We are often asked what flooring to install in Kitchens and our recommendation is that the flooring of choice for over 15 years along the Northeast corridor is wood flooring.  Wood floors provide a warmth in appearance and texture, are easy to clean and if you drop something it may not break and most important they are not as taxing on your physical body.  Hardwood floors have natural variation in grain and texture and add warmth to any room or space.  They are hard enough to withstand daily living, will last for 25+ years and may be refurnished many times to maintain appearance (green design).   In Kitchens we select beautiful area carpets, with griper padding to cover major pathways and standing areas which add acoustic value and splashes of color.  At the kitchen sink if you are having standing issues you can get anti-fatigue mats and use them as padding under your beautiful area carpets.  Wood floors may be sanded, refurnished, recolored and brought back to their original lustre many times over their life span.  One never tires of the natural look of hardwood – it is the greener choice and your feet will thank you.

Now with Aging in Place being high on the minds of most remodeling projects designers are moving away from the old adages that wood floors were not used in bathrooms.  What if you had a flood or the tub overflowed with small children playing.  These are the typical excuses why bathroom design has always utilized tile flooring.  We are seeing more and more upscale bathrooms – homeowners where the kids have grown, being designed with Luxury Vinyl Tile wood plank  flooring.  The warmth of real wood adds much peace and calmness to any space that a cold tile will never accomplish, additionally your feet, ankles and knees will thank you when they no longer stand on a hard cold surface daily.

Master Bathroom < Idea House Photo Tour

– Southern Living.

Tile floors while beautiful with many selections, designs and patterns are very hard underfoot, always cool to the touch (no barefoot comfort), slippery when wet and everything you drop generally breaks.  Our main concern with Tile floors is that they are not good for people’s knees, ankles and feet. Standing on a tile floor provides undue stress on your body and most people stand in the Kitchen quite a bit cooking and cleaning.  Tile floors are work nicely in areas of the country such as Florida, Texas, Colorado, etc. where higher temperatures and increased air conditioning needs benefit from the cool surface of tile flooring.

The latest porcelain tile designs, growing at a spectacular rate include porcelain tile that looks like real wood.  The simulation is incredible in that the tiles actually do look like real wood.  Porcelain tiles are at least twice the cost of a LVT wood floor, heavy for floor loading and they are cold under foot;  great for pets who love to lay on a cold surface.    They can crack under undue heavy pressure and are not easily repaired.  Tile floors always have grout lines which are a constant source of maintenance.  Keeping grout clean is a homeowner’s nightmare and generally the tile floors need replacement in 10-15 years. Newly laid tile flooring is beautiful however the grout needs cleaning and replacement over time, within several years the color or design style will be out of date and you or the next owner will replace the floor; ripping it up & throwing the tiles into a landfill if not reclaimed by a quality recycling manufacturer.

If you love tile floors you can always add radiant heat with an additional cost to the remodeling project, additional energy usage and one more maintenance item for your home.  Save these beautiful upgraded porcelain tiles for the shower walls.

Remodeling your bathroom – think Luxury Vinyl Tiles in Wood Plank versions for a classic, elegant timeless look that you will not grow tired of.

Related articles

• Besides Beauty: The Advantages Of Real Wood Flooring (outofboxwritings.wordpress.com)
• Advantages Of Pre Engineered Wood Flooring (livesportstoday.net)
• Green Spring Cleaning: DIY Vinyl & Tile Floor Cleaners (perfectshinehousekeeping.wordpress.com)
• Hard & Natural flooring Buying Guide – John Lewis (johnlewis.com)