What type of flooring should I install in my kitchen & bath?

Question

I live in a small home (buillt mid -1950's) in the midwest. I want to replace the ceramic tile currently in kitchen/bath with something that is easier to maintain but that will still look nice. (I don't like the ceramic because its a) white, b) any thing made of glass that falls on the floor is guaranteed to break, and c) I absolutely cannot keep the grout clean, no matter what I do!) I would like the flooring I select to go well with the original hardwoods that are found throughout the rest of the home. I also want to select something that will appeal to buyers in a few years when we sell. The homes in our area sell for around $145K so I want to select flooring that is appropriate for this price range. Any ideas? Thanks!

Answer 1

See if you can get a small (1 inch) sample of your current wood trim. Take it to a flooring retailer and they can match it up to a SOLID flloring that you can have installed. I recommend SOLID rather than laminate because you are worried about dropping things. Objects dropped on laminate flooring can go thru the laminate and then you have to replace an entire section. With a SOLID floor, dings and scrapes will not show.

Answer 2

For those areas there is nothing as user friendly as good old linoleum. The higher quality ones are so very beautiful.

I had a kitchen and bath that had really attractive commercial grade carpeting. I learned to love it. No moping, no breaking anything, no noise. My refridge even leaked all over it and I just wet vac up and all was well.

I had two messy little puppies at the time and even they couldn't kill it. You just wipe everything up with some spray on carpet cleaner.

http://www.savehere.com/carpet/commercial_carpet.htm
This site has some nice photo samples. Scroll down I had the vanguard type. Can't say enough about it!

Answer 3

I would replace the tile than install vinyl, tile is more durable than vinyl, and is more of a high end product when selling a home.I would go with a earth tone tile to match the kitchen colors something warm feeling. You would not want carpet or wood in these two rooms, because of the proability of water damage. Tile or vinyl would be your second best choice.

Answer 4

Floor tiles come in more colors than white and unless you put in a cork or foam rubber floor, glass objects stand a good chance of breaking when dropped.

Try looking in a warehouse type of flooring store. They used to carry just vinyl and carpeting, but now they have expanded their lines to include all types of new products. They even carry an artificial wood grained flooring in all kinds of grains. You should be able to find something to look good and suite your taste.

Answer 5

try a netural slate tile. it's easy to maintain. anything glass dropped on a hard surface is going to break, regardless of what is the floor is made of. A cheaper solution would be a vinyl floor that resembles a more expensive tile. We have it in our new construction home and it doesn't look like vinyl.

Answer 6

I would go with solid wood flooring, especially in the kitchen. We have it in our kitchen, and it looks beautiful. It also holds up just fine once it's coated with polyurethane (we used water-based, which is much easier, but any kind is very durable). Our inlaws have wood flooring in the bathroom, and it has held up great for many years too.

Answer 7

i admire those pergo flooring that appear as if hardwood and lock mutually. circulate to homestead depots web site and notice what you like. Me i do unlike grout because of the fact stuff gets caught in there and makes it tricky to brush. I actual have a bushy canine and he spends maximum of his time interior the kitchen. I actual have one among those tricky floor vaccums which you place a swiffer sheet on they make cleansing the floor truly consumer-friendly.