We''ve talked about forgiving floor materials for kitchens before, but we realized we forgot one very common material: wood. In many old homes, and making a comeback with engineered wood products, wood is a softer-than-tile option that also brings richness and warmth to the room:
Wood floors, of course, have their drawbacks. The old ones in our house, for instance, have worn and aged right in the area of the kitchen sink due to years of moisture and heavy foot traffic. If wood floors aren't tight and don't have a good finish on them, it can make cleaning them less convenient than when they're shiny and new. For more on pros and cons, see what fellow Kitchn readers had to say about wood floors at Hot or Not: Wood Floors in The Kitchen.
Related: Rubber Floors in the Kitchen
(Images: Nick Steever/House Obsession, Phoebe's Crisp Organic, Gregory Han/Apartment Therapy)
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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.
Hi,
This is my kitchen, and it's very uncool to use someone's photo without giving them credit! www.houseobsession.com. Photographer Nick Steever. Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn should know better...this is a professional blog.
We've had the opposite result. Two years ago, we installed solid wood plank floors in the kitchen. I worried we would ruin them since I'm pretty messy and we have young kids. I have to say ours have been amazing despite the abuse we give them. They still look brand new. Maybe the type of wood is relevant. Ours is Hickory Pecan which is supposed to be very hard.
House Obsession: It's a beautiful kitchen!