Kitchen flooring

We don't have cats/dogs/other pets so I can't comment on that issue. We decided against laminates/veneer because we wanted something that could be refinished/restained if needed. Therefore we went with standard hardwood in all rooms except kitchen [cork] and bathrooms [marble] and mainlevel entry and halls [marble]. I had wanted some rooms to be as dark as possible - black. We used different woods in different rooms. Maple, cherry, walnut and oak. After many trials none of the wood was black enough except the walnut which was too beautiful in its natural state to cover up with stain. The best effect after all was said and done -- the walnut and maple went unstained. Some of the oak was stained but the unstained turned out better. Cherry was nice both ways.
We achieved room definition by varying the lay i.e. picture frame, banded or bordered with different widths or different species. Not sure if you need/want to better define areas but varying the lay, even using the same species can be subtle and effective.

[Jenise]

We don't have cats/dogs/other pets so I can't comment on that issue. We decided against laminates/veneer because we wanted something that could be refinished/restained if needed. Therefore we went with standard hardwood in all rooms except kitchen [cork] and bathrooms [marble] and mainlevel entry and halls [marble]. I had wanted some rooms to be as dark as possible - black. We used different woods in different rooms. Maple, cherry, walnut and oak. After many trials none of the wood was black enough except the walnut which was too beautiful in its natural state to cover up with stain. The best effect after all was said and done -- the walnut and maple went unstained. Some of the oak was stained but the unstained turned out better. Cherry was nice both ways.
We achieved room definition by varying the lay i.e. picture frame, banded or bordered with different widths or different species. Not sure if you need/want to better define areas but varying the lay, even using the same species can be subtle and effective.

Christina and Mike,

My problem's light. As in, TONS OF NATURAL LIGHT. It's both the beauty and the bane of this house. I sit around on dark and stormy days like today and never need to turn on a light. Architecturally a clever design because my house is built facing south, and 15 clerestory windows ring the east, west and south sides of the entire 22 ft tall downstairs. Light reflects off of almost all the flooring--so the darker the floor, the more it shows, and everything shows here in a way it wouldn't in a more conventional home. Dings and wear I accept as normal, no problem. Footprints, tea spills, and cat hair are another issue--a floor that looks like it's been two months since it's been mopped two days after you mopped it is my fear. My camera's here on my desk, let me take a couple of shots from where I'm sitting, I think that will explain a lot.

DSC03814.JPG

Not sure if that will be viewable or not. I had it minimized to 500 pixels as an export file, but the result was 124 K mb, looks too huge. Anyway, presuming you can view it, I'm standing in my "office" looking through the dining room and into the foyer. Above the foyer you see a strange space with interior windows on the left and tall exterior windows to the right. Just left of the rock wall you can see the edge of a closet. The closet's (and the floor above it to the right of the column) are about to be demolished and opened up as part of the new kitchen. You can see the light reflecting off the old Italian tile floor. You also get a feel for just how open this house is (and how much more open it's going to become) and why I can't change flooring between the areas.

And yes, the trophy case DEF goes away in the remodel.

Well, you certainly have the opposite problem from ours, Jenise. Our house is quite dark (too dark, really), and it's possible that hides a multitude of cat-related sins.

[Jenise]

Well, you certainly have the opposite problem from ours, Jenise. Our house is quite dark (too dark, really), and it's possible that hides a multitude of cat-related sins.

More than you know, I'm sure! You have an older home, too, right? I found a piece of flooring that I LOVE, but it's slightly distressed for a rustic look, possibly too much so for this house. I tried to pretend it wasn't because it's just so hot (and trouble-free) looking, but even the cabinet guy who just left told me it was all wrong. I'm hosed!

I'm all for wood flooring in the kitchen. I think wood flooring has an organic look that just goes naturally with food preparation and is easy to take care of if it's properly installed and finished. With multiple coats of a high quality polyurethane coating, a wood floor is as durable and easy to clean as old-fashioned linoleum, which might have been ugly, but had the advantage of lasting for decades (I'm not talking about the modern stuff). I can honestly say I'm delighted with the hickory flooring we put in our kitchen, den and breakfast room about 7 years ago (And it still doesn't need refinishing). It's a light color, but shows virtually no dirt or marks since it has enough striations, small knots and grain to hide anything but the most obvious spill, like tomato sauce. But as you know, it's probably more "country" looking than what you want. If you go with a dark wood, look for one that has considerable grain and variations in color and that will make it less likely to show marks.

[Jenise]

I'm all for wood flooring in the kitchen. I think wood flooring has an organic look that just goes naturally with food preparation and is easy to take care of if it's properly installed and finished. With multiple coats of a high quality polyurethane coating, a wood floor is as durable and easy to clean as old-fashioned linoleum, which might have been ugly, but had the advantage of lasting for decades (I'm not talking about the modern stuff). I can honestly say I'm delighted with the hickory flooring we put in our kitchen, den and breakfast room about 7 years ago (And it still doesn't need refinishing). It's a light color, but shows virtually no dirt or marks since it has enough striations, small knots and grain to hide anything but the most obvious spill, like tomato sauce. But as you know, it's probably more "country" looking than what you want. If you go with a dark wood, look for one that has considerable grain and variations in color and that will make it less likely to show marks.

Your floors look beautiful. And I love hickory--love all those colors--your cabinets are cherry, right? Hickory goes with everything. In a similar vein, I did find a birch floor made from both red and white birches that has some black or dark gray to it, too, possibly added by wax or something as that wouldn't be natural to the wood. Hickory-like. I can really see that in my house especially with all the wood colors, and it matches the wood on the all-wood-inside Anderson sliding doors we put in this year. Remember all that old and ugly aluminum? Gone! All by itself, though, I don't think hickory's country. It's just that this sample I'm in possession of at the moment has been deliberately distressed to look worn--that's what give it a country look. Back the distress out and it's something to consider.

What great bones to work with!
I can understand that all that direct and reflected light will show the schmutz on a uniformly dark surface but if you love the look the only way to get around it is to figure out the easiest way to keep it spiff. Keep as much off the floors as possible and use a "super swiffer". Don't know how much toning down the reflected light with different paint would help.
The light,directionality and cleanliness issues make a challenging project. Do you have an acoustical issue as well with all the hard surfaces ?

[David M. Bueker]

Jenise - my Mom has a dark stained wood floor & she is always having to clean it, pretty much daily (in a house with only 3 cats and the litter boxes in the basement). Go with lighter wood.

[Jenise]

What great bones to work with!
I can understand that all that direct and reflected light will show the schmutz on a uniformly dark surface but if you love the look the only way to get around it is to figure out the easiest way to keep it spiff. Keep as much off the floors as possible and use a "super swiffer". Don't know how much toning down the reflected light with different paint would help.
The light,directionality and cleanliness issues make a challenging project. Do you have an acoustical issue as well with all the hard surfaces ?

Good question: no, we don't, it's a very quiet home. And anytime anyone suggests we go to all wood on the entire first floor--several designers have--they get told that I'd find that unacceptable. The large expanse of carpeted area around the hard flooring dampens all the noise. Our Huntington Beach house had that 'hollow' issue after we put marble on the entire first floor, and I have two friends here with tall ceilings and all-hard floors who, when I talk to them on the phone, sound like they're calling from a big empty box. That would drive me nuts.

And there's no way to stay off what will be the new wood floor. It's the conduit to every part of the house, including upstairs and the garage. Nope, I'll just have to go lighter.

Speaking of your cork floors, it dawns on me that in both of the interiors shops I've been to here, no one is showing cork. I wonder why not?

There is nothing I do not like about my cork kitchen floor. It is very easy on the feet, quiet, extremely easy to keep clean. I dust it with a swiffer or vacuum on the bare floor setting. I wipe it with a damp cloth very infrequently because it just doesn't need it. It is a composite floor but we went with the thickest layer of cork available. I did post a picture awhile back - I think on the sink thread [?]
If there is a structural problem, I'm not aware. We had a very good installer.

Error - the photo is in the Aug 21 thread by Leanne - What is a good kitchen floor material

CG,

Did you have any concern about TCA? I could not handle working in a corked kitchen. Major nightmare.

LOL .... I have a hound's olfactory ability when it comes to that ....I wish it were so for other smells and tastes

[Jenise]

There is nothing I do not like about my cork kitchen floor. It is very easy on the feet, quiet, extremely easy to keep clean. I dust it with a swiffer or vacuum on the bare floor setting. I wipe it with a damp cloth very infrequently because it just doesn't need it. It is a composite floor but we went with the thickest layer of cork available. I did post a picture awhile back - I think on the sink thread [?]
If there is a structural problem, I'm not aware. We had a very good installer.

I'll look for the pic. In the meantime, how was your cork installed? We have another complication in that whatever I buy goes on concrete, a technique called 'floating'. Apparently, some floorings float a lot better than others.

Jenise, the subfloor under the cork is wood and it is glued down. I believe that there are floating type installations for cork as well. Would your climate/humidity be the reason that stores are not showing cork in your area?

[Jenise]

Jenise, the subfloor under the cork is wood and it is glued down. I believe that there are floating type installations for cork as well. Would your climate/humidity be the reason that stores are not showing cork in your area?

That may be the answer, if humidity's a problem for cork. But I sure haven't seen any--and I used to deeply admire some of the examples I'd see at HomeExpo in southern California. It's a much more sophisticated look than one would expect based on what we pull out of wine bottles.

Is there anything more humid than the neck of a bottle ? The "engineering" must be sound to prevent failure

[Jenise]

Is there anything more humid than the neck of a bottle ? The "engineering" must be sound to prevent failure

No, but god knows what it goes through in manufacture. How many times do we say, "Wouldn't think it would be that way, but it is." I'm just open to the idea that this might be one of them.