hardwood or ceramic tile in kitchen?

[Anonymous]

we are going to redo a kitchen in a house we just bought. The rest of the house has hardwood floors, except the kitchen. Existing flooring is vinyl which we are obviously going to replace. The question is whether to extend the hardwood floors into the kitchen or install a high-end ceramic tile. I like the look of hardwood floors in the kitchen but I tend to think that ceramic tile may be more practical for cleaning and heavy traffic. From all the rooms in the house I think the kitchen is the room with the highest traffic. Prefinished hardwood floors may be more resilient but I don't like the look, I'd rather have the floors finished onsite.

Do you have hardwood floors in the kitchen and wished you had something different, such as tiles? or is there any other flooring material that we should consider (not vinyl)?

thanks for your advise

[Anonymous]

I dislike my hardwood floors in the kitchen, but only because I am paranoid about them.

THe look of having the entire first floor be wood (it's an open floor plan) is nice though.

[Anonymous]

I like my wood floor and never considered ceramic because it's no longer a design-conscious alternative.

[Anonymous]

We just redid our kitchen with exactly the same decision. We ended up going with hardwood (DHs choice) even though I preferred tile. The reasons were: wood was cheaper than tile, tile is hard on your feet, anything you drop on tile will immediately break, we have little kids who fall a lot, and DH preferred the look of wood.

We've only had it for 3 weeks now. The wood is already scratched, but that was bound to happen. I am paranoid about the floor getting wet, but maybe that will make me keep it cleaner. It does look really beautiful though.

[Anonymous]

My choice would be cork. Tile is harder to clean than wood if you choose a light grout.

[Anonymous]

We just redid our kitchen too with hardwood. The advantages are it is warmer, quiets, and softer than ceramic. Especially if you go with granite (or similar countertops) it complements well. The nice thing about wood is that dings and stains can be part of the patina and are repairable. Ceramic tile damage isnt' so forgiving.

It does require more maintenance though although grout cleaning is a pain.

[Anonymous]

I know I'll be in the minority, but I like ceramic tile in a kitchen. If it's a very open floor plan I'd keep the floor continuous with wood, but otherwise I'd go for ceramic.

[Anonymous]

We went with hardwood and don't worry to much about the damage. With a dog and toddlers, it's going to get scratched. We try to clean up spills promptly. It helps that we have an old house so any scratches that the kitchen floor may endure will just make it match more with the rest of the hardflooring through the first floor.

I would suggest not going with stain. The darker the floor, the harder it will be to keep it looking clean and the scratches will be more prominant. Keep it clear coated.

[Anonymous]

We have hardwood on the entire first floor. To be honest, it still looks great except in the kitchen. Lots of dings, moisture damage, etc. I wish we had one tile with heating underneath or cork. Tile is so much easier to keep clean.

[Anonymous]

We have tile, and it is very hard on your feet, legs, and back if you stand for long periods in the kitchen. (A thick mat helps but usually only covers part of the surface and is not that attractive.) Also, everything that falls to the floor breaks. I prefer wood floors, even in the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

tile. if one chips, that individual tile can be pried out and replace easily. if you ever have a plumbing issue or a leaky dishwasher, it will wreck hardwood. also they will wear unevenly in the kitchen vs the rest of the house.

[Anonymous]

we have an engineered hardwood in our kitchen and I really like it. We also live in a condo and the kitchen opens to the dining area so 2 different surfaces would break the space up too much.

I also agree that wood is much easier on your feet and back.

[Anonymous]

Hardwood, no question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like my wood floor and never considered ceramic because it's no longer a design-conscious alternative.

I like hardwood, but I hate taste-bullying. There are design-conscious ways to have tile in the kitchen. Maybe not those big square thangs, but other things could look great. (And be unforegiving to feet and dropped items -- but still aesthetically pleasing.)

[Anonymous]

We also have an older house and just had to make this same decision. Decided to go with hardwood (on-site finishing) because I just like the look much, much more. I'm sure it will wear and get scratches, but the 70-year-old hardwood in the rest of the house doesn't look new either. Personally, I love older looking hardwood anyway--I think it adds character.