Stone, Wood & Vinyl - What Floor for my Kitchen?

but what's the most important part? The part that will take the most battering? The part you'll see more of than any other?

When considering a suitable flooring material for a kitchen there are basically three alternatives: wood, stone and vinyl flooring. The ongoing popularity of the first two is assured, they are natural materials with mellow tones and textures and as such will always have a loyal following.

But they are not without their disadvantages. Wood, whether in laminate form or actual boards can be hard to keep clean, grease and grime easily build up in the hollows of the grain and effective cleaning can be a hands-and-knees-and-scrubbing-brush affair. Added to this is the fact that sooner or later whatever treatment has been applied to protect the wood will wear away and leave the surface vulnerable to the kind of staining that can only be removed if one is prepared to sand down the whole floor.

Stone flooring, similarly, is likely to have a textured finish vulnerable to dirt build up and despite its obvious hard wearing attributes can also be stained when a protective coating has worn through. Stone floors are also immensely heavy and with a typical British suspended floor might prove structurally problematic. Stone floors have the additional disadvantage of being cold underfoot in our increasingly erratic winters and underfloor heating can be prohibitively expensive and extremely disruptive.

With this in mind the benefits of vinyl flooring start to become more apparent. Its smooth surface lends itself to much easier cleaning and you will find it surprisingly hard wearing. It will be easier to tell when you have finally worn through the protective coating as the pattern will disappear! If simulated natural finishes leave you unimpressed there are a number of firms that do a wide range of fun and colourful finishes to brighten any room. Vinyl flooring is also increasingly available in a range of retro patterns if one wants that ever popular fifties and sixties look The mellow and muted tones of natural materials don't necessarily suit everyone and you may prefer something with some zing! Compared to natural products vinyl flooring is inexpensive to buy and much cheaper and easier to install, there wont be any need to protect the rest of the home from dust or fumes and there won't be nasty rough men carrying buckets of cement and what-have-you through your precious home.