Can you put hardwood floors in your kitchen? Yes! As more homeowners gather in their kitchens for meals, special projects and socializing, the trend to install wood floors in kitchens is growing. See what you need to now here.
Why wood floors in the kitchen?
Many homeowners choose wood flooring for kitchens because they want to create one big great room, says Adam Peters, owner of Hardwood Your Home. “The reason is to tie together all the areas,” he says. “They don’t want to separate the flooring.”
What to Consider?
- Will it bother you to see minor dings and dents in your floor
- Do you view imperfections as character traits of natural wood?
- Do you want to be able to sand and refinish your floor?
The answers above matter because you may need to do more work than you want to maintain it, Adam says. “No matter how expensive or inexpensive the wood is, because it’s a naturally soft product, over time it is going to show scratches, dents, and dings. If you know that going in, you’ll be really happy,” he says of solid wood flooring.
Solid wood floors shrink, usually in the winter when there’s less moisture in the air. Likewise, they expand during the spring and summer when there’s more humidity in your home. A home humidifier can help maintain appropriate moisture levels. However, kitchens with wood floors wil
l likely need buffing and a fresh coat of polyurethane every few years.
If you prefer a smooth, dent-free, lower maintenance wood floor, consider engineered flooring. “A half-inch engineered wood will hold up better to splashes than a solid floor,” says Adam.
He says engineered flooring also works better over a slab floor because it was designed to withstand the changing conditions in the concrete subfloor. “It takes longer for engineered product to move with humidity than a solid product. It’s less vulnerable to humidity.”
If you really hate scatches and dents from everyday kitchen activity, Adam says to stay away from dark,
shiny hardwood floors. “If you drop a pan on it, you’ll see the dent,” he says, as well as shoe dust, dirt and scratches. “You will see the wear at the kitchen sink and in front of the refrigerator.”
Adam says white oak or wire brushed wood do a better job of hiding the foot traffic and mishaps that occur in a kitchen. In addition to being very strong, with a tighter, straighter grain pattern, white oak wood is sold in a wide spectrum of colors from white sapwood to dark browns.
Are you considering new floors for your kitchen? Get in touch today and get an appointment with Hardwood Your Home‘s Mobile Showroom within one hour!