More and more people are starting to see wood flooring as a very good option for their kitchen. Traditionally, tiles would go in the kitchen and wood in the living room – but the beautiful look of wood, its sophistication and the value that it adds to a proprietary has made it impossible to keep it away from kitchens. Of course, getting the wood look in your kitchen doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have solid wood; you have other alternatives such as engineered wood or laminate flooring.
Solid wood is very popular thanks to its luxurious looks and the unbeatable feature of lasting a lifetime. This means that even if real wood can be quite pricey, it is a worthy long time investment. The charm of wood being a natural material also has its limitations, and these become especially important in the kitchen.
For example, wood doesn’t withstand water and spillages well, which are very likely to occur in a kitchen. If too much water penetrates the boards, they can warp and therefore the floor becomes damaged. In addition, if you have underfloor heating, wood is not an option since temperature fluctuations make the wood expand and contract and the wood can perish before its time. However, it is possible to have wood flooring in a kitchen provided you maintain it correctly!
As we previously said, you have alternatives to solid wood flooring. The first of the alternatives is engineered wood flooring. It looks just like wood thanks to its top layer which is actually made of real wood! The rest of the layers are synthetic, and thanks to this, engineered flooring doesn’t encounter the limitations that solid wood does. Therefore, engineered better withstands moisture and temperature fluctuations. If you take care of the floor and clean it regularly, it is perfectly suitable for kitchens.
And don’t worry about its possibilities aesthetically – engineered wood flooring comes in a wide range of species, colours and shades!
The second alternative is laminate flooring. This is perfect if you are looking to save some pennies! Laminate has the same practical benefits of engineered, except it is totally manmade and much cheaper. Laminate flooring simply imitates the look of wood with a printed image of the wood it imitates on the top layer. Since it is totally synthetic, spillages, moisture and temperature fluctuations and therefore underfloor heating are not an issue for laminate flooring!
Laminate flooring also has the advantage of being extremely easy in its care – you only need to sweep and mop regularly to keep it good as new. In terms of looks, the laminate manufacturing process has evolved so much that you now have unlimited options of wood species and designs to choose from!
As you can see, you have more than one option when it comes to achieving the wood look in your kitchen! So which is your favourite type of flooring?
