mrspoppers

We are long overdue for new kitchen flooring. We did the rest of the kitchen a couple years ago but stopped before we replaced the flooring because I adopted a dog that wasn't potty trained.

We have vintage 1927 red oak floors in the living room, which is adjacent to the kitchen, so we can't get hardwood that matches. In fact, we can only get hardwood that's "close" if we spend a bunch of money on the existing floor at the same time. Laminate is an even worse option.

So we're looking for something that's not hardwood or laminate. As far as I can tell, our choices are vinyl, tile and cork. We took home some cork samples the other day and they didn't look good. I've never been a fan of cork anyway, but it looked awful next to the hardwood.

That leaves us with vinyl and tile. Well, there's also Marmoleum, but that's not an option either because reviews are spotty, especially a couple years after installation.

There's a newer product called luxury vinyl tile (LVT) that is supposed to be great. It's touted as highly durable, warm, quiet--basically the best qualities of vinyl and tile--and some versions are even green. It's fairly expensive (double or more the price of sheet vinyl) so I was wondering if anyone here has it.

Am I missing any type of flooring? What do you all have?

__________________

Fifi.G

I bet your vintage red oak floors are beautiful.

The house I'm in has cork floors in every room but the bathroom. I absolutely adore it, except in the kitchen. It's warm, quiet, fire resistant, anti microbial, a dream to walk on BUT you can't *traditionally* wet mop it. That is the major down side. Plus, it can cause huge problems if it gets large amounts of water on it. Not the best if the sink leaks or ... Don't get me wrong, it's not been a huge problem, just not the best in that room. It's good that you were not drawn to it.

When it comes to other options, I would go with tile. It can work beautifully along side wood, and it easy to clean.

* just pick a colored grout. they have so many stunning options now. so much better than the old standard and easily stained white.

__________________
When I hear terms like "hipster" I think, who told cliques they could leave high school??

Starmie

I have tiles. Hard wearing and easy to clean, though I agree with fifi on the coloured grout - ours is a creamy beige, like the tiles, and is (after 20 yrs) grotty. I have an aversion to vinyl but I have seen some high quality ones on makeover shows and they look pretty good.

__________________
3b in South Australia.

Fifi.G

It makes a world of difference. I helped my mom pick out tile and grout. I was in love with all the colors. I like some of the looks where the grout matches the tile exactly, and gives the illusion of a solid floor, and when the grout is just a shade or 2 lighter.

Many pretty options.

__________________
When I hear terms like "hipster" I think, who told cliques they could leave high school??

rileyb

We replaced some hideous old parquet in our hall and couldn't do hardwood due to the same reason. We used natural slate tiles, which were not bad costwise and really look pretty, and hide dirt well. Downsides - they're cold, so if you like to go barefoot a lot, probably not a great option and the smash factor for kitchen stuff might be high if you're clumsy.

__________________
I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but I still keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.

geeky

We got ceramic tile in the kitchen. I cant imagine doing anything other than tile or laminate. We did get out original grout too light but then we had it covered with a special grout paint or dye to make it almost the same as the tiles (so it does not show dirt).

My in-laws have some kind of high-traffic carpet in their kitchen. They actually recently replaced their old kitchen carpet with new kitchen carpet. They are happy but IMO it is gross

__________________
To Trenell, MizKerri and geeky:
I pray none of you ever has to live in a communist state.

Geeky is my hero. She's the true badass. The badass who doesn't even need to be a badass. There aren't enough O's in cool to describe her.

sarah42

I would go with tile. That's what I'll use in my kitchen if/when we replace the floor someday. I like the looks and environmentally friendly qualities of cork, but I've heard it's not very durable, which would dissuade me, especially in a kitchen (high-traffic room).

__________________

goldy

Have you considered glazed concrete?

This link has pics to some more detailed ones, but you can also go simple

http://thecreativeconcrete.com/interior/index.htm

__________________

mrspoppers

Thanks everyone. It sounds like tile is the way to go. I agree about the colored grout. I had a tile countertop once and the white grout looked nasty, no matter how much I cleaned it.

The tiles I'm looking at are composite, not ceramic or slate, so they're not as cold on the feet. They're also slightly softer so you don't have as much smashing of kitchen stuff. It's sort of like the difference between granite and quartz/composite coutertops. However, I just took a look at some slate tiles and they're less than half the price of LVT so maybe we should consider that route. I love the look of slate.

Laminate's not very practical in a kitchen, especially with dogs. Any undiscovered leak or (pee) puddle on a seam makes the laminate pucker and/or stain. That said, it also won't work because its fakeness will only be accentuated next to the red oak.

Kitchen carpet is disgusting. I didn't know they still made it!

I love the look of glazed concrete but I'm trying to picture them pouring concrete in our second floor kitchen!

__________________

goldy

What is the subfloor? Wood?

Have you looked into travertine? It's a natural stone tile.

__________________

rileyb

You can see it in the background of some of my xmas 2011 pics on FB if you are interested, MrsP.

I like the glazed concrete look too but it can be really hard on the back if either your or MrP cook often and spend a lot of time standing on it.

__________________
I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but I still keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.

SCG

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of design shows on HGTV that are using this ceramic/porcelain tile that looks just like wood. I think it's a really cool concept... You get the look of wood floor without the durability issues, and it seems to be much less expensive. It might be worth looking into, if you're thinking you might do tile anyhow!

ETA: Ah, just saw your post about having it next to the hardwood... On its own it would look good, I think, but next to real wood floors, probably not so much!

__________________

"And death is at your doorstep
And it will steal your innocence
But it will not steal your substance
But you are not alone in this"

“My ability to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne.” - Tina Fey

gekko422

I saw that just yesterday, SCG. I thought it looked really nice. Not necessarily for you, MrsP, but in general.

__________________
Democracy is not a spectator sport.

You know why pandas are endangered? Cause pandas ain't got no game.

Jesus loves you, but I'm his favorite.

PartyHair

We have saltillo tile and I really hate it. It always looks dirty and keeping the grout clean is a total impossibility.

If we decide to replace it, I would want a stained concrete situation, I think.

__________________
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rock on with your bad self.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Be excellent to each other. ~ Abraham Lincoln

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

spiderlashes5000

I have bamboo wall-to-wall across the entire first foor (incl kitchen). I had wood in my last kitchen as well. It's never been a problem for me to have wood in the kitchen (as part of the entire first floor). But if that wasn't an option, I would go w/ ceramic tile. But I would bring some pieces home and lay them out and make sure I was getting the right color, size, etc.

Definitely not laminate or sheetgoods!

__________________
3b (with 3c tendencies) on modified CG