Flooring for Kim's Kitchen

Whenever you have an older home, with hardwood flooring that is the actual subfloor, kitchen flooring can be a difficult decision.  Traditionally, you find the hardwood subfloor does not carry through the kitchen, you have a rough plywood subfloor in that area instead.  What that leaves you with is a height issue if you try to install any flooring that is higher than about 1/4 inch.  If you were to put say, a stone or tile floor in, you would have a terrible trip hazard at every entrance to the room.

So what are your options?  You have two.

You can remove the subfloor and have it essentially rebuilt, at a lower level, to account for the height in many popular kitchen floors.  This, however is not only expensive, but also very intrusive.  With that said, I have done it before for clients, and I'm sure I'll do it again.  For a very formal kitchen, I feel like it is, in many cases, the best option.

You can put in a floor with a very low profile.  Let me share with you some of my favorites.  - Well- maybe I'll start with my un-favorite.  The obvious selection is vinyl.  Sheet vinyl to me, is like a politician.  It's always trying to be the popular thing; but never being true to itself.  Wood floors are popular, well, with sheet vinyl, you can have the wood floor look roll out in 12' goods.  Travertine is the "in" thing, well, you can get sheet vinyl that looks exactly like it.  Slate- no problem.  Seriously, who are they trying to fool?  No one has EVER mistaken sheet vinyl slate for real slate.  It all looks ridiculous. 

Now on to the low profile floors that I would recommend.

1.  Amtico.  I have mentioned this in many flooring posts already- you can read more about it here.  The thing that is so different with Amtico compared to sheet vinyl is, of course, its durablity, but it is also so much more real looking.  I had a client that had a large home, and we put in Amtico wood flooring throughout.  It looked terrific.  She said that people would ask her what kind of wood she had and she would respond truthfully, "Weathered Elm".   Keep Amtico wood away from real wood, or you wouldn't fool a soul.   I will also say that I still don't like their slate.  You just can't fake slate.  Don't even try. The floor below is Amtico's matte limestone.  It is a great looking floor.  I especially like it in the long shape.  (it comes with many shape options.)

2.  Cork.  Years ago I did a kitchen remodel in Burbank, where we had this height issue.  It was an older home.  We put in these fabulous stained blue cabinets, and I found a cork floor with a vein of blue in it.  It looked perfect, and the height was perfect. Cork is forgiving on the joints, and adds a real natural feel to a room, in the way that hardwood floors do.  It comes in squares or on a roll. 

3.  Now, what did I tell my sister Kim to put in her home?  One of my other favorite products, and certainly the easiest to install and care for out of the three is Marmoleum.  Marmoleum has a classic vintage feel to it.  When people refer to vinyl flooring as Linoleum, it is actually incorrect.  It is an entirely different product.  Marmoleum is a brand name for traditional Linoleum.  Linoleum is actually made of linseed oil.  It is environmentally friendly and customizable.  It is also easy to care for, and simply a good looking floor. 

So here is Kim's the "after" photo- the island's not in yet, giving you a larger view of the Marmoleum.  What do you think?  Do any of you have any other low profile flooring ideas to add to my list? 

What is your favorite selection for kitchen flooring?

More photos to come as she finishes up.

Wallpaper Wednesday- Cold Feet

Today I am going to interject in blue :)

Dear Christine,

Can't make up my mind about this wallpaper thing. I love love love the idea of it, and I've found some really great papers - I think I like #3 the best here, but I hesitate for two reasons: 1 - the thought of moving in 1-2 years and having the wallpaper be a turn-off for a potential buyer (after a possibly significant cost of the wallpaper),

Well- that's a tough one. I can tell you that if I were staging your home for selling- I wouldn't have you hang wallpaper- rather I would have you paint your home a nice neutral light color- but I wouldn't want to live like that. I can imagine that if I were house hunting and saw a home with tons of wallpaper that I did not like- yes- it would make me think twice- I would expect to get a lower price for it- but one room- two walls- I'd be OK with it- Bring on the opinions everyone- would Becca papering her living room drive buyers away? The good part is that in 1-2 years- your paper will still be in style- it is not as if the buyers were finding some little mauve flowers from the 80's...

and 2 - it's a big commitment as far as the look of the room (it's not like a chair that you can ignore in the corner of the room if you're not sure you like it).

People that don't commit to something have homes that lack personality. If you choose not to commit with wallpaper- perhaps you can commit with a stronger pattern in your rugs and draperies. The rugs below are from homedecorators.com.- optin 2 option 3

I guess I'm scared. Hmm, what to do? I'm a bit afraid to ask, but what do you think, Christine, about the idea of vinyl wall art?

Hmm- vinyl wall art... I thought it was a great idea for Jen- but she was a recent college grad in a rental apartment. I think you are too sophisticated for it. Yes- I think that- even though we have never met :) Although- I do realize there may be some cool selections out there that I have never seen that would work for you... Two things- beware of scale- they are mostly small- and beware of cheesiness- they are mostly cheesy. :)There are wallpapers that come right off- - but that really shrinks your selection... One in particular that you should check out is from Studio Vue- the book name is Affinity. I could not find the papers online to show you- but I have the book, and there is a cool damask in it that would work OK in your room. p.99. It is hard when the selection is more limited- I definitely like the leaf pattern above better than anything I could find- but you might have more to choose from your local wallpaper dealer- I personally only have two Easy Walls books. Go to Easy Walls- to see what I am talking about.

I hope you're not cringing at that question...be honest with me! I would add pattern in other areas- before I went there- unless I found the perfect vinyl pattern- I checked out four sites and couldn't find any that I really liked for your room :) Oh, and I just received the wood stain in the mail today for the addition to the entertainment center (had to special order it to match) and I've started the process. I'm so excited to get things really going. Tell me if you hate the vinyl wall art idea (I know you will, if you do). Thanks for everything!

Becca

Good luck Becca- send us photos of what you end up doing! I would still wallpaper- but- hey- that's me- I like the strong statement on the wall- with your simple color in your furnishings-. And I have to admit- I hate it when clients are always concerned about "resale" I find that they tend to make very dull decisions when that is the concern. And I think that good interior design- although perhaps not neutral and universal- makes for a home that will stand apart from others on the market in a good way. When a buyer walks into the home and it is decorated in such a way that the principles and elements of good design are incorporated, a peaceful calming feeling will exist in the home, and buyers will like the home, whether they like a particular wallpaper or not. Now- don't think you can come sue me when you go to sell your house in a few years and can't sell it. :)

Be sure to check out this post and vote on bathroom lighting for Nancy :)

Ali's Kitchen Questions

Hi Christine,
My sis-in-law directed me to your site. I have a question regarding my kitchen. Here is the rundown of where I am. We've lived here for 3 years. Our house is about 12 years old. We replaced the counter tops with silestone about 2 years ago, and installed a tumbled travertine backsplash. It was our intention to strip and then re-stain the cabinets. They are structurally sound, and I don't want to tear them out. They just need a face lift. I have gone back and forth with the idea of stain vs. paint. Now I am thinking I want to paint the cabinets. Now for the questions: Can I do a dark color on bottom and light on top? My thinking on this is that I have small children who love to leave hand prints, etc. at child level. I think a dark color would hide things better. I am afraid to put the dark on the top because I think it might make the kitchen feel smaller. There is only one small window over the sink (in addition to the open bar which lets light in). For that reason I want to put a lighter color on top. Also, do you have ideas on flooring? Right now it is a parquet floor that I don't really like. I like the look of travertine, but I am afraid it might be too cold in the winter mornings. What about vinyl/linoleum? Would I regret putting that down? We have oak in our dining room - should I continue it into the kitchen? Would it get too beat up by all the stuff that gets dropped?

Anyway, thanks for any insight/ideas you can give me!

Thank you!
Ali

Dear Ali,

Here are some things to consider in deciding colors for your cabinets:

1. BALANCE When doing a combination of two colors, always have the darker of the two on the bottom. Otherwise, your kitchen can seem "top heavy", and lack balance.
2. CONTRAST. Since your counters and backsplash are light, and if you have a good sized room, consider painting both the top and bottom dark, to give your room some contrast. When the dark is next to the light, everything shows up more. Whatever your colors, make sure you have good contrast, so it doesn't all blend together too much. See this post for another example. The top picture of the white kitchen looks good becasue the counters are black. You need some contrast somewhere.
3. For fingerprints... consider a glaze.- think distressed. Keep in mind that a black car needs to be washed more frequently than a white car. Sometimes dark doesn't mean that it hides things. A clean, smooth finish in a dark color can show quite a bit, whereas a distressed finish, (like the photo above of the black kitchen) whether light or dark, can be very forgiving. See this post for an example.

Flooring for your kitchen. First of all- know this- there are pros and cons to EVERY floor. None are perfect, and none will look like new forever.

• I don't like large areas (over 4 feet) of flooring changes. If I had wood floors in a family room that was OPEN to the kitchen, I would put the same wood flooring in the kitchen. With wood, you will have to keep water off of it. Yes, it will scratch and dent eventually. I had wood in my last house, travertine in this one. I loved them both.
• Travertine is cold. I have over 1000 feet of travertine in my home right now. It is hot outside, and the floor feels great! However, I get the feeling from your e-mail that you don't live in California or Arizona. Keep in mind that you can have radiant heating put under your stone, or wear slippers :). Stone is easy to live with regarding water. It does require periodic sealing. Oil or dark colors can stain it if it is not tightly sealed.
• Vinyl. I am not a big vinyl fan- really just because I don't like the look. It is a very practical floor most of the time. (Unless you have a high moisture content in your slab- if you are on a slab).

• Linoleum. Linoleum is different than vinyl. I like it a LOT! It is made of linseed oil, and considered a very "green" choice for your home. It comes in fabulous colors, can be a sheet or squares. I have used this a number of times in customers homes, and it looks GREAT! The photo above is from Marmoleum. You can do some cool patterns with it. It is a great surface.

• Amtico. I am a HUGE Amtico fan. It is beautiful and practical. Flooring for a kitchen doesn't get much better than Amtico. It is easy with water spills, not cold and hard like stone, fun to personalize- all around GREAT. (Amtico should pay me huh?) Again, I have put in a lot of Amtico floors for clients, and had a lot of happy people. I would not use Amtico wood next to real wood. However, they have some great stone looks that would work great.

Good luck Ali! Send us a photo when you are done!

- Christine-

Post script- Ali just e-mailed me the "after" shots. Looks fantastic Ali! Thanks for the pics!