Kitchens overheating is generally more of a complaint than kitchens having a bit of a chill. Pair that with ease of cleaning (and the recent heat wave) and we think these "cool" flooring options are looking pretty good:
- Stone Tile: Shown here in carrara marble, stone tile is readily available and comes in a wide variety of options.
- Stone Slab: Even cooler yet, stone slab is thicker than tile and has a significant cooling effect on spaces where it's installed. Think Italian villa.
- Ceramic or Porcelain Tile: Probably the most affordable of options, these materials still provide a cooling effect. We've been in many homes with ceramic or porcelain tile kitchen floors that feel cool underfoot.
- Concrete Slab: Did we say the previous material was probably the cheapest. Scratch that, because exposing a plain old concrete subfloor is cheaper yet (if it's there to begin with) and is thermally cool to boot. Don't have a concrete subfloor but want a concrete look? Check out Artflor concrete tiles.
Do you love that cool feeling of hard flooring in a summer kitchen?
Related: Forgiving Kitchen Floors
(Images: NJ Serra Granite, Sheviock Barton via The Kitchn, House to Home, number9)
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*sigh* I dream of cool floors in the kitchen, especially on the hottest summer days.
But when its the dead of winter (and -40 to boot), I can't say I'm wishing for a cold floor.
Cool floors are great in theory, but the actual materials used to make them are really hard on my knees! I mean, physical therapy is fun and all, but I wish I didn't have to do it.
I like my laminate flooring. Cool but not cold, and easier on both my body and my crockery!
Ha, agreeing there, Adventurat. I'm clumsy enough to appreciate floors that don't break everything you drop on them.
I can definitely see the appeal of a cold floor if I lived in a hot climate, though. In one hotel room I stayed in once, they actually chilled the floor - I believe it was with really cold fluid running underneath, much like heated flooring.
It did almost nothing to cool the room (which makes sense, cool air sinks, would have made more sense to have a radiant cooling ceiling) but gosh darn it was the coldest floor I've ever walked on.