Tips for Selecting the Best Kitchen Floors

Picking the right type of flooring for your home is always important, especially when it comes to the kitchen. Not only is the kitchen a high-traffic area of your home, it’s also highly visible to guests. Because of all that, you’ll want your kitchen floors to be functional, stylish, and long-lasting—preferably without breaking the bank.

Some materials are great for kitchen floors, while others are better suited to other areas of the house. Keep reading to learn useful tips about picking kitchen floors, plus the types of kitchen flooring we recommend the most!

What to Consider While Choosing Kitchen Floors

Appearance

You and your guests will probably spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen, so it only makes sense that you want it to look nice and stylish. Kitchen floors come in a ton of different styles and finishes, so there’s one to fit every style of décor. You can choose from warm, rustic hardwood flooring, sleek and modern vinyl flooring, and so much more.

Your Lifestyle

Do you have kids or pets? If so, you’ll probably want kitchen floors that are durable, scratch-resistant, and easy to clean. Your unique lifestyle affects which type of flooring is best for your kitchen.

Durability and Lifespan

Durable kitchen floors resist scratches, scruffs, and warping. This means you won’t have to be as careful with durable floors to keep them looking great over the years.
However, there comes a time when every floor needs to be replaced. Sometimes that’s in 20 years, like with laminate flooring, or it can be in 100 years, like with hardwood floors. Consider the lifespan of the flooring you’re interested in so you know what to expect later on.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Some types of kitchen floors are higher maintenance than others. For instance, in addition to sweeping and mopping regularly, you’ll need to use wood cleaner on hardwood floors every once in a while. You’ll also have to clean up spills as soon as possible, otherwise, the liquids could cause warping. If you don’t think you’ll make time to keep up with the cleaning that comes along with higher-maintenance floors, it might be better to choose a more low-maintenance floor, such as vinyl.

Comfort

Some floors are softer than others, which makes them feel more comfortable underfoot. If you think you will spend several hours on end in the kitchen, you might want to choose flooring with a little softness, such as hardwood. Standing on very hard flooring, such as tile, for long periods of time can get uncomfortable.

Cost

Consider your budget while you’re shopping around for kitchen floors. In addition to paying for each square foot of the flooring, there will most likely be other costs as well. Delivery, installation, underlayment, and disposing of your old flooring are all costs that might apply.

The Best Types of Kitchen Floors

Vinyl

Vinyl is a great choice for kitchen floors. It’s available in bold patterns, modern designs, and it can mimic the appearance of stone, tile, and wood. It’s very durable, water-resistant, and reasonably priced (especially compared to the materials it closely mimics). Vinyl isn’t for everyone, though. It can be inconsistent in quality, and you’ll need to take extra measures to properly maintain it over the years, including putting protective pads beneath your furniture.

Laminate

Laminate flooring is affordable, easy to clean, resistant to water, and comes in a wide range of styles. It can mimic the appearance of wood, stone, and more. However, it’s not super durable, so you’ll notice wear and tear on it sooner than you would with wood flooring or other sturdy flooring options. You also won’t be able to refinish laminate floors; you’ll have to replace them when they show signs of wear.

Tile

Tile flooring is durable, water-resistant, and available in many different styles. It’s also easy to clean for the most part, but deep cleaning the grout every once in a while can be arduous and time-consuming. To install tile floors, keep in mind that your subfloor has to be high quality, which might be an extra cost.

Hardwood

Hardwood floors are beautiful, long-lasting, durable, and feel comfortable underfoot. Unfortunately, they’re expensive and might be out of budget for many homeowners. They’re also susceptible to warping when exposed to humidity, dampness, or drastic temperature changes.

Engineered Hardwood

Engineered hardwood floors are a great alternative to traditional hardwood floors. They’re stylish, durable, resistant to warping, made of real wood, and less expensive than hardwood floors. You can even refinish them up to 2 times, so you can expect them to last for many years to come.

Make an Appointment at In and Out Floors Today

Are you ready for new kitchen floors? Skip the hassle of installing it yourself and let the skilled team at In and Out Floors help you out! We offer laminate, vinyl, and engineered hardwood flooring in Warren and Utica, MI. Our team will make sure your new kitchen floors are installed quickly and look beautiful. Contact us to learn more and schedule an appointment!