Kitchen Flooring Ideas

Are you looking for inspiring new kitchen floors to upgrade one of your most frequently used rooms? To help familiarize you with the best kitchen flooring options, we reached out to our home renovation experts to discuss the best kitchen flooring ideas from 2019.

Sustainability, warm tones and natural materials will set an example all year round and beyond, as well as a chic throwback to the retro-inspired design of the 70s that we can’t get enough of.

bamboo

Sustainable yet very chic bamboo floors are an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic and chemically stamped kitchen floors. Even better is the fact that bamboo trees grow faster than others so they can be used to make floors without causing drastic damage to the environment.

Since it is a natural material, it is warm under the feet and also has a warm color with a nice grain. Especially when organic hues and natural materials are all the rage right now, bamboo kitchen flooring is the perfect choice for those looking for something that will last a lifetime without harming the environment. Bamboo is impressively strong, making it a great material for kitchen floors as it can withstand the daily use and abuse that kitchen floors are exposed to.  

Pros: Bamboo floors are inexpensive, easy to source, and look clean and contemporary. It is also easy to clean.

Cons: While bamboo is an inexpensive way to make beautiful kitchen floors, its soft surface makes it prone to scratches and scratches and has a tendency to absorb water. And if you’re looking for a specific shade or finish, color options are limited to a few options.

concrete  

Contemporary and absolutely durable kitchen floor made of concrete can easily withstand the highest levels of traffic and activity. Perfect when you need kitchen flooring ideas for a busy kitchen. It’s flexible too; Concrete can be stained, polished and waxed to create different finishes depending on your preferences and the style of your kitchen.

You can use concrete floors to give your kitchen an edgy and industrial feel, or you can mix it up with some warm and soft colors to change the feel for a more calming effect. The natural grays of concrete are great for earth tones, blushes, pastels, and neutrals. In combination with the Scandinavian and Hygge design styles, which we are seeing more and more of as we head into 2019, it looks great.

Advantages: Since a kitchen is often one of the most heavily frequented rooms in every house, concrete floors are easy to clean and maintain and of course extremely durable. Even better is the fact that flooring experts have finally started exploring the play of colors with concrete for a more personalized approach. And concrete kitchen floors are easier to heat.

Cons: When you hear “concrete kitchen floors” you are most likely thinking of hard and cold surfaces, which unfortunately is entirely true, as any friction paired with concrete is most likely to cause breaks and injury. And if it’s not properly sealed, moisture and mold can be a big problem when it comes to concrete floors. And as you can imagine, cracks are almost inevitable as the foundation of a house shifts over time.

cork

Cork materials are a unique option for kitchen floors as they have a completely different texture than any other kitchen floor material that is so readily available. It’s soft underfoot and a great thermal insulator and sound barrier. This makes it a great choice if you are in an apartment and are aware that your neighbors are making noise underneath.

It’s also more environmentally friendly than man-made materials like vinyl. So if you’re creating an environmentally conscious space, cork is an affordable and less effective kitchen flooring material. It’s also surprisingly long-lasting and antimicrobial too. In addition, the warm and natural cork tones match the earthy color schemes that are currently on trend.

Pros: With its soft feel, cork is a great material for areas that you will be standing in for a long time. It is hyperallergenic and has antimicrobial properties. It’s also easy to install and maintain, and of course, environmentally friendly.

Cons: Cork is easy to damage and stain due to its soft density and tends to fade over time.

White laminate

White laminate is the perfect choice for a clean, coastal atmosphere. An all-white, wood-effect laminate is a great choice if you have a darker kitchen and need to brighten the room to make it feel bigger immediately. Due to the wood effect, the laminate has a light color, but without looking too cold.

White laminate kitchen floors also look great when paired with the blush and earthy tones we’ve seen many times, making them a strong competitor on your list of Best Kitchen Flooring Ideas 2019. They will look wonderful in addition to the forever popular ones, the Scandinavian design style is becoming more and more apparent thanks to its warm blues and grays that come alive with white floors.

Pros: Laminate floors are inexpensive to buy and install and have a beautiful, worn patina. It’s also very durable and waterproof.

Cons: The only downside to laminating kitchen floors can be that it is difficult to repair when working with a large slab compared to smaller tile options.

Gray laminate

Gray has fallen somewhat out of favor for furniture and wall paints, but it’s still a great choice for kitchen floors. It’s a very flexible paint, which means it will stand the test of time, tile changes, and repainting.

Wood is very popular right now, so a wood effect laminate is a great way to spread this. Granted, it doesn’t have the natural patina of hardwood floors, but it’s a great option if you’re on a budget.  

Pros: Cheap to buy and install, gray laminate kitchen flooring also works to easily hide surface stains from everyday use as white flooring only highlights any blemish.

Cons: Unless you’re dealing with small, individual tile, laminate flooring repairs can be dramatic and costly.

Rubber floors

When our customers consider rubber flooring in the kitchen, they usually equate it with the feeling of a gym. But there is more to it than that. It’s not that you can jump around in space; It’s similar to cork flooring in many ways, but comes in many more colors and textures so you can match it to your kitchen color scheme.

It’s durable and non-slip, and you can choose recycled rubber flooring to be more environmentally friendly. It’s also easy to clean. So if your kitchen is prone to spills (or you’re just a messy cook) this might be one of the best flooring for a kitchen.  

Pros: Rubber floors in the kitchen are easy to get, incredibly durable, and best of all, they’re soft underfoot for added comfort. It’s also water-resistant, inexpensive, and easy to recycle.

Cons: Attractive rubber floors can be expensive, slippery when wet, and absorb stains from daily wear and tear.

Natural stone

It goes without saying that natural materials are always in vogue and that kitchen floors cannot be more natural than stone. It can be chilly underfoot, so invest in strategically placed rugs to keep the cold away from your toes, especially under the dining table (another to add to the 2019 list of kitchen flooring ideas).

Natural stone is always unique and can have striking variations in pattern and color. It’s earthy and has a warm base tone, which makes it a great alternative to synthetic kitchen floor tiles.

Pros: Natural stone floors are beautiful and look good when combined with almost any design style from rustic to modern. It’s also quite durable and not as slippery as other kitchen floors – which makes it a smart material for homes with children.

Cons: Some stone floors can be expensive and brittle and porous.

Light vinyl  

If wood and stone kitchen floors aren’t for you and kitchen tiles aren’t your thing, how about something bolder, more colorful, and more affordable? You can keep your kitchen on trend by choosing the right color vinyl for your color scheme.

Blushes, earth tones, and muted pastels are all growing in popularity, and you can achieve these looks with waterproof vinyl.

Pros: The color options are endless, making it the ultimate option when it comes to custom kitchen floors. Vinyl kitchen floors are also very moisture resistant, inexpensive, and easy to install and maintain.

Cons: Vinyl floors can fade over time, are prone to damage when picking up heavy objects, and are not biodegradable.

Dark solid wood

Dark solid woods are always stylish and solid wood has always been a smart choice when it comes to kitchen flooring ideas. Every piece of wood flooring is unique, which means you have a kitchen floor that no one else in the world has. It’s made to last, and will stand the test of time (as long as you care for it properly), making it one of the best flooring options for kitchens.

Wood can be quite expensive, but it’s worth getting the luxurious and warm look it always delivers. If you are inspired by retro-inspired designs from the ’70s, there is an easy way to achieve the look of the era with dark hardwood floors.

Pros: Hardwood kitchen floors are more timeless than kitchen floor tiles and much easier to repair.

Cons: Overtime, hardwood kitchen floors show wear and tear in high traffic areas.

Herringbone pattern

Classic kitchen floors with a herringbone pattern are trendy and for many good reasons. It is laid in a geometric pattern and the geometry always ensures an elegantly uniform appearance. Patterned floors add an interesting visual game to your kitchen and add a depth of texture that you can’t get with standard flooring.

You can use kitchen tile or wood to create a herringbone pattern by mixing and matching floor tones to create a completely unique pattern. Kitchen tiles are a great option if you want to mix and match colors and get bold with your own kitchen floor tile design.

Pros: A beautifully laid herringbone floor can add value to your home and is durable and long lasting.

Cons: As with any wood material, it can fade and wear out over time and requires frequent maintenance.

Hexagonal tiles

You already know how popular geometric patterns are going to be in 2019 and this is no exception when it comes to flooring. Hexagonal tiles were one of our favorite trends in 2018 and we look forward to bringing them back through 2019.

Contrast white kitchen floor tiles with dark grout, or combine colors to create an interesting pattern. How about a pastel palette for your kitchen tiles? This will look great with a gray and otherwise simply designed kitchen.

Advantages: The modern kitchen floor offers endless design and color options, is durable, water and dirt repellent and easy to care for.

Cons: Tile floors can be cold and difficult to walk on, and expert installation can be costly.

Checkered tiles

Checkered kitchen tiles seem like a throwback to the popular kitchen floor of the past, but there is nothing wrong with timeless standards for interior design. Retro-inspired kitchens are all the rage, and how much more retro can you get than checkered tiles?

They’re a more visually interesting alternative than your traditional wooden kitchen floors, and you can spice up the retro design with modern ’70s style kitchen furniture and some of the classic’ 70s colors and patterns we love right now.

Pros: Timeless style, affordable and easy to care for.

Cons: You could very well run the risk of getting tired easily due to the graphical attractiveness.

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