When remodeling your kitchen, there are a wide variety of kitchen flooring materials that one can choose from. While the look or the appearance of the finished floor is important, one needs to remember that most of the activities carried out in the kitchen are done while standing. Because of this, not only the look but also the feel and durability of the kitchen flooring material should be taken into account. One should go for materials that go easy on your feet but are still aesthetically pleasing. The other important factor that will usually determine the kind of flooring material used in most kitchens is the cost of the flooring materials. Let’s examine the various types of flooring materials and their cost implications.
The cheaper options
- Linoleum: They are inexpensive and easy to clean. Regarded as a “green” or environmentally clean floor, they are made from natural materials such as linseed oil, wood flour, cork dust and limestone, making them more biodegradable. They are flexible,durable and can come in a variety of colors because pigments can be added to the materials making up the linoleum. They are a good choice for people who want affordable and stylish kitchen floors.
- Laminate floors: They are inexpensive synthetic floors that look like they are made of real wood or stone. It is a synthetic flooring material constructed through the lamination process to produce strong and aesthetically beautiful floors from materials such as melamine resin and fiber boards usually topped by a hard plastic layer laid over a layer of photographic imprint resembling wood or stone.
- Vinyl: Synthetic, inexpensive, durable flooring material which are made in sheets or tiles. They are easy to install and they provide a wide variety of designs to choose from despite their affordable price. Some vinyl floors especially the pricier ones will have a urethane finish to maintain the vinyl floor’s shininess and make it resistant to stains.
The expensive flooring material options
- Natural hardwoods: Very durable solid or engineered wood flooring materials. Hardwood floors go well with almost any interior decor. The solid wood floors are usually made from a single piece of wood while the engineered hardwood floors are made from the cross-grain stacking together of layers of hardwood which are pressed together by applying heat and pressure. The hardwood floor materials may be made from Beech, Oak, Ash and Maple trees.
- Natural stone: Natural stones that are used as flooring material. Examples are stones such as Marble, Flagstone, Travertine, Limestone and Granite. Natural stone floors are good for warm climates because they have cool surfaces. They provide a natural feel around the house. They are very durable and the non-porous variety can really do well in high traffic areas of your home.
As with the purchase of any commodity, advance planning to ascertain your needs and whether a particular flooring material is right for you is crucial. Besides the cost implications, one should also consider the kind of floor plan that one has. Nowadays, kitchens are not cooking areas only but also spaces that you spend a lot of time in with that dining room inclusion. This might require you to plan for durability as well as comfort, thus making you choose a material like natural wood for the flooring.
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