apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

that's what i'm planning on putting on my tiny kitchen floor in the next month or so, black rubbber flooring with the coin dots. white appliances, pale jadite green cabinets, white subway tile and chrome metro shelving. this is a painfully low end makeover and the flooring will cost me about $150 or thereabouts. if i like it i may put in the bathroom later.

I love the idea (easier on your feets, and less broken glasses if you make a habit of dropping them), and I absolutely love the look, but I just don't know enough about them. How do you keep them clean? Do they have a slick surface on top that you can just sweep off, or what?

http://www.abreadaday.com

Oh, I would love to have rubber floors! They would make my feet feel so much better after a long day in the kitchen!

Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net

I have a rubber floor in my kitchen and I love it. It's of the Pirelli industrial tile variety.

Yes!!! (I am always promoting rubber floors in AT :-))

We installed Reztec rubber floors in our kitchen back in 2003. They are made of recycled tires, which is a good re-use idea. ( I am not a 100% fan of Reztec because our floor has little pieces of white rubber in it which yellow noticeably when exposed to sunlight -- so a word of warning -- don't pick a pattern with white in it).

Rubber floors are very easy to clean, come in a great assortment of colours (textures too, but plain is easier to clean). They are not shiny unless you coat them with a product to make them shiny, and are not slippery (even with the product -- at least ours aren't, and if you check the technical specs of different rubber floor manufacturers, you will find that the slip resistance is excellent, and even enhanced when wet).

In common with true linoleum ("battleship linoleum", "Marmoleum", etc.), they are antibacterial, a property that emanates outwards for a few inches.

They are very, very durable (great with kids, pets, people who wear shoes inside, and people who drop heavy objects a lot! :-)). That is what makes them great in kitchens -- you drop glasses and plates, and they are extremely unlikely to shatter.

But most of all, they are super comfortable to stand on for long periods! My legs don't hurt during the annual almost-all-nighter Christmas cookie baking session.

The best colours are from Dalsouple, which is the product London Urchin has in her home.

http://www.dalsouple.com/Domestic-DalUni.php

When I was looking, it was hard to find Dalsouple for the residential market in North America; I hope that increased interest will pressure the company to make it more readily available (the rep I dealt with wasn't very interested in selling to homeowners -- just a reluctant "courtesy sale").

Really, can't say enough great things about rubber floors!

Carolyn-- that kitchen sounds beautiful! Where did you find your rubber flooring?
What kind of prices are other people finding? And is it a fairly easy diy installation?

I bought a rubber barber's mat for my kitchen -- approximately 3ft by 5ft -- it works like a charm, is comfy on the feet and easy to clean.

I think the comfort factor is a big deal. I put Ikea laminate floors in my tiny kitchen largely because they stocked some in exactly the shade of grey that I'd been looking for and I was getting fed up with my search for the perfect ceramic tile. I was surprised to find that I love them, though, because in addition to being cheap enough that they're not a big deal to swap out, if I find something else I like (though, they seem to wear like iron, so I don't know as that's an immediate liklihood), they're really comfortable to stand on. That's made such a difference to how I enjoy working in there that I'm pretty sure I'd look for a similar solution, whether rubber or cork (though I had it in another place and it got kind of scuzzy) or laminate, in other kitchens, too.

I love the idea of rubber floors! They look great too. I currently have floor mats that snap together like puzzle pieces from Costco and a throw rug to cover them from Ikea - much better on my feet and back. I'll have to check out replacement cost on the rubber floor though.

I would add that if you are eco-conscious and are looking for flooring that’s green, then recycled rubber flooring is a good option for you. This is made from old car tires and is hence a great way to say no to the other flooring choices that are harsh on the environment.

Here is another post about rubber flooring that might be useful: Rubber Flooring | Cost | Buying Tips | Installation | Maintenance