Anyone putting tile floor in a new kitchen?

[Anonymous]

We've hard hardwoods in all out kitchens over the last 10 years (3 different houses!) and much prefer it to tile. Visually and for walking on. I guess tile is easier to clean? But conversely, dirt shows on tile floors so much more. You have to clean it right away or it looks gross.

The most important factor to be is the aesthetics. Most kitchens are open concept or semi-open concept these days, and it looks terrible - like seriously terrible - to have a sectioned-off corner of your main floor that has tile abutting all the rest of the hardwood. Basically is the household equivalent of wearing horizontal stripes. If the kitchen is standalone, I think tile is okay (but don't love). If it's open concept, please don't tile. Or if you tile, use wood-look tile that are a thematic match with the hardwoods on the rest of your main floor. they don't have to be an exact match, but should be same color family.

[Anonymous]

Personally I much prefer tile over HW floors for kitchens. It's much more functional and durable imo, and I've never had the problem with them showing dirt..? If you have an open concept the transition isn't a big deal at all. The trick is picking a nice tile.

Tiles are much more durable to water damage/etc. which is a problem these days with crappy appliances. This is obviously a tomayto vs. tomahto thing imo. Same goes for tile vs. HW in powder rooms. I'll take tile any day.

[Anonymous]

I'm with the marmoleum posters. Sheet. No grout lines. Warm. Easy to clean. It's so practical. We put some in a bathroom and it's great (nonslip as well).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've hard hardwoods in all out kitchens over the last 10 years (3 different houses!) and much prefer it to tile. Visually and for walking on. I guess tile is easier to clean? But conversely, dirt shows on tile floors so much more. You have to clean it right away or it looks gross.

The most important factor to be is the aesthetics. Most kitchens are open concept or semi-open concept these days, and it looks terrible - like seriously terrible - to have a sectioned-off corner of your main floor that has tile abutting all the rest of the hardwood. Basically is the household equivalent of wearing horizontal stripes. If the kitchen is standalone, I think tile is okay (but don't love). If it's open concept, please don't tile. Or if you tile, use wood-look tile that are a thematic match with the hardwoods on the rest of your main floor. they don't have to be an exact match, but should be same color family.

+1

Open concept with a different flooring in the kitchen looks like crap.

[Anonymous]

op here. My concern is about kids who are messy eaters and myself who can be a messy cook. Also the kitchen has a door that leads to outside which gets quite a bit of traffic. So I guess I just wonder if tile will be easier to clean and wear better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:op here. My concern is about kids who are messy eaters and myself who can be a messy cook. Also the kitchen has a door that leads to outside which gets quite a bit of traffic. So I guess I just wonder if tile will be easier to clean and wear better.

I have tile right now and I hate it. It kills my back, has cracked in a few places (though it's pretty old) and like a pp mentioned it is hard to keep the grout clean (though it's not hard to keep the tile itself clean. Not to mention when my toddler falls on it he gets more hurt than when he falls on our wood floor. I'd never choose it if I had a choice.

[Anonymous]

I hate cleaning tile and grout. Drives me crazy. Hardwoods are so easy to keep clean and don't show dirt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate cleaning tile and grout. Drives me crazy. Hardwoods are so easy to keep clean and don't show dirt.

Agree

[Anonymous]

I have slate tile in my kitchen and love it. I also wear slippers in the winter. It's very easy to clean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't do a tile floor with white cabinets. The overall look is too cold. Tile works better with natural wood cabinets. Hardwood works better with white.

How so? There are a million colors and textures of tile. From wood grain look to traventine etc. I have grey scuffed look rectangle tile with cream cabinets and it's plenty warm looking.

It can be done but other elements need to be warm (tile, backsplash, paint, etc). Cream cabinets tend to work better than stark white. Don't do all white, black and grey.

Something like this:



NOT this:

[Anonymous]

If you have a dog, esp a large dog, do not get hardwood. We have dents galore in our hardwood floors. Also, if you keep your dog's food and water in the kitchen, you will need to keep those bowls on a large mat or tray because the water will eventually cause damage.

If you do go the hardwood route, be sure to keep a large mat in front of the kitchen sink. That is where most of the water damage and wear and tear on hardwood floors will be.

If you don't have a dog or cat, I would also suggest looking at cork, especially if you stand in the kitchen for long periods of time. You can find colors that complement the existing hardwood floors in your home, it's warm and soft underfoot, and you can coat it to be water-resistant. I also like that cork (as well as Marmoleum) are green and eco-friendly materials.

[Anonymous]

We recently replaced hardwood floors and had the option to get rid of the tile in the bathroom and kitchen and do hardwood instead. I chose to leave them tiled. We have constant water and food spills from kids and pets and I think I would just end up being overly anxious having hardwood in a very used/wet space in the house. I have white cabinets and grey tile. It looks lovely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently replaced hardwood floors and had the option to get rid of the tile in the bathroom and kitchen and do hardwood instead. I chose to leave them tiled. We have constant water and food spills from kids and pets and I think I would just end up being overly anxious having hardwood in a very used/wet space in the house. I have white cabinets and grey tile. It looks lovely.

I should add one of our walls is brick so maybe that makes the room warmer? The walls are painted a light grey-blue. I've never felt the kitchen looked too cold (and I am very sensitive to that).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently replaced hardwood floors and had the option to get rid of the tile in the bathroom and kitchen and do hardwood instead. I chose to leave them tiled. We have constant water and food spills from kids and pets and I think I would just end up being overly anxious having hardwood in a very used/wet space in the house. I have white cabinets and grey tile. It looks lovely.

I should add one of our walls is brick so maybe that makes the room warmer? The walls are painted a light grey-blue. I've never felt the kitchen looked too cold (and I am very sensitive to that).

Yes, that would make a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently replaced hardwood floors and had the option to get rid of the tile in the bathroom and kitchen and do hardwood instead. I chose to leave them tiled. We have constant water and food spills from kids and pets and I think I would just end up being overly anxious having hardwood in a very used/wet space in the house. I have white cabinets and grey tile. It looks lovely.

I should add one of our walls is brick so maybe that makes the room warmer? The walls are painted a light grey-blue. I've never felt the kitchen looked too cold (and I am very sensitive to that).

It's not that the tile looks cold, it's that it is cold temperature wise. My powder room has marble tiles and we call it our icebox in the winter. The rest of the house is 5 degrees warmer than that room.