There are so many choices for your kitchen flooring today that go beyond the traditional linoleum. You can now choose from Sheet Vinyl, Luxury Vinyl, Laminate, Hardwood, Tile or Cork. And each type offers its own unique benefits.
We’ve compiled the details you need to know when choosing a new flooring type for your kitchen.
Sheet Vinyl
This is hands down one of your best choices for kitchens. It’s the easiest to maintain and can realistically mimic the look of stone or hardwood. It also comes with fantastic durability and stain protection, making sheet vinyl an easy to maintain flooring style. Sheet Vinyl is easy on the feet for those that love spending time in the kitchen, and for those moments when plates, cups and glasses accidentally hit the floor, they often won’t break when dropped on sheet vinyl.
Luxury Vinyl
This new category of Vinyl flooring delivers high-end, realistic looking floors that mimic in natural materials wood and stone. They are so realistic looking that you might even have to touch the floor to see if it’s Luxury Vinyl or not. The benefits of of Luxury Vinyl flooring is that it’s warm and comfortable underfoot. It a big bonus is that Luxury Vinyl is also easy to install and waterproof. Making it perfect for kitchens.
Laminate
Laminate offers low maintenance and durability at a fraction of the cost of real wood or stone. Today’s styles also offer realistic-looking dupes of natural stone and wood that resist stains and scratching.
Hardwood
Hardwood is classic, timeless and never fails to look stunning in a kitchen. Hardwood is often installed throughout the home for a cohesive, seamless look and can last a lifetime if it’s properly taken care of. You can find styles in a multitude of widths and lengths, species and colours and smooth, textured or distressed finishes. Hardwood floors are highly durable and low maintenance. With this flooring choice your kitchen floors will never look dated.
Tile
Tile can withstand heavy traffic, water and spills. Tile flooring is probably the toughest floor available and is low maintenance. There are so many beautiful tile floors available today in various shapes and sizes. Large kitchen floor tiles will minimize grout lines and can make a small kitchen look larger. However, tile floors are hard, so you may want to use floor mats or area rugs in high traffic areas. Also if a dish drops, it is likely to break on impact. There are also many wood and stone-look tile floors available today if that’s a look you are wanting.
Cork
This is our eco-friendly choice. If you want a floor that is softer than wood, laminate or tile, and is slip resistant, this is your floor. However this floor requires some maintenance in that cork floors need to be resealed every 3-4 yeas. Torlys has introduced a new product called CorkWood. They have combined the beauty of wood, the durability of laminate and the comfort of cork. CorkWood Designer comes in long and wide planks measuring 68-3/4” long x 7-1/2” wide. CorkWood Elite comes in planks measuring 45-13/16” long x 7-1/2” wide.
What Flooring Is Best for Kitchens
While there are plenty of options in each category of flooring, our top picks for kitchens are sheet vinyl, luxury vinyl, or laminate flooring. Sheet vinyl is economical and easy to clean, making it an excellent choice for kitchens prone to spills and messes. Luxury vinyl offers similar benefits with a wide range of styles to suit any kitchen aesthetic. Laminate flooring provides durability and ease of maintenance, with options for water-resistant finishes. Each flooring type offers advantages suited to the demands of a kitchen, allowing you to choose based on your preferences and lifestyle.
Regardless of which flooring style you choose, no floor is completely resistant to liquid. If a spill is left for too long on the floor, it runs the risk of causing damage. Always wipe spills immediately. And if you’re not sure what will work best for your space, we can help! Visit Nufloors today for free estimates and in-home measurements.
