[luke from georgia]

we are moving to a new house, and we are having a hard time making a decision on the kitchen flooring. right now the house has vinyl flooring in the kitchen.

in our current house, the flooring is hardwood, and since we hang out in the kitchen a lot, we can see how the wood floors have a more worn and faded look than other rooms with the same hardwood. so, in the new house, we want to go with a natural stone or tile for the kitchen.

at first, we decided on slate, but later decided the slate tile was too dark for the amount of natural light that comes into the new kitchen (not much light). we came very close to choosing a light travertine, but then balked on that choice. we are still open to slate and travertine or any other material.

we have to decide on something this weekend, and we are very undecided. the cost of the material is not really an issue as building material seem to have reduced prices these days. for example, a nice travertine tile is around $4 sq ft and many for even less than that.

the flooring for the rest of the house will be hardwoods, but we can't make a decision on the kitchen. we definitely do not want to keep the vinyl. it would look silly to have such a material next to the nice hardwoods being installed right now.

also, the kitchen opens to the backyard, and there is a in ground swimming pool in the backyard, so i expect water to be factor with people/dogs coming in from the pool.

it's been difficult trying to compare beauty of natural stone tile vs easier maintenance of porcelain and ceramic tile

any advice? thoughts?

 

[blacklabparent]

I am a slate fan. You can get pretty light natural variations, even golds. Have you shopped around much? If you do go tile, go porcelain. If ceramic chips, you see the colour difference, whereas porcelain is the same all the way through. And ceramic tiles can chip & crack, whereas natural stone will not as often, if it is laid properly. Slate is virtually maintenance free.

So.... slate gets my vote. =)

 

[blacklabparent]

Cam?

 

[Allie]

I don't think you can go wrong with some type of nice tile. We have regular 12" ceramic but we had it laid in a broken jointed pattern, which I really like.

Something I learned after picking out tile/grout for our new house--you might want to pick a neutral colored tile with a "dirt" colored grout. Not a super dark grout, but like a dark brown. I picked out what I thought were darker grouts but now I wish I had gotten just a shade or two darker.

 

[blacklabparent]

Oooh yes, be careful with the grout. grout stains, and can cause extra maintenance. Allie's tile is gorgeous! (Actually, Allie's entire house is gorgeous)

 

[Thunders Mom]

We just put 16 inch ceramic tile in the kitchen and I am very happy with it. With 3 dogs running around on it, holding up well so far.

You moving/building? Where have I been? Have you posted any pictures?

 

[Princess Zoe]

Sounds nice! I love the natural stone and slate. If you drop a dish or a glass on it its a goner! Can't wait for pics of the new house!

 

[Golfgirlrobin]

I have travertine in my bathroom. I would never use it for flooring again. Beautiful on the countertops but anything you drop on the floor can take out a chunk. Use the wrong cleaner and it can etch the stone and you have to have the whole thing buffed out and resealed. When we built our house in Arizona, I found a 16 inch ceramic tile that looked exactly like the travertine without any of the maintenance issues. I couldn't love it more. We're renting the place out and when I checked it a couple of months ago it continues to look brand new even with a renter's level of cleaning effort.

 

[Samson]

I have ceramic tile in my kitchen ( with brown grout ) and it is really easy to maintain ! Cons - if you drop a heavy object it can break or chip - When wet it can be slippery.

Given the right property I would personally have a sealed terracotta tile floor - Pro's - very warm to walk on and easy to keep clean if sealed properly.

I like the idea of marble but have no experience ! I imagine that the same Cons would develop as with ceramic tiles !

Slate can be rough and harbour dirt as Wendy has it in her house although you don't notice the dirt !

Hope that helps !

 

[luke from georgia]

You moving/building? Where have I been? Have you posted any pictures?

we are moving and replacing the flooring. the new house has/had a lot of carpet, and the vinyl in the kitchen is somewhat of an eyesore, although functionally fine.

if you want to see recent photos, just click my sig pic.

thanks for all the suggestions and thought sharing, everyone!

 

[Allie]

Colin's post made me think of something--it seems like marble tends too look way too shiny and gross on floors. It just turns me off for some reason. It doesn't bother me on counters though, and we have it in all the bathrooms. Marble is also high maintenance for cleaning. You definitely don't want a material that is very porous.

 

[bearsdad]

We put in a porcelain tile, that has a wood look. Wanted hardwood to match the rest if the house, but was fearful of wear, felt this was a decent compromise

 

[blacklabparent]

Awesome kitchen!

 

[Princess Zoe]

I tried to find the pics of the new house on your site and all of the pictures were of the dogs.

 

[luke from georgia]

sorry, no photos of the new place yet. maybe next week.

 

[joflake]

We just did our floor and used porcelain tile. I love it. We used the 16" squares and ran them diagonally. No muss no fuss with the dogs. I'll try to post a picture of it.

 

[luke from georgia]

i found some photos of the kitchen in the new house.

 

[Clanceycanuck]

Nice Kitchen - can't wait to see the new floor shot !

 

[luke from georgia]

photos of the outside:

 

[Allie]

Really nice! With a new floor, that kitchen is going to pop. I love the cabinets. I want your pool, too!