Kitchen floors - hardwood or tile?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are there no spaces between the floorboards? They are individual pieces of wood. If water gets in between them, it can warp it. There are a few pieces of my dad’s hardwood floor that are warped over by his sink. I prefer tile. Maybe tile that looks like hardwood is an alternative.

New wood flooring has that problem. Once wood is refinished there is no space between the planks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did tile that looks like hardwood from Porcenalosa

Op their sale is on now. I have a pale grey large format tile in my kids bathroom and it’s warm underfoot. I’m thinking of using it in my kitchen. I think it’s called Boston stone— I might be wrong. But go check them out this weekend if you have the measurements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper Income Bracket = Tile (nice tile, typically European, larger formats are popular now)

Wood floor = suburban, middle class

Don’t shoot the messenger

Not in places like Georgetown or Kalorama. Seeing tiles in the kitchen is very rare in the multimillion dollar houses there. My impression is that people look down on tile in general in this area. I actually mostly only see it in cheaper houses. Are you from the DMV?

You mean in tiny Georgetown rowhomes? That’s to make it look bigger and or is historic indeed from when it was in fact low income housing, not true of Kalorama at all.

No, I mean the 5mil+ Georgetown mansions. I genuinely don’t ever remember seeing one with tile in the kitchen. You also almost never see it in expensive new builds pretty much anywhere around time. It is just a fact in this area. Not sure why you get so worked out about it. I don’t judge you for tile in your kitchen. I would have installed it too if I was not worried about hurting resale value as wood is what people expect in the kind of house I own.

[Anonymous]

Oh you mean modern farmhouse in the burbs. That’s a very different ballpark. Georgetown again not true outside of kitchen living combined for space

[Anonymous]

Mid century modern will probably look fine with tile, wood, and (can't believe I'm writing this) linoleum. The last one (modern version) is being used more widely in Europe and Canada these days because it's actually an eco-friendly product since it's made from linseed oil (flax). Whatever you do, make sure you have a good designer who can pull it all together for a cohesive vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh you mean modern farmhouse in the burbs. That’s a very different ballpark. Georgetown again not true outside of kitchen living combined for space

Listen, I live in Georgetown and pay attention to the market at all price levels. Tiles are extremely rare in the kitchen. You might see them here and there but wood is the default.

[Anonymous]

I was curious about this so I did a quick sold listings filter for >$5m
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3017-O-St-NW-20007/home/9928183
Wood.
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3003-N-St-NW-20007/home/10174039
Wood.
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/2812-N-St-NW-20007/home/9925600
Wood.
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/2804-Q-St-NW-20007/home/9929695
Wood.

I’m actually surprised I got four in a row but I guess maybe anyone who hasn’t removed the listing photos yet is hopelessly tacky lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Upper Income Bracket = Tile (nice tile, typically European, larger formats are popular now)

Wood floor = suburban, middle class

Don’t shoot the messenger

Where? Not in manhattan and not where I live now (resort town). Only the cheaper condos, manufactured housing and cheap townhouses have tile in the kitchen or imitation wood tile or lvp anywhere. The nicer homes and apartments all are hardwood. We just sold a 5000 sq feet spec house that sold for $6.5 million with hardwood floors throughout. Our real estate agent told us that hardwood floors in the kitchen are expected at that price range.

[Anonymous]

I think whatever you do, OP, try to avoid faux anything. I’m trying to think of exceptions where the faux material passed the test of time. I’m coming up with coade stone. That’s it. I’m sure there are others. But in general, it’s not a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Again, very middle class. But you do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, very middle class. But you do you.

I think it’s cultural. If the kitchen is still a space for staff, it’s more likely to be tiled. But for most of the luxury American market the family kitchen is a living space, and wood is going to be the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper Income Bracket = Tile (nice tile, typically European, larger formats are popular now)

Wood floor = suburban, middle class

Don’t shoot the messenger

Where? Not in manhattan and not where I live now (resort town). Only the cheaper condos, manufactured housing and cheap townhouses have tile in the kitchen or imitation wood tile or lvp anywhere. The nicer homes and apartments all are hardwood. We just sold a 5000 sq feet spec house that sold for $6.5 million with hardwood floors throughout. Our real estate agent told us that hardwood floors in the kitchen are expected at that price range.

Np and this. I am surprised anyone is suggesting tile in the kitchen looks high end. I’ve lived in a lot of places (urban, suburbs, condo, rowhouse, sfh) in a lot of parts of the country at a lot of price points and hardwood is always considered the high end, more “designy” look. When I think of tile in the kitchen, I think of builder grade housing developments and low end flip houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper Income Bracket = Tile (nice tile, typically European, larger formats are popular now)

Wood floor = suburban, middle class

Don’t shoot the messenger

Where? Not in manhattan and not where I live now (resort town). Only the cheaper condos, manufactured housing and cheap townhouses have tile in the kitchen or imitation wood tile or lvp anywhere. The nicer homes and apartments all are hardwood. We just sold a 5000 sq feet spec house that sold for $6.5 million with hardwood floors throughout. Our real estate agent told us that hardwood floors in the kitchen are expected at that price range.

Np and this. I am surprised anyone is suggesting tile in the kitchen looks high end. I’ve lived in a lot of places (urban, suburbs, condo, rowhouse, sfh) in a lot of parts of the country at a lot of price points and hardwood is always considered the high end, more “designy” look. When I think of tile in the kitchen, I think of builder grade housing developments and low end flip houses.

I just think of older houses honestly. I think it's just a swap in recent decades mainly because kitchens have become more living spaces, so they are continuous with spaces where people want wood, and because the finishes have gotten more durable.

[Anonymous]

Just trust. Don’t do wood.

People back when in Gtown didn’t have much choice; people today don’t have much taste, but let’s hope you all do, albeit the definition of middle class is most of you will fall for it anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just trust. Don’t do wood.

People back when in Gtown didn’t have much choice; people today don’t have much taste, but let’s hope you all do, albeit the definition of middle class is most of you will fall for it anyway

Scrolling back to the beginning where OP shared details about the project, do you think tile can work in a smaller kitchen? At what home value do think the wood to tile threshold is crossed (pun intended)? $1M? 1.5M? $2.5M? Upwards of $5M? Seems like an important factor given what average houses are selling for in the close in suburbs. OP said it was a mid century house, so that narrows it to about seven neighborhoods across MoCo and NoVA.