One of the very first things you are going to want to think about when it comes to a kitchen update, upgrade or even a remodel is the flooring. The flooring is going to be the foundation of the room. Not only is it going to be walked on quite a lot, but you also need to consider your type of style for your home, the type of wood, the type of stain and the look of it overall. If you are wondering if hardwood flooring is the flooring for your kitchen, here are a few questions you should be asking yourself.
Is Hardwood Flooring Right For Your Kitchen?
In a kitchen, you have many different activities going on. One second you might be cooking breakfast for yourself or your family, while the next you might have little Johnny playing on the floor with his cars or the dogs playing with their toys and later that night you might have a dinner party where everyone inadvertently keeps coming into the kitchen to see what you’re cooking. Because of this, you need a flooring that is versatile, is tough, and that can withstand years of use and abuse. In simple terms: Yes. Hardwood flooring is tough enough and some are tougher than others since they come in various type. However, you will want to keep standing water away from it, you also won’t want to walk on this flooring type with high heels and you will need to watch out for your pets claws.
Is It Easy To Clean?
If you wipe up any spills right away and you sweep, dust and vacuum it at least once a week, yes, hardwood floors are very easy to maintain and keep beautiful. Make sure that when you clean the floors you aren’t using an oil based spray or cleaner, though.
Two Types Of Hardwood Flooring
The two types are solid and engineered. Solid is literally one single piece of wood. This can be sanded down when necessary, polished, re-stained, painted and it can be done so again and again. However, this should not be used in kitchens because it can ruin the wood. On the other hand, you have engineered wood. This uses layers of hardwood in a cross grain foundation. This type of wood is much stronger than the first time of wood, and it can withstand humidity and moisture better and can even be placed over concrete subfloors.
Types/Species Of Wood Flooring
There are numerous types of hardwood flooring. For domestic types; oak, is the most commonly used, but other options can include cherry, walnut, maple and even birch. You can also find exotic woods as well, these have a very different look and feel to them, but they also cost more. Some examples include; Tigerwood, Brazilian Cherry, and Jatoba.
Width and Style Options
Hardwood comes in all sorts of widths and style options. Widths tend to lend to your decor style. For example, for a traditional kitchen, you might want to use something like a decorative parquet flooring. On the other hand for a contemporary look, you would want to use strips that are less than 3 inches thick for a sleeker and more modern look.
Textures Available
Some people like their flooring to look brand new while others actually can appreciate those little imperfections because they add history and age to the wood flooring. You can find perfect wood flooring, but you can also find imperfect wood flooring that uses distressing techniques such as antiqued look, hand scraping, wire brush techniques and even chattering.
Color and Stain
Some of the more expensive woods will allow you to have a more natural colorization in terms of the wood. These still need to be coated, though. If you want to match the wood with your other spaces or a specific style, you can also stain the floors from honey brown to chocolate brown to even black. The colors are endless. You can also paint hardwood flooring, even though some wood purists would break out in hives if you told them you want to do this, it IS an option if that’s what you want!
Alternative Options To Hardwood
Hardwood can get expensive, depending on the size of the flooring you need, the type of wood you want and any other special details. If you also want to look at the cost of alternative options, consider looking at laminate wood flooring – same beauty, different price tag. Another option is natural bamboo. This is a super sexy and sleek material that is very closely related to hardwood flooring in that they look the same, but the price tag is much lower.
Hopefully, these tidbits of information helped you to understand if wood flooring is right for your kitchen or not, as well as which type of wood is better suited for your specific needs!
