Kitchen Floor Design

The kitchen floor design is an important visual component to your living space.

As you plan a kitchen remodeling, beware of these common kitchen design mistakes when selecting your flooring.

1. Ignoring Kitchen Cabinet Design

Some people create a kitchen floor design without taking into account the kitchen cabinets. The result is a floor that seems to float out on its own, separate from the overall kitchen design.

Instead, take your cues from the kitchen cabinets and buy flooring that coordinates. Among the options are:

Hardwood flooring - in oak, maple, cherry, pine, birch and others

Laminate flooring - in a wide selection of colors and patterns

Ceramic tile - look for earth tone tiles and stone-look patterns

Porcelain tile - terra cotta is big, as are stone-look patterns

Natural stone - slate, marble and travertine are popular

Here are a few examples:

With cherry cabinets, spend the extra money on hardwood flooring. Less expensive materials will look out of place.

With rustic pine cabinets, look for flooring that fits the style, such as an oak with a natural stain, or a wide plank pine. A high-gloss ceramic tile will look out of place.

2. Buying Flooring Without Considering Lifestyle

There are a variety of flooring materials, each with its own characteristics. Some are easy to maintain and some take hours of work to get rid of dirt and spills. Consider:

Avoiding hardwood flooring if you have a house full of kids and large dogs.

Using ceramic tile if you don't plan to stand on it for hours on end.

Buying natural stone if you don't mind a little extra maintenance.

Trying vinyl flooring if you want low maintenance and lots of patterns to choose from.

Avoiding light colored hardwood floors or ceramic tile in high traffic areas.

3. Not Coordinating Flooring as Part of Kitchen Design

During a kitchen remodeling, there are many ways to blend your kitchen floor design with the other major elements in your kitchen. You can:

Match the same stain color, type of wood or texture found on your cabinets.

Use a ceramic or porcelain tile floor with pattern and color variations that coordinate with the wall tile above your countertop.

Your kitchen floor design should pull together:

Kitchen cabinets

Wall tile

Door and window trim

Paint colors

4. Rushing The Floor Planning

The first step in any kitchen remodel is careful planning. The planning stage begins by designing your floors in the pattern that you would like.

Once you start laying tile, it is very difficult to go back and start over. Many detailed design patterns take exact planning to make sure that the design is centered and straight. You may need to draw and redraw your plans multiple times before you get the look that you like.

Pick up samples from a retailer. Bring home a variety of sizes, colors and styles. Move the samples around the room to look at them in different lighting.

Observe them throughout the day and from different angles. What you loved in the store, under fluorescent lights, may look very different under natural light next to your cabinets and walls.

Measure your kitchen carefully. Draw the exact dimensions of your kitchen on graph paper. Include all appliances, cabinets and islands.

Draw in the pattern of the desired flooring. Pay careful attention to the dimensions of each tile or plank. Include the grout lines (or seams) in your drawing.

When working with a mosaic or other patterns, make sure that the design is centered in the room. Avoid placing all of the cut tiles on one side of the room. Try to use as many whole tiles as possible.

Color-code your drawing. It is difficult to determine if the pattern is even and properly centered when everything is drawn in the same color. A color-coded sketch will also help you keep things straight when you start installing your floor.

When working with tiles, find the center of the kitchen. This is where you will want to center your tiles. Begin tiling from this point, using the drawing as a guide.

Your kitchen floor design affects the tone and atmosphere of your kitchen, thus choosing an option that will clearly show your personality without clashing with the overall look of the kitchen is important.

You Need Durability

Another consideration is its ability to withstand traffic for a long time since the kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in the house. Cork flooring (although beautiful) is not recommended for kitchens. Also, the cost of every option must be considered so that your budget will be met.

Linoleum is the material of choice for those who care about the environment since it is manufactured with all natural materials. Even the glue used to attach the material to the floor is non-toxic and environment-friendly.

The material is easy to install and maintain. Just a little sweeping and mopping will do the trick.

On the other hand, laminate floors are perfect for those looking for cheaper alternatives since it can showcase the attractiveness of wood, marble or stone at less cost. This type of flooring is also very easy to install yet is very durable. For more about this, look at Pergo Flooring.

There are kitchens with cement floors. You see them on the internet all the time. The design possibilities are impressive when looking at the photos. But they have to be very hard on your legs, so I wouldn't recommend this as an option.

Statistically, most homeowners prefer using ceramic tiles as their kitchen floor design option, mainly for its durability, easy installation and maintenance. Actually, porcelain is more durable than ceramic and should be considered for floors. Stunning designs can also be created from the different tiles.

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