floor installation professional means you’re working with a team that is insured and has experience working with homes of all sizes and shapes. They’ll ensure that your measurements are correct. Installing new flooring requires precise measurements at all the corners and angles of your space, then cutting tiles or planks to the exact dimensions of your space. The pros already have the proper tools and equipment to get the job done well.

They can also remove and dispose of your existing flooring. Then, to finish the job, they will install accessories at room entrances or areas where flooring changes, as well as a sealant around the perimeter to ensure longevity.

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Our Recommendation

If you’re remodeling or making repairs to your kitchen, LL Flooring is a company to consider for your flooring needs. With nearly three decades of experience in the industry, LL Flooring offers a vast selection of hardwood, tile, vinyl, and cork flooring options to suit every style and need.

To get started on your next project, schedule an appointment online for a professional consultation at one of the company’s hundreds of locations across the country.

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