I've mentioned here that we're updating/improving our kitchen. We've ordered the cabinets and granite, and just purchased the new range (the top rated gas model listed in Consumer's Reports recently) and over the range microwave oven/hood. I'm looking for a bottom freezer refrigerator but we can live with the old one until I find the perfect appliance at the best price. Lighting changes and flooring are still undecided.
I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how they love or hate it? I currently have vinyl, but have had heated tile in the past. I was younger then so might have been less aware of problems, but am concerned with the "hardness" of the floor for comfort? I am getting older now (sob!) and don't want to find tile floors are ergodynamically poor choices down the road after standing in the kitchen for extended periods. I recall my mother explaining how good dance floors are wood and impact absorbing properties over hard cement floors that are more jarring to your body. Yet wood floors aren't too practical in kitchens, are they?? I'm also interested in linoleum as I keep reading that it might be fairly "green" as well as good cost.
The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, breakfast room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The rest of the downstairs is hardwood.
> The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, breakfast > room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The rest of the > downstairs is hardwood.
> Thanks for any input :) > Goomba
I personally have no problem with vinyl, although the people on HGTV would cringe if you suggested it! If you like wood you might consider bamboo.
> I've mentioned here that we're updating/improving our kitchen. We've > ordered the cabinets and granite, and just purchased the new range (the > top rated gas model listed in Consumer's Reports recently) and over the > range microwave oven/hood. I'm looking for a bottom freezer refrigerator > but we can live with the old one until I find the perfect appliance at the > best price. Lighting changes and flooring are still undecided.
> I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how they love or > hate it? I currently have vinyl, but have had heated tile in the past. I > was younger then so might have been less aware of problems, but am > concerned with the "hardness" of the floor for comfort? I am getting older > now (sob!) and don't want to find tile floors are ergodynamically poor > choices down the road after standing in the kitchen for extended periods. > I recall my mother explaining how good dance floors are wood and impact > absorbing properties over hard cement floors that are more jarring to your > body. Yet wood floors aren't too practical in kitchens, are they?? I'm > also interested in linoleum as I keep reading that it might be fairly > "green" as well as good cost.
> The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, breakfast > room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The rest of the > downstairs is hardwood.
> Thanks for any input :) > Goomba
I have been blaming "the day after" backaches on my age, but lately I have been hearing much younger peiople claim it is the tile or stone floors we all have. Mind you, I don't experience it unless I have spent a 10 or 12 hour day working, so who knows?
If I were sure, then next kitchen I would use solid runner flooring, such as is used in airports. I'd consider bamboo, but my cutting board seems as hard as tile.
Goomba wrote: > I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how they love or > hate it? I currently have vinyl, but have had heated tile in the past. I > was younger then so might have been less aware of problems, but am > concerned with the "hardness" of the floor for comfort? I am getting older > now (sob!) and don't want to find tile floors are ergodynamically poor > choices down the road after standing in the kitchen for extended periods. > I recall my mother explaining how good dance floors are wood and impact > absorbing properties over hard cement floors that are more jarring to your > body. Yet wood floors aren't too practical in kitchens, are they?? I'm > also interested in linoleum as I keep reading that it might be fairly > "green" as well as good cost.
> The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, breakfast > room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The rest of the > downstairs is hardwood.
> Thanks for any input :)
I recently wrote here that I'm looking into getting eucalyptus or cork flooring for my kitchen. Both are quite comfortable for long stretches of standing, and don't need a huge amount of maintenance. However, tile or linoleum would be much better for a mud room. Maybe you could have a hard floor in your kitchen and put down rubber mats to stand on when you're cooking; that's what many professional kitchens do.
As I see it, the problem is that a breakfast room and guest bathroom are more "presentation" spaces, where the kitchen, mud room, and laundry room are more "industrial" spaces. If it were *me*, I'd have the same hardwood in the breakfast room as in the rest of the house, I'd have soft wood in the kitchen, I'd have tile in the guest bedroom, and I'd have painted concrete in the mud room and laundry room.
> I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how they love or > hate it?
I have tile flooring in the kitchen (and most of the house). I like it. It looks good, is pretty hard wearing and if you spill something on it it's easy to clean up in two ticks. I haven't found it any harder on my back/legs than vinyl or hard wood in the kitchen (and I think I'm a tad older than you <grin>). But... if you don't have under-floor heating it can be a bit cold in winter.
Another thing I will point out about tile floors tho' - be aware that if you drop any heavy cook-ware etc. on it in the kitchen the tiles may crack :(
For instance, I have a marble mortar and pestle. I put the pestle down on the counter a bit too close to the edge when I was using it one day and I managed to 'bump' it, somehow. It subsequently "rolled off" the counter onto the tiles before I could catch it... I now have a (hairline) crack in two tiles, and I don't have any spares (the previous owners put the flooring in and didn't leave any 'extras')... It's not *that* noticeable, you have to look pretty closely - but *I* know it's there, and it annoys the heck outta me. However, it will mean replacing the whole kitchen/laundry floor to fix it because I cannot get the same design/pattern anymore, I've looked - sigh. I'm just not up for that at the moment. It's not just the expense, it's the inconvenience of having the kitchen 'out of action' while it's being re-done. So, if you do go for tile, may I suggest you get a few extras and keep them - just in case? -- Cheers Chatty Cathy
> I've mentioned here that we're updating/improving our kitchen. We've > ordered the cabinets and granite, and just purchased the new range (the > top rated gas model listed in Consumer's Reports recently) and over the > range microwave oven/hood. I'm looking for a bottom freezer refrigerator > but we can live with the old one until I find the perfect appliance at > the best price. Lighting changes and flooring are still undecided.
> I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how they love or > hate it? I currently have vinyl, but have had heated tile in the past. I > was younger then so might have been less aware of problems, but am > concerned with the "hardness" of the floor for comfort? I am getting > older now (sob!) and don't want to find tile floors are ergodynamically > poor choices down the road after standing in the kitchen for extended > periods. I recall my mother explaining how good dance floors are wood > and impact absorbing properties over hard cement floors that are more > jarring to your body. Yet wood floors aren't too practical in kitchens, > are they?? I'm also interested in linoleum as I keep reading that it > might be fairly "green" as well as good cost.
> The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, breakfast > room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The rest of the > downstairs is hardwood.
> Thanks for any input :) > Goomba
I love my hardwood (Brazilian cherry) kitchen floor... I have the same floor in a half bath and my laundry room too.. with the new space age sealers and cleaning systems moisture is not a problem. Whichever material make sure to have the floor installed full room/wall to wall, *before* cabinets/appliances go in, most especially if you choose tile.
>> The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, >> breakfast room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The rest >> of the downstairs is hardwood. > I personally have no problem with vinyl, although the people on HGTV > would cringe if you suggested it!
> > > The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, > > > breakfast room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The > > > rest of the downstairs is hardwood.
> > I personally have no problem with vinyl, although the people on HGTV > > would cringe if you suggested it!
> They put down vinyl tile often.
> nancy
I only see them rip it up and put down slate or something similar. I must be watching the wrong shows! And stainless appliances, UGH. As in, UGLY. Sorry, I just don't see the appeal.
> I've mentioned here that we're updating/improving our kitchen. We've > ordered the cabinets and granite, and just purchased the new range (the > top rated gas model listed in Consumer's Reports recently)
What brand/model would that be?
> I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how they love or > hate it? I currently have vinyl, but have had heated tile in the past. I > was younger then so might have been less aware of problems, but am > concerned with the "hardness" of the floor for comfort? I am getting older > now (sob!) and don't want to find tile floors are ergodynamically poor > choices down the road after standing in the kitchen for extended periods. > I recall my mother explaining how good dance floors are wood and impact > absorbing properties over hard cement floors that are more jarring to your > body. Yet wood floors aren't too practical in kitchens, are they?? I'm > also interested in linoleum as I keep reading that it might be fairly > "green" as well as good cost.
We put sheet vinyl in our kitchen about 10 years ago. Cleans easily, no seams, still looks good. It was the best bang for the buck at the time since is was a "spruce up" rather than a re-do.
If cost was not a big consideration, I'd go with ceramic tile. We put down Italian quarry tile in our last kitchen and loved it. Never used more than a wet sponge mop to clean it and it always looked elegant. . It was a small kitchen so it was affordable.
There are some wood products that may be worth checking out. It certainly looks good. I'm not up on the latest so it may be good to visit the flooring store for more information.
>>>> The floor choice would need to be practical for the kitchen, >>>> breakfast room, mud room, laundry room and guest bathroom. The >>>> rest of the downstairs is hardwood.
>>> I personally have no problem with vinyl, although the people on HGTV >>> would cringe if you suggested it!
>> They put down vinyl tile often. > I only see them rip it up and put down slate or something similar. I > must be watching the wrong shows! And stainless appliances, UGH. As > in, UGLY. Sorry, I just don't see the appeal.
I don't know what they think of it, they are putting in what sells. People like it. It's not for me.
> I'd love to hear input from folks who have tile as to how > they love or hate it? I currently have vinyl, but have had > heated tile in the past. I was younger then so might have > been less aware of problems, but am concerned with the > "hardness" of the floor for comfort? I am getting older now > (sob!) and don't want to find tile floors are > ergodynamically poor choices down the road after standing > in the kitchen for extended periods. I recall my mother > explaining how good dance floors are wood and impact > absorbing properties over hard cement floors that are more > jarring to your body. Yet wood floors aren't too practical > in kitchens, are they?? I'm also interested in linoleum as > I keep reading that it might be fairly "green" as well as > good cost.
> The floor choice would need to be practical for the > kitchen, breakfast room, mud room, laundry room and guest > bathroom. The rest of the downstairs is hardwood.
i have ceramic tile. i HATE it! it's hard. it's ugly (ceramic scratches fairly easily. we have a farm, & the side door enters into the kitchen, so mud & sand are constantly tracked in). it's noisy. it's freaking *cold*! it's really hard to clean, which surprised me. i figured it'd be tougher than vinyl & just sweep clean. wrong! it's almost as easy to scratch as vinyl & the grout joints collect dirt & stain really easily. i'm not sure exactly how old my ceramic floor is, but the grout is cracking &/or falling out in a lot of places (granted it's laid right over a wide pine floor with no underlayment or levelling). did i say i HATE it? it's going to be a pain in the butt to get rid of it too. when i redo the kitchen i'll put in real linoleum. it's comfortable, way warmer than tile, & easier to clean (no joints, no cracks, no grout). then i'll get a Scooba ;)
BTW, if you find a bottom freezer fridge that *doesn't* have a drawer freezer, let me know. those drawers are just plain useless. lee
-- Last night while sitting in my chair I pinged a host that wasn't there It wasn't there again today The host resolved to NSA.
