Kitchen Floor - Wood or Tile

8 years ago

Hi, I'm moving into a new house & want to lay new floor. I am looking at pale limed oak for the downstairs (hall, kitchen\diner, living room). It's not a huge space so I thought the continuity throughout would add to the feeling of space and I've young children so think the wood is safer than tile.
However I am wondering how will a wooden floor hold up in kitchen - I'm looking at a 12mm laminated floor.
Any advice + experience of one over the other would be appreciated?

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Comments (3)

User
8 years ago
Laminated flooring will hold up in the kitchen as long as it is water, stain, and traffic resistant, with a thicker wear layer. Tile is a tougher alternative for the kitchen, and can be mopped clean.
PRO
Oak & Broad
8 years ago
This is a weekly question here on Houzz. Wood flooring in the Kitchen always wins! Just make sure its a high quality product and the installation is done correctly.
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I have to join this discussion of Hardwood in the kitchen. I am a little biased in this discussion because of being a tile contractor for almost 30 years. I have seen alot of hardwood kitchen floors. I have to give you the cons of putting hardwood in. Hardwood floors look great. As far as durability I am not sold. Hardwood floors look great when they are first put in. Depending on the traffic in the kitchen I give them about 4 to 5 years is when you see significant wear. I have seen alot of hardwood floors in kitchens with water damage. Now I know you think you wont have a leak from your dishwasher, refrigerator or a general plumbing leak. Well these things do happen and when it does the hardwood needs to be totally removed. Some times this is not so easy if the hardwood goes under the base cabinets. I am not saying do not put hardwood in the kitchen I think you should look at whats going to work for you. There are plenty of porcelain tiles that will give you the look of hardwood but give you the durability of a porcelain tile. Tile installed properly will last a long time. Hardwood will last but it will look warn to the point that it would need to be refinished at a cost around $2000.00 depending on the size of the room. I don't want to upset the hardwood floor lovers I have it all over my house except the bathrooms and kitchen. The floor is 20 years old 4 kids 2 dogs and still looks great. I am sure what ever you choose it will look great.
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What I have always thought is, if you try to "match" an existing floor it looks like you tried and missed. When you go with something completely different, the result is yes, I wanted something different, and here it is. Especially if you lay it in a different direction. Does that make sense?
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Hi, I would incline to tiling the whole space in one material. Now, with that you have lots of options in terms of material choices. If you have underfloor heating I would recommend to go for porcelain tiles - they come in wide range of colours, patterns, stone and wood imitations. Marble and wood imitating tiles are very popular and timeless such as calacatta white marble, creme marfil marble, granite, slate. Wood porcelain tiles range from blonde tones, light, dark browns to almost black, zebrano. Porcelain tiles technology has evolved so much over the last decade that an untrained eye can not distinguish the porcelain from the real thing. And if you have children it's so much more practical as well. Easy to clean and maintain. However, if you don't have the option of underfloor heating I would recommend wooden flooring. Again throughout. I wouldn't break the flow with different flooring types. If you have your living room in that open plan as well, I wouldn't worry too much about changing the flooring type just because of it. You can always use large rugs to define the area and function of that space, and make it more cosy. I just completed a project with porcelain tiles throughout. You can have a look at my profile. More images are on my website. I'm happy to help so please get in touch if you need more specific info. I offer lots of free information on my blog and via social media. I'm more than happy to point you in the right direction. Hope this helps. Karolina
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Hi Gilluan I think either could work but it depends on the layout of your new room. if there is a distinct divide between the two spaces then you can separate the floor coverings. It certainly makes the living area feel warmer and more cosy if you have wooden flooring in that space. Equally a tiled floor is far more practical in a kitchen. I hope that helps, it's difficult to offer any more advice without seeing your plans or a photograph. Good luck!
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PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
8 years ago
You mentioned 12mm laminated floor yet you are asking about 'wood'. These are often two different floors. Are you asking about an engineered HARDWOOD that is 12mm thick or are you talking about a 12mm LAMINATED floor (fibre board with a pretty picture of wood on the top)?

Engineered hardwood works well in a kitchen (just like Oak & Broad points out). Laminated flooring normally DOES NOT do well in a kitchen. That means the answer to your question could be "yes" or "no"....depending on which floor you are talking about. Please clarify.

Kitchen Floor - Wood or Tile

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Oak & Broad

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