Your kitchen sees you at your most inspired and messiest. The kitchen floor has to withstand it all and be easy to clean if it wants to survive your daily meal preparation. How do the two most popular choices in flooring compare?
Wood
Wood is back in demand as we find there’s no reason that lovely look in other rooms can’t be extended into our kitchens.
The pros
Aesthetics Wooden floors add elegance and value to properties. Their clean lines give a seamless finish and look modern whilst they can make an area feel warming and more inviting.
Less allergies Pet hair and dust won’t stick as readily to wood, and may offer relief for those who suffer allergies.
Sustainability Well looked after wooden floors will last a really long time and are generally more environmentally friendly than synthetic materials.
The cons
Extra care You’ll need to treat them over the long term and take care not to use damaging cleaning materials.
Noise The floor will creak occasionally, and you will be able to hear people walking through the kitchen when wearing shoes, from other rooms in the house.
Wear and tear The kitchen sees a lot of traffic and hardwood floors do show their scratches. Wood also doesn’t play well with excess moisture, so deal with any water damage quickly.
Price If you have a large space, or want to match floors to other parts of your property, it can be quite expensive.
Tiles
They’ve been kitchen favourites for a very long time. They’re shiny, easy to clean and allow us to experiment with a variety of colours and textures.
The pros
Hard wearing Tiles will weather the trials of your kitchen well and support years of foot traffic.
Design flexibility There are options to use a lighter colour to make a kitchen seem bigger or add contrast with darker tiles. Larger tiles will also help a kitchen feel bigger.
Temperature Tiles will keep your home cooler in warm and hot weather.
The cons
Replacement Manufacturers stop making tiles regularly, so if you need to replace a broken one, you may find it hard to get an exact match.
Stains Tiles can be deceiving. Simple clean ups are usually straightforward, but some lighter coloured tiles will stain easily. Grout needs periodic sealing and if you have chosen a lighter coloured grout, you may be forever trying to fix the discolouration from food stains.
You drop it, you’ve lost it! Tiles aren’t a drop friendly surface, so be careful with tableware as once they hit the floor, the may crack the tiles.