A poll about flooring. Hardwood or ceramic tile in kitchen/eating area

[plain jane]

The main floor of our house has a very open floor plan. It has a large foyer opening to the living room/dining room, which is basically one huge rectangle. Then there is a wall and a doorway into the kitchen, eating area and family room. The stairs and bathroom are off to the side. Aside from the exterior walls, there is only one wall on the main floor. I like the openness of the design but have a question for you all.

 

Dh is in the midst of replacing the hideous carpet color with oak hardwood flooring. The whole house is carpet except for the kitchen, eating area and bathrooms. He will be doing all the bedrooms, the stairs, and the main floor. For sake of simplicity we already plan to hardwood the bathrooms. Now I'm wondering if we should just hardwood the kitchen and eating area as well. We had originally planned to lay ceramic tiles in these areas because I didn't think hardwood will hold up as well.

 

Here's my dilemma: This is a TON of work. The joint between the hardwood and ceramic tile for the family room/eating area is long and at a funny angle. It is going to be a whole lot of work to make it look good. Plus, we don't have the time to lay tile right now so we have to temporarily stick it out with this ugly color of lino that is currently in place.- not to mention running a temporary joint piece and whatever else needs to happen there. It would be a whole lot easier to hardwood everything and just be done with it.

 

Will I regret doing hardwood in the kitchen/eating area? I'm meticulous about catching spills when they happen but still...

 

Please vote! I need to make a decision soon!!

Edited October 23, 2008 by plain jane

[Heather in the Kootenays]

I had a wood floor in my kitchen and loved it. No regrets - except that I changed houses and now have lino.

[Miss Peregrine]

We put tile in the kitchen instead of hardwood because I thought about the table and chairs scratching against it every time they are moved...

 

But, we step up into our kitchen/dining room so the joint/divide is pretty obvious.

[riada]

Have put wood flooring in the kitchens of two homes now. Have no regrets after 9 years and we still love them. They go in quick and easy, are easy to clean, and look nice. Good luck with your decision!:001_smile:

[hsmamainva]

We're putting hardwood everywhere on the main level, but we're putting DuraCeramic in the kitchen and bathrooms.

 

Real ceramic flooring is very cold and anything you drop on it shatters. I have two dogs and an autistic daughter, who loves to play in the water, so, for us, I couldn't risk having something that would be very slippery if it got wet.

 

And the DuraCeramic looks JUST like ceramic tile -- you can even grout it! So we're installing that next! I hope to have it in by Christmas.

[Jugglin'5]

Go with the wood - your back and feet will thank you. I don' regret the wood anywhere that I have put it in my house. I love it.

[Scarlett]

In the situation you described I would go with hardwood. If I were starting from scratch I would not do wood in the kitchen....my friend did it and regrets it...she has issues with the area in front of refrigerator because the ice in the door often hits the floor and also in front of her dishwasher which gets so super hot that it has warped the wood. Once she realized what the dishwasher was doing she put a rug down and I think that stopped it...but anyway, I think all wood would be fine. I think it will LOOK fabulous for sure. I like the uniformity of it all.

[Sharon in SC]

The main floor of our house has a very open floor plan. It has a large foyer opening to the living room/dining room, which is basically one huge rectangle. Then there is a wall and a doorway into the kitchen, eating area and family room. The stairs and bathroom are off to the side. Aside from the exterior walls, there is only one wall on the main floor. I like the openness of the design but have a question for you all.

 

Dh is in the midst of replacing the hideous carpet color with oak hardwood flooring. The whole house is carpet except for the kitchen, eating area and bathrooms. He will be doing all the bedrooms, the stairs, and the main floor. For sake of simplicity we already plan to hardwood the bathrooms. Now I'm wondering if we should just hardwood the kitchen and eating area as well. We had originally planned to lay ceramic tiles in these areas because I didn't think hardwood will hold up as well.

 

Here's my dilemma: This is a TON of work. The joint between the hardwood and ceramic tile for the family room/eating area is long and at a funny angle. It is going to be a whole lot of work to make it look good. Plus, we don't have the time to lay tile right now so we have to temporarily stick it out with this ugly color of lino that is currently in place.- not to mention running a temporary joint piece and whatever else needs to happen there. It would be a whole lot easier to hardwood everything and just be done with it.

 

Will I regret doing hardwood in the kitchen/eating area? I'm meticulous about catching spills when they happen but still...

 

Please vote! I need to make a decision soon!!

 

I know this dilemma. FWIW, Dh had to talk me out of wood and into porcelain tile for our kitchen ( because I prefer the ease of cleanup with wood) and I'm glad he did. After making a tentative decision for the new place, we had hardwoods in the old house kitchen that suffered water damage. The line to the icemaker in the frig busted. WE came home to a geizer that had the entire room flooded. Wood buckled. In this 20 yo home there are at least two other spots that have suffered from water damage over the years. Bathrooms and kitchens, in my opinion, are just not the best places for hardwoods. :-} In the new to us house, we did hardwoods everywhere but bathrooms and kitchen/eating area and I'm very glad to not have the worry of leaks (sinks, dishwasher, frig, etc)/wood damage.

 

In any case, here's to your making the best decision for your home!

Sharon

[Zelda]

Go with the wood - your back and feet will thank you. I don' regret the wood anywhere that I have put it in my house. I love it.

 

I have hardwood floors everywhere except the bathrooms and laundry. Yeah, the floor is the kitchen has developed a patina, if you will, but that doesn't bother me. If you have kids, your wood floors are going to take a beating. When they move out you can spend the time you would spend crying (I'm still trying to convince them they can live here forever) refinishing the floors. :001_smile:

[Laura K (NC)]

The main floor of our house has a very open floor plan. It has a large foyer opening to the living room/dining room, which is basically one huge rectangle. Then there is a wall and a doorway into the kitchen, eating area and family room. The stairs and bathroom are off to the side. Aside from the exterior walls, there is only one wall on the main floor. I like the openness of the design but have a question for you all.

 

Dh is in the midst of replacing the hideous carpet color with oak hardwood flooring. The whole house is carpet except for the kitchen, eating area and bathrooms. He will be doing all the bedrooms, the stairs, and the main floor. For sake of simplicity we already plan to hardwood the bathrooms. Now I'm wondering if we should just hardwood the kitchen and eating area as well. We had originally planned to lay ceramic tiles in these areas because I didn't think hardwood will hold up as well.

 

Here's my dilemma: This is a TON of work. The joint between the hardwood and ceramic tile for the family room/eating area is long and at a funny angle. It is going to be a whole lot of work to make it look good. Plus, we don't have the time to lay tile right now so we have to temporarily stick it out with this ugly color of lino that is currently in place.- not to mention running a temporary joint piece and whatever else needs to happen there. It would be a whole lot easier to hardwood everything and just be done with it.

 

Will I regret doing hardwood in the kitchen/eating area? I'm meticulous about catching spills when they happen but still...

 

Please vote! I need to make a decision soon!!

 

I have hardwoods in my house (I installed) and 12x12 ceramic tile in the kitchen (I also installed). I deeply regret the ceramic tile... more than any other home improvement project that we've ever done. I have smaller ceramic tile in two bathrooms and they are great, and have held up well. The ceramic tile in the kitchen is awful. The grout is constantly gross, even though I've sealed it 4 times. There are currently 7 broken tiles because I have three boys who all like to cook. Any time a dish falls out of the cabinet, or a can of soup, or a frozen chunk of food, we get a new crack on the floor.

 

But I voted "other," because we originally had parquet wood (tiled) floor in the kitchen and the finish was so worn that it could not be repaired. Parquet could not be sanded and finished, we were told, especially as worn as it was. The last time I refinished the wood floor in the house, the wood adjacent to the tiles in two kitchen doorways was damaged by water. I didn't think I was that sloppy a mopper, but it made me really wonder if I could keep a wood floor clean enough with a dry mop, especially with so many boys, and a dog, and a husband, etc.

 

I am holding off for a few years before deciding how to replace the tile floor in our kitchen. In a few years our (older) dog will have passed on, the kids will be older, and I'll see if the wood beside this tile does the same thing it did before. I worked extra hard to seal the floor near the kitchen. If it lasts, I may consider replacing the tile with wood or cork in the kitchen, but if it doesn't, I'm going to put down linoleum.

 

When I laid the wood flooring (this was unfinished oak that needed to be sanded, stained, and polyurethaned), it was more work than any other project I'd ever done. It was not as large a project as your husband is doing; my flooring just runs in the living room, dining room, hallway, and down the stairs. But it was extremely difficult physically and it really disrupted the whole family for quite a while. It might actually be easier for your family to wait before installing the kitchen floor, and just put temporary joints between kitchen and the rest of your flooring. For us, we needed the kitchen to store our furniture while the rest of the house was upended!

[Laura K (NC)]

The icemaker broke. We had wood parquet floor in the kitchen, and one morning it looked like a sea in there. The floor was in big waves. The water damage made it easy to remove the floor, fortunately! I will forever be nervous about laying wood in a kitchen, though.

[OnTheBrink]

Something to think about with tile in a kitchen: it doesn't give, so you you stand in the kitchen for long periods, you could experience some lower back or leg pain, if you're prone to such things.

[Chris in VA]

I have a friend who did her wood floors (bamboo) throughout the house, except she put cork in the kitchen and tile in the bathroom. I really like the cork. It's easy to keep clean (can be mopped), doesn't buckle like wood can, is softer on the back and feet when standing in the kitchen, is easier on things that drop, and is a renewable resource.

I'm surprised you put wood in the bathrooms. I wouldn't put it where there's so much water--even the steam from the shower can damage it. But, that's your house! :001_smile: You need to do what you want!

Ceramic looks nice to me, and it can be warmed up by adding a small rug at the sink (which can also catch water spills or drips and keep it from getting slippery).

FWIW, I have wood throughout the house myself, except for some sort of linoleum tile things in the k and those tiny squares of ceramic tile in the b.

[Parrothead]

I should have picked other, but I am so slow on with the thinking lately. I voted for tile and then thought of cork. Sealed cork in the kitchen is nice. It is billed as the most comfortable floor to walk on.

 

http://www.amcork.com/

[Sharon in SC]

Something to think about with tile in a kitchen: it doesn't give, so you you stand in the kitchen for long periods, you could experience some lower back or leg pain, if you're prone to such things.

 

I've functioned with our tile for 12 months now and have not found this to be a problem. Maybe I don't cook enough? :tongue_smilie:

[mom2a&z]

We built our own house and put ceramic tile in the kitchen and breakfast nook and have bamboo hardwood floors in our family room. I love ceramic tile because it is easy to clean and I don't have to worry about the floors being damaged by chairs, spills, or by things being dropped on them.

 

We used a bamboo t-mold to join the tile and bamboo floors and it looks great. The joint is the entire length of the room and it has a 45 degree angle. I like the different floors because it is a way to visually separate the 2 spaces.

 

Before we chose which floors to use, we went to open houses and model homes to see what flooring they used and if we liked it. I had a hard time deciding until I could "see" it.

 

Good Luck!

[Jugglin'5]

If you do go with the wood (which is what I voted for), maybe you could use a wood that would be easy to replace and refinish in case of accident. Like plain ol' oak or pine. We love our pine - it is soft and dents, yes, but it looks kinda aged and cool that way.

[MotherMayI]

my DH is in the flooring industry and will not budge when it comes to the kitchen and bath. No wood flooring in those areas- at all. The risk of water damage is too great. We have always had ceramic tile/stone in our kitchens and I love it. To keep a uniform look our tile extends from our kitchen into our family room. The rest of our house has either hardwood or bamboo.

[Laura K (NC)]

I have tile in 1 1/2 bathrooms and linoleum in the third. We had carpet in our bathrooms when we first moved in. I had a 4yo boy, a 2yo boy, and a baby boy. Those carpets were the first things to be removed! :ack2:

[newbie]

If its real hardwood, and not laminate, thats a no. It will not hold up.

 

I wish we could have hardwood, throughout house, but we went w/highend laminate, cant tell difference. We only have two kids and cats, but I didnt want hardwood ruined.

 

Laminate is my choice throughout, if you already got hardwood, do seperate durable flooring for kitchen. Something easy to clean. We have limestone, but I dont like it, because when we get ants I cant see them, because of the strange pattern. Minor but pet peeve.

[Jennifer in MI]

I vote wood. We moved a year ago and put wood everywhere on our first floor (replaced AWFUL carpet). So far, so good. We love the uniform look and it really adds warmth to the place.

 

In our old house we had ceramic tile in the kitchen. I HATED it!!!! Every time we dropped something, it wouldn't break - it would SHATTER into a million pieces. We would find tiny shards in other rooms of the house even after very thorough vacuuming and mopping. When it was wet, it was VERY slippery. I cannot tell you how many times our kids slipped and fell and hit their heads on that stupid floor. It was COLD. I'm not talking just a little cold either. It was FREEZING!!!! If I had to stand for any length of time on them, my feet got cold through shoes. I only had sore legs/back two times from standing on it for so long - and that was when I was cooking Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners for family. So, I was in that kitchen for a LONG time!!

 

So, my long winded way of saying, go for wood!!!

[Melissa B]

I loved our hardwood floors in our kitchen (and everywhere in the house.)

 

Now we have tile and it is slippery!!!!

 

You always have to be careful. When the little ones get a drink of water and spill a bit on the floor, someone is bound to slip. Or when you walk into the kitchen after having taken a shower or have just come in from the rain, the little bit of water you don't even notice on the floor always seems to be a near accident.

 

It doesn't help that we have an island. We have had two busted foreheads so far, not to mention the three or four pulled leg muscles as only one foot goes sliding across the floor and the other remains planted. I really, really dislike the tile.

 

 

ETA: I am surprised to hear that hardwood doesn't hold up. The hardwood in our last home was original to the home - 35+ years old and still looked great. It was in the whole house including the bathroom and kitchen. It had had plenty of spills and even a flooded bathroom. We made a point of wiping up water after baths and showers (but we do this with tile as well.) But my kids are not especially neat or careful, and we never had any problems. It certainly had scratches and dents, but I loved the look and feel of our home. We still miss that house and consider it our favorite home, mainly because it had all wood walls and floors (and lots of windows.)

Edited October 23, 2008 by Melissa B

[motherofjoy]

I have sections of both. The tile is beautiful, and also harder to keep clean, a section BROKE when a large object was dropped on it, and it's cold. If I had it to do over, I'd put hardwood in. Eventually I'll remove the ceramic and slate.

[Rosy]

We did bamboo in the kitchen and it's warped in front of the fridge. I think it was already warping a little, and then the compressor went out in the fridge, and we put a bunch of ice in there to save the food, and then the ice melted and go the floor all wet, which warped it. We ended up having to throw out most of the food anyway. :(

 

Because of that, I wouldn't do any sort of wood product in the kitchen or bathroom. I don't love tile, but you don't have to worry about water damage. I think we'll definitely look into cork when we're remodeling our next house.

[Crissy]

We're putting hardwood everywhere on the main level, but we're putting DuraCeramic in the kitchen and bathrooms.

 

 

We did this very thing, and I LOVE it.

 

Because the tiles are a composite of limestone with a small percentage of vinyl, there is enough flex that they don't crack when you drop something, and the item dropped is much less likely to break as well. They are warm on bare feet during the cold months, they are easy to care for, they are incredibly durable and the look is beautiful.

[Blue Hen]

We just put tile in the kitchen work area and wood in the kitchen eating area. The eating area flows into the familiy room, which we also put in wood. I just, like yesterday, posted photos on my blog of the 'finished' family room / kitchen eating area.

 

Oh, I had tile in my previous kitchen, 10yrs, it was great. Didn't show messes, never looked dirty, and was the BEST even through muddy dogs and toddlers. That's why we did it again. DH wanted wood in the kitchen so that was our compromise.

Carole

[gandpsmommy]

I would definitely choose the hardwood, not only because it would be much easier, but also because I think it looks so much warmer and more inviting, and it truly isn't hard to maintain if you are good about catching spills. We had hardwood in our dining room at our old house. Ds was 9 months when we moved into that house and 2.5 when we moved out, so the dining room floor had a lot of spills! But it held up very, very well. And I loved the look of hardwood.

 

We have ceramic tile in the kitchen and entryway of this house and I have hated it from day one. It is cold, and very, very hard. Anything that falls on it will break. And I just liked the look and feel of hardwood so much more.

[Ellie]

My whole downstairs is hardwood, and I love it.

 

If it were all tile, that would look good, too, but the combination...naw. Had that before (hardwood in the rest of the house, sheet vinyl in kitchen/dining area) and hated it.

[Sharon in SC]

If it were all tile, that would look good, too, but the combination...naw. Had that before (hardwood in the rest of the house, sheet vinyl in kitchen/dining area) and hated it.

 

I would propose, though, that hardwoods are possibly better complemented by tile than sheet vinyl in that they're both more natural rather than fabricated products. My porcelain tile meets our hardwoods in two doorways and it is actually very nice. The tone in my Brazilian Cherry can be found in my tile and they truly do complement one another in a very attractive way.

 

FWIW,

Sharon

Edited October 24, 2008 by Sharon in SC

[Janet in Toronto]

I had hardwood in the kitchen in one home I've owned. I was not a good enough housekeeper to keep it looking nice. You really need to sweep every day (at least once), watch for spills, not have a dishwasher leak, or dishwasher detergent drip on the floor, and not let any snowy/muddy/dirty boots or shoes ever get onto the floor.

 

I could not do this, at least not in my snowy Canadian home when I had young children. It might be different now that I have more time and the kids are older and (somewhat) more responsible. I currently have ceramic and love it because it's easy to keep clean. We had laminate floors in our last house and they were great, although it was in Atlanta so we didn't have the snow/mud issues (although I suppose laminate should be able to cope with that.)

[Laura Corin]

How about ugly vinyl? That's what there is in our new house. It's supposed to be classy vinyl, but.....

 

Laura

[ChemMommy]

It you drop anything, it breaks. The tiles get chipped from anything dropped on it. Then, all you have is a chipped tile that is hard to replace and can't be repaired.

 

The tile is cold, cold, cold to walk on in the winter and even in the summer.

 

The grout is very hard to keep clean and is hard to scrub since you have to get down on your knees to clean it.

 

We had hardwood floors in a 75 year old house. There were original to the house. We did refinish them when we moved in, but there remained in good shape despite many years of use. The only real hazard with hardwood floors is if the dishwasher overflows and the wood sits in water for an extended period of time (hours, not minutes).

 

I'd replace our tile with hardwood in a flash if I had extra money!!!!!

[Guest johndeniel]

I think that tiles, would be better. If you use the hardwood tiles then it has chances of noise floor. The tiles are easy to clean. It can be placed very easily. For your more query you should talk with the contractor.

[desertmum]

How about ugly vinyl? That's what there is in our new house. It's supposed to be classy vinyl, but.....

 

Laura

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

I go for tiles. I love hardwood floors but in case of a leak your floor may suffer. Tiles are cold but easy to clean and don't mind a flooding or two.

[DawnM]

We have hardwood. We don't like it in the kitchen. Our last house had tile and I miss it.