Renovating your kitchen is a mammoth task. From new cabinets to electrics and plumbing. You’re going to want to get it right first time.
What’s more, the flooring is one of the most important decisions you will make. Purely because if you put down your floor, then do all the cabinets, you’ll need to take everything out if you decide you’re not happy with the floor.
So, in this post we’re looking at all the kitchen flooring ideas and some benefits of choosing each. We’ll also give you any advice along the way in terms of fitting and design tips.
Main Kitchen Floor Design Ideas
The top floor is going to be the show piece of your kitchen, not only because it’s usually the largest area of the room to be filled with one specific colour. Whether choosing light grey style or dark black options, it’s going to make a big difference.
Achieving your desired finish is paramount to you LOVING your new space.
Note: each top floor may have a different sub floor requirement, so keep reading to find out what they are.
Let’s go for it.
Kitchen Floor Tiles Options & Ideas
Tiles are a superb option for a unique slick look in the kitchen. However, these are more likely to get colder during the Winter months, so underfloor heating may be a necessity if your house generally has a cold feel to it.
Tiles aren’t the cheapest option but they are designed to stand the test of time. And as mentioned they will bring your kitchen to life – arguably, more than any other floor type could.
Engineered Stone for the kitchen
Engineered stone can give your floor the beauty it deserves. It’s solid and easy to clean. It will withstand the harshest of treatments by football boots and other playing equipment. This type of flooring is also fully waterproof, so you wouldn’t have to worry about coming in through the kitchen door on a wet day.
Engineered stone is suitable for a number of different uses. However, it’s mostly found in kitchens, utility rooms and other rooms which require solid construction.
If your kitchen is connected to a boot room or utility room, engineered stone can offer a great strength of floor to withstand all the harsh treatment it’s bound to receive in these areas too. You could run the same floor throughout, in tun, offering a bigger feel to any kitchen/utility area.
Engineered Wood for the kitchen
Your kitchen might be open plan with a living or dining/socialising area. In which case, engineered wood has become a very popular choice in recent years.
Be aware that wood may have problems with expanding and contracting in extreme weather conditions. Further, if you’re going in and out of the back door via your kitchen, you may not want to choose a wood floor. That’s because wood can get chipped, dented or scratched. Oh, and you definitely need to keep the high heels off a wood floor.
It can also be damaged by football boots, other sharp shoes and you would want to avoid getting too much water on the floor especially during those wet Autumn & Winter months. Just something to be aware of if your back door (and kids) are utilising the kitchen area.
Kitchen Laminate Flooring for the kitchen
Kitchen laminate flooring is easy to lay and can be super cheap to buy. You could easily purchase around 20m2 for under £100 and 2 people could lay it in one day. Thereby saving on cost of installation.
It’s usually recommended to run the length of the boards in line with the longest length of the room. You may also want to take into account the position in which the natural light comes from. Often laying the boards in the same direction as the flow of light can make the room seem bigger. A real plus if you end up selling in the future years.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles for the Kitchen
Kitchen vinyl or luxury vinyl tiles or LVT are a good in between laminate and stone or ceramic tiles. They are often warmer under the foot than stone, which means you could save money by not having to install underfloor heating if your kitchen or home is naturally cold.
As discussed further in this article, the sub floor needs to be in tip top shape for any LVT to be laid properly. It’s partly why you will find that some of the high-end LVT brands (including Karndean) refuse to let anyone sell their products online.
Once you’re chosen on your main floor, you’ll need to choose the right sub floor for your specific needs. Here are some ideas and options for you to choose from.
Kitchen Sub floor options & ideas
A sub floor is also important in the kitchen and the one you need will depend on which type of top floor you use. For example, if you’re installing underfloor heating, then you’ll need a special type of underlay, which lets the heat through (more on this below).
Which laminate underlay to use in kitchen
For laminate flooring and engineered wood, you’ll need to install a specialist laminate flooring underlay from our range.
They range from super thin, budget options to a higher tog and better insulated type. Some products have a damp proof membrane installed, which will help significantly if your house is prone to damp.
Underfloor Heating sub floor underlay in the kitchen
For underfloor heating, when installing laminate or wood floor, you need to choose a product which gives a great underfoot feel but still allows the warmth to pass through to your feet from the heating mats.
One option is to use the Duralay Heatflow underlay, which you can read more about here. The reason this underlay is best is due to it’s low tog rating of 0.33 Tog. That’s in comparison to other underlays which can reach up to 3.8 tog – these will never let you feel the benefit of underfloor heating.
When you don’t need a sub floor in the kitchen
If you’re installing luxury vinyl tiles, you don’t need an underlay. However, it’s still crucial that the base is prepared properly if you want your flooring to fit perfectly together.
If there are uneven sections or even crevasses in the sub floor, you should screed over the top in order to make everything smooth and even.
We recommend hiring a professional to install any LVT – that way you can be sure it’s done well and you won’t lose money if you make any mistakes.
