Do not know which floor is best done in the kitchen? Then let's take a look at the pros, cons and photos of the 5 most popular floor coverings for the kitchen: wood, tile, stone, laminate and linoleum.
What is the choice of flooring for the kitchen
The right choice is always based on weighing the pros and cons of various options. What should be considered when choosing the best floor for the kitchen?
- Cost;
- Strength;
- Durability;
- Material requirements for care;
- Design.
Ideal floor covering for the kitchen is characterized by low price, high resistance to moisture, grease, staining and temperature changes, and also the ability to serve for 50 years with minimal maintenance. Unfortunately, the material that would meet all these requirements, does not exist yet. If you plan to update floors in your kitchen, then you can weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the 5 best floor coverings, as well as see interesting ideas for their application in kitchen design. Hopefully this article will help you make the perfect choice for your lifestyle.
1. Natural wood floor in the kitchen
Cost: high.
Pros: natural beauty and environmental friendliness. It gives the interior of the kitchen a charming warmth and cosiness. With proper care with polishing can last many tens, even hundreds of years.
Minuses: high cost and exacting care. Wooden floors are easily scratched (lighter than all other materials), difficult to clean due to the fibrous structure of the wood, can deform from constant exposure to moisture and sudden temperature changes.
Wooden floors in kitchen design (photos and ideas)
The most attractive of natural wooden floors is considered to be cherry, maple, walnut and oak. In general, hardwood is considered not only more luxurious, but also more reliable. Accordingly, such a floor covering for the kitchen will cost you more than any other cover. But look at the photo, is not it worth it?
Also read: Fashionable Kitchens 2016 - New Trends in Interior Design
Among today's popular ideas for floor design in the kitchen, pay attention to how the light and gray shades of the parquet look, which perfectly fit into modern interior design. Fresh and stylish!
For a more traditional and cozy design of the kitchen, rich dark shades of wood, as well as "patterned" tree structures with nodules and granularity are perfectly suited.
Finally, who said that a tree can not look creative? Mixing different sizes of boards or using bright modern palettes can make your kitchen simply stunning!
Also read: Choose stylish wallpaper for the kitchen (photo 2015)
2. Ceramic and other tiles for kitchen (on the floor)
Cost: средняя, иногда high.
Pros: good moisture resistance and ease of maintenance. The tile has a hard surface, strong to moisture and stain due to the fact that it absorbs slightly. It is difficult to scratch and it can serve you infinitely long with minimal maintenance requirements. Tiles can withstand most detergents, although even without them it is cleaned quite easily.
Minuses: weak impact resistance. Despite the general durability, the tile can crack and even crack from falling of a heavy object. And to replace the broken fragment of the tile will be more difficult than to change the damaged board in the laminate. In addition, the tile with a smooth surface is rather slippery, and the one that does not slip has a porosity,
If ceramic and porcelain tiles average cost, then marble and porcelain - refer to luxury floor coverings. Another type of kitchen floor tile is vinyl, which can be performed in the design "under the stone", wood and other materials.
В отличие от керамики, vinylовые полы не боится ударов также, как и воды. Их прочная поверхность трудно поддается царапанию и трению. Но vinyl похож по своей мягкости на линолеум,
Interesting ideas for kitchen floor design with tiles
Modern printing technologies allow creating ceramic tiles with imitation of natural stone, marble, wood, concrete and any other patterns. This versatility virtually guarantees that you will be able to find the right flooring design for the kitchen.
In addition, the tiles can be stacked in dozens of different ways, which opens up infinite possibilities for interior decoration. We bring to your attention several modern ideas for floor design in the kitchen with tiles.
3. Natural stone (in particular travertine)
Cost: mediumhigh.
Pros: natural beauty and strength. Stone floor is much harder to scratch or smash than tiles or wood parquet. In addition, it has a relief texture that resists slipping. With proper care, the stone floors in the kitchen can serve your family for centuries.
Minuses: high demands in care. These floors should be cleaned only with mild detergents and periodically polished to protect their porous surface. Stains can form on the surface of the stone, in particular from wine and other liquids.
Travertine is a timeless choice for the kitchen and is manufactured in a variety of forms. Below we present 4 photos of stylish kitchens with stone floor.
Also read: Apron for the kitchen - 30 best ideas
4. Laminate for the kitchen
Cost: average.
Pros: availability and ease of installation. The choice of laminate is a great way to save money on kitchen repairs. It is not only cheaper than many other materials, but it is also so easy to install that it is usually done by hand.
Minuses: низкая влагостойкость. В отличие от плитки и vinylа ламинат может деформироваться от влаги, поэтому на кухне он нуждается в особом уходе: изоляция от влаги, специальный очиститель. Кроме того, ламинат не отличается таким высоким сроком годности, как деревянные полы, плитка и камень.
A relatively inexpensive type of floor covering for the kitchen, the laminate can decorate it no worse than natural wood, providing excellent floor resistance to light scratching. The material is available in a variety of realistic patterns and shades of wood.
5. Natural linoleum
Talking about what floor to make in the kitchen, we can not say about linoleum. It is out of fashion for a long time, but begins to return due to its ecological compatibility - natural linoleum is made of linseed oil, resins, wood flour, limestone and pigments.
Cost: medium-low.
Pros: хорошая стойкость. Линолеум можно сравнить с vinylом, который прекрасно сопротивляется влаге и загрязнению. Кроме того, его полотна быстрее укладываются, чем плитка или паркет.
Minuses: relative fragility and stitches. The average lifetime of linoleum is 10 years. He wears off with time and in the kitchen can be cut with a fallen knife or other sharp object. At the same time, the softness of linoleum can be considered both a virtue and a disadvantage. On the one hand, it can form dents from heavy objects, but on the other hand it is pleasant to walk on it and it is not dangerous to fall.
Clean the linoleum with a pH neutral detergent, and if a yellow tint (due to the oxidation of linseed oil) on the problem surface you need to send a light source.
Kitchen design with linoleum on the floor (photo)
Linoleum is available in various shades and a variety of patterns that can give the kitchen a bright and cheerful look. The following photos show that this flooring can still be part of the stylish modern kitchen design.
Also read: 10 Steps to Greening Your Home
