Whats a good kitchen floor material?

I have parquet wood tiles, and I beat them all to heck, refinished them, and beat them all to heck again. I have to decide if I should refinish again (they're only veneer, though I haven't worn through it yet) or replace with something better.

I'm short so I kick a library stool around the kitchen; I spill lots of water, and do little dances at the sink if there's music on, so the finish is warn away in several places. My feet are likely to hurt on hard ungiving floors. Oh, and it's a little house, and money must be budgeted carefully.

Does anybody have something sturdy and good-looking with some give or bounce that you like? My floor is not on a slab, it's a wood underfloor.

When we remodelled our kitchen last year, we put in slate tiles. Very durable, and if you keep it sealed regularly, it's stain-resistant.

Oh, and slate won't get slippery if something is spilled, so it's safer.

[Robin Garr]

When we moved into this house 13 years ago (amazing it's been so long!), we pulled out some awful linoleum and had a very simple but decent quality white vinyl flooring put down. This is probably some kind of a design sin in a 100-year-old house, but it was fairly reasonably priced (around $1,000 for a large room in 1994, as I recall), it has held up well, and it cleans easily.

Cork has a good reputation for comfort and durability, but I'm not sure about the price - it might be a bit high(?)

Since you mentioned budgetary restraints, you may want to consider just re-finishing one more time, using several coats and making adjustments to preserve it, such as mats or rugs by the sink and high traffic areas and putting rubber feet on your stool.

Thanks, all.
Robert, I admire slate but it wouldn't work out in my little cottage kitchen.
I'm tempted to price cork versus refinishing, just to see-- does anybody have cork and has seen how it holds up? Maybe having a small kitchen will help enough with the price.

I should look into vinyl too, Robin, because when I'm busy in the kitchen, I just can't stop and worry about the floor.

My neighbor has used rubber tile flooring for over twenty years in three new homes. It is a commercial product and hers looks like bricks. One house had the rubber tile in the brick color and this last house she used white and it does look like real bricks with a gray tone rubber grout. She loves it and it is quiet and easy on her feet. One a year she gets down on her hands and knees and scrubs the old fashioned way as it had little rough spots that collect dirt. The rest of the time, clean-up is easy.

Leanne, here is my kitchen with the tile we installed.

Wow! If you had aligned them better, you wouldn't have needed all those little tiles.

Wow! If you had aligned them better, you wouldn't have needed all those little tiles.

Larry, LOL!!

Robert, that is a beautiful floor!

Leanne, we have travertine in California and hard-wood in North Carolina. I must say that the tile is much harder on my feet and legs than the wood. If I'm doing any "marathon" cooking in CA, I always wear my Sauconys. I'm not sure why the tile is so much harder to stand on, because I can't imagine that the wood has any "play" in it. Any thoughts? Is it my imagination??

Shag carpeting. Makes you careful.

Wow! If you had aligned them better, you wouldn't have needed all those little tiles.

Larry, LOL!!

Robert, that is a beautiful floor!

Thank you! I wanted to pattern it so it looked less like a runway, given that the kitchen is long and narrow. Tile is hard on my feet when I stand on it barefoot, but I wear slippers if I'm cooking, and that helps a lot.

Thanks, all.
Robert, I admire slate but it wouldn't work out in my little cottage kitchen.
I'm tempted to price cork versus refinishing, just to see-- does anybody have cork and has seen how it holds up? Maybe having a small kitchen will help enough with the price.

I should look into vinyl too, Robin, because when I'm busy in the kitchen, I just can't stop and worry about the floor.

I was talking to a friend who's re-doing his floors yesterday. He was told that a problem with cork is that some spills will discolor it and you may therefore end up with different-colored areas around the stove and other places where you just can't help but get stuff on the floor. That's the first time I've heard that, though, so I'm a little skeptical. Thought I'd mention it.

FWIW, they're looking at going with old-fashioned linoleum. It's pricier than vinyl but does not show scuffs and cuts as easily and lasts a very long time.

Carrie, in the long haul, wood v. tile is very different on the back and legs...Even hardwood floors are softer. Like you, if I don't change into GOOD running shoes to cook on tile, I suffer. But I would still put tile (slate; I love it) in my next kitchen...if I ever get "my" next kitchen (I rent)...

Have you seen those gel mats for sale in the back of the food mags? They are expensive, but I think I'm going to invest. I'm doing a ton of cooking for styling food photos and I am putting in 12 hour days sometimes. I DIE. I threaten to quit. But I don't.

b

I recommend Flubber.

Man, Stuart, what I wouldn't give for some good Flubber...

I vote for turf, preferably rye or bentgrass: easy on the feet and legs, no worry about spills and, as an added bonus, you can feed your sheep and goats on it!!

Mark Lipton

Thoughts of flooring for food and wine areas.

1 - bottles and plates will inevitably fall on the floor. Hopefully not frequently, but once can ruin a dinner if it was your only bottle of that wine, or a favourite serving plate. For this reason, I favour wood flooring which is resilient enough to at least give you a chance of a bounce instead of an automatic smash. I use solid fir stripping.

2 - modern finishes are quite durable and should only need touching up once in a blue moon and then only in high traffic areas.

3 - while cork floors might serve the bouncy bouncy goal (see #1 above) they don't seal properly with finish and sop up liquids. I discovered this many, many years ago in a friend's basement where we were having a contract bridge tournament (OK, I never said I wasn't a geek) and things got out of hand resulting in extensive spraying of beer (that shows how long ago it was as I doubt I've had a beer in 20 years) all over the cork floor. The parents of my friend were definitely ...put out... as the place smelled like a brewery for weeks and their dog was down there licking the floor regularly for literally days on end (dogs don't need much in the way of intellectual stimulation).

I vote for turf, preferably rye or bentgrass: easy on the feet and legs, no worry about spills and, as an added bonus, you can feed your sheep and goats on it!!

Mark Lipton

Mark, I figured as a biochemist type you plump for original old style lino flooring. Nice and organic (sort of a solidifed linseed oil) and while it would burn, at least it didn't also emit poisonous gas like PVC flooring does as it burns! And using grass does tend to add considerably to the entomological burden of your living space...

I recommend Flubber.

Well, I live near the properties once owned by Fred MacMurray, and Robin Wiliiams' brother (depending on whether you're into originals or remakes-- may they rest in peace) so all I need is a dark night suitable for sneeking around in, and a Flubber detector.

Robert, your floor looks really well done. Thanks for the photo. I just can't have anything less resilient than wood.

I appreciate hearing about the organic-ness of linoleum and the staining properties of cork.

Mark, I figured as a biochemist type you plump for original old style lino flooring. Nice and organic (sort of a solidifed linseed oil) and while it would burn, at least it didn't also emit poisonous gas like PVC flooring does as it burns!

I have bad memories of linoleum from my misspent youth: scars and burns, mostly. YMMV of course.

And using grass does tend to add considerably to the entomological burden of your living space...

But it makes your composting easier!! And, in a pinch, you can always improvise a dinner. In all seriousness, I prefer tile flooring, but understand the objections. At home we have wood flooring, which is OK but a bit of a maintenance issue.

Mark Lipton

Cork. I put it in my kitchen. Great on the feet. Looks fantastic. Does not show dirt. Easy to clean. No problem with liquids - just beads up. Would do it again and in any other room of the house as well.