If you've already renovated a kitchen or are just beginning the process, you know how overwhelming the details can be. Our Fittings and Material Spotlights are quick guides to basic kitchen fixtures and materials to familiarize you with terminology, pros and cons, and relevant reader reviews. Today we look at the pros and cons of hardwood flooring in the kitchen.
Material: Hardwood
Overview: Classic, warm, and natural-looking, wood floors are beautiful in the kitchen. Because kitchens are high traffic areas, though, hardwoods like ash, walnut, mahogany, oak, and poplar are recommended over softwoods like pine and cedar. Additionally, darker woods are more likely than lighter woods to show dirt and scratches.
Installation: Usually installed as planks, wide strips, or parquet tiles.
Pros: Comfortable and warm underfoot; often chosen to provide a seamless look between the kitchen and the rest of the house; when properly maintained, wood floors can last a lifetime. They're considered a very good investment and can increase the value of a home.
Cons: Susceptible to water damage (beware of leaky appliances!) and scratches; spills and leaks need to be addressed immediately to avoid warping; exotic hardwoods like teak or rosewood can be very expensive; while easy to clean, they must be frequently cleaned; should be sanded and refinished periodically to keep it looking good; while it's much more comfortable underfoot than concrete or tile, it's not quite as comfortable as cork or linoleum.
Cleaning: See this post: How To Clean Your Hardwood Floor.
Price range: $5 - $12 per square foot, uninstalled.
Kitchn Reader Reviews:
We have wood floors in our kitchen. Keeping them clean is not an issue at all, and they are much easier on the back than a stone/concrete material. Water is a real concern, though. Plumbing mishaps can be disastrous, and there are a lot of ways those can happen. (Refrigerators with water dispensers, I'm looking at you.) - Bubba 451
My main floor of my tiny house is a small open concept multifunction lr/dr/kitchen/foyer. I went with hardwood throughout for a unified look. At first I was semi terrified about moisture spills in the kitchen, but it's been a complete non-issue. I once spilled an an ENTIRE pitcher of water. I soaked up what I could asap, but some seeped through the seams. I plugged in a fan, cranked the AC, crossed my fingers, and went to bed. The next morning I had some cupping at the seams, but it flattened back out to normal within a week. Moral of the story - don't be afraid of using hardwood in the kitchen. - CHZPLZ
Ugh. I dent my beautiful wood floors whenever I drop anything. There are thousands of fork-tine marks in them, the tread from the bottoms of pepper jars, you name it. You can trace the history of my clumsiness by my floors. - Mimee23
I have hardwood floors in my kitchen, and I don't see any problem with it at all. The floors are very well-sealed, so that any liquids bead up and can easily be wiped off. I guess I'm not super clumsy in the kitchen, but it's hard for me to see what I'd be spilling on the floor all the time anyway. - GeckoToes1
Wood floors in the kitchen aren't that bad, unless you're REALLY clutzy/accident-prone and like to wildly throw water everywhere in your kitchen! We have hand-scraped bamboo floors that stand up great; like someone said earlier, it will get dings and dents, but that's not a kitchen-specific thing, that's everywhere with wood. Standing water hasn't been a problem, but we make an effort not to walk around the kitchen with drippy things. An excellent solution to wetness-issues for us has been just to put a nice long rug/mat in front of the sink/dishwasher/prep-counter areas to minimize floor damage and staining. As far as flooding and leaking appliances go, who plans for stuff like that? If you expect flooding, you might want to worry more about your appliances than your flooring, but I guess that's a personality-thing. If you want wood in the kitchen, DO IT! - Conchasycafe
Readers, do you have wood floors in your kitchen? Tell us what kind and what your experience has been!
Related Kitchn and Apartment Therapy Posts:
• Hot or Not: Wood Floors in the Kitchen
• How To Refinish Wood Floors
• Homekeeping 101: Cleaning Your Hardwood Floor
• What Kind of Kitchen Floors Do You Have?
• Good Question: Wood Floors in the Kitchen?
• Good Question: How Can I Protect Hardwood Floors from Water Damage?
Other Recommended Reading:
• An Introduction to Solid-Plank Wood Floors | Houzz
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Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
I love and adore hardwood flooring! When my wife and I bought our house this spring we pulled out the carpet in the living room and the rest of the house and I was able to convince her to get hardwood in the living room.
We actually got ours at Lowe's and had a local contractor (set up by them) install it for us. It worked out great and would do it again in a heartbeat.
As for hardwood in the kitchen, I'm not sure I'm sold on it. I'm worried about the dishwasher springing a leak or something getting spilled and no one notices. I think we may end up going with laminate in the kitchen but we'll see.
I have oak floor in my kitchen. About a year after we moved in, they looked dramatically worse, and I suspect the previous owners filled the gouges with a water soluble wood putty! 13 years later, they are pretty beat up.
I'm planning a kitchen remodel now, and as part of it, we will also put flooring in our living room (right now its painted plywood). The oak has dealt pretty well with leaky coolers (cupped boards for about 2 weeks, but they did straighten back out) but the finish got scratched, and yes - many dents.
Thank you sooo much for this series of articles on kitchens. Really really helpful.
We put red oak floors into this house after living with two wood floor kitchens. Serious leaks can be covered by insurance. We really love our wood floors, and they especially make sense because our house is open concept. Changing floors abruptly would feel and look wrong in this house.
Funny... I was reading the second comment and thought it sounded just like my old house. Then I realized it was MY old comment :)
I've now moved and am getting quotes to extend the existing red oak into the kitchen as part of a complete kitchen reno. Loved them in the last house, looking forward to having them again!
I have hardwood floors in my kitchen and I really love it. They do get dings quite a lot but it's not really detrimental to the look. The floor is very easy to clean, it's warm enough that I'm often barefoot in the kitchen, and it looks so cozy. Before I only lived at places where kitchen had either vinyl floors or tiles, and there's no question for me that hardwood floors are the best.
Great article! We highly recommend the Oak's and Ash as the best woods, as well. With today's trends, a variety of colours and tones are available to compliment virtually any kitchen motif. Gazzotti has been providing hardwood floors all over the world for over 100 years!
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