Berkeley Parents Network: Kitchen Floors

Berkeley Parents Network

Kitchen Floors

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Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Kitchen Floors

Choosing a Kitchen Floor Material

Barbara 12/99
I would like to have recommendations for kitchen floor materials. I'm thinking either wood or tile or ? Any success stories? Thanks.

Jana 12/99
My husband and I have just gone through the whole debate on what to put on our kitchen floor. We had originally thought we would put down linoleum (to keep costs down) but couldn't find anything we liked, and the few patterns we did like actually turned out to be incredibly expensive. We thought about Pergo (or something like it) but our kitchen floor slopes and we were therefore warned that the material would buckle. From there we thought about hardwood floors (which actually turned out to be cheaper than the linoleum or the Pergo), but we heard a lot of people complain about scratches, water damage, and food stains. If you do use hardwood, make sure to get an oil based finish (not a water based finish) on the floor so that you minimize water damage. Our contractor swears that hardwood in a kitchen works fine, and we've also met other people who are really happy with their hardwood. Our concern was that it would start to look worn down (particularly near the doorways) and that we would have to maintain it fairly often. We finally decided to go with tile because it seemed to be the most durable surface and we found that it would only be about $200 more than the hardwood. The biggest selling point for us was on the maintenance - it's really easy to take care of. The downsides, of course, are that it's supposedly harder on your feet and back and it's probably not as child-friendly as the hardwood. I don't have any data yet for you on how it's going since the tile installer just started on our house today. If you do opt for tile, there's a wonderful place called Italics in Emeryville that sells beautiful Italian tile very reasonably priced. Good luck! Hilary 12/99
We just put linoleum in our kitchen because we have a period house. Marmoleum is quite beautiful, and is somewhat natural as well. It is also "soft" which is good for babies, and easy to keep clean.

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