Best kitchen floor surfaces?

I favor sheet vinyl. No seams for spilled milk to infiltrate. But it's no longer fashionable.

Cindy Hamilton

There is no ideal floor, if there was, everyone would have it.

I prefer quarry tiles, but dropping plates and glasses etc usually sees them break.

I agree I liked the vinyl myself but my wife insisted on taking the ceramic tile we have in the rest of the house into the kitchen. It is certainly durable and easy to clean but very unforgiving on anything you drop. I can't seem to hurt the tile but I have certainly broken a lot of glasses, dishes or whatever.

Fashionable is often far from sensible though. Sheet vinyl is probably the most practical and cost effective. Easier on drops than most. Had that in our last house and it held up well too.

My house has porcelain tile. Nice here in warm climate but you may not like it in cooler places. Very easy to clean.

Yeah, that's what I did too, quarry tiles everywhere. Not into carpet, because I have a dog most of the time.

Yeah, I havent ever chipped one and its easy to replace one if I did manage to do that.

Yeah, specially the Corelles, shatter into a million pieces when dropped.

What do you mean? you can get it to look like ANYTHING that happens to be in fashion. - and the new premium vinyl product, although not "sheet" is still spill-proof - plank, tile, or whatever you want.

It's so hard glasses and china seem to break even before they hit the floor - - - at least before thit hit after the first bounce.

We put in armstrong solid vinyl sheet flooring 26 years ago and it still looks like new - and it looks like porcelain tile. Kitchen and mainfloor bath. The upstairs bath is a composite floor that looks like tile and comes in 2X4 foot sheets - snaps together like laminate fake hardwood, but with virtually invisible seams and guaranteed waterproof. The finish is as hard as ceramic tile - was VERY hard on saw blades. I don't think it was Pergo - but very similar.

Also a decent option for a kitchen and available in many "patterns" (Pergo)

Sure, you can get it to look like anything. But people--especially those who care what's in fashion--tend to want what's specifically fashionable.

Plank? Really? What happens when I drop a glass of milk? Doesn't it seep down between the planks? I'll admit I haven't looked at flooring very closely because I'm not on the verge of remodeling my kitchen.

Cindy Hamilton

And usually there is a big difference in something that "looks like" and something that really is. Vinyl sheet flooring that looks like wood?

The modern engineered hardwoods fit together very tightly. Apparently it's not a problem. I would be a bit worried about water leaks that put more water on it, where it may not be seen or detected for a long time, etc. though.

Hey, if there is a way to waterproof it I would be interested to hear. We thought it was a bit odd to have a wooden kitchen floor and I have had a few puddles that did soak in a bit.

A few coats of polyurethane usually works.

IDK of any way to waterproof it, but wood floors in kitchens are not unusual. You see them here in NJ in the more expensive homes. I think it also depends on the actual wood used. For new floors, most often it's one of the pre-finished, engineered materials that combine a substrate with a thinner veneer of the desired wood. They have the finish applied at the factory and it's harder, more durable, more resistant to warping, etc. Most of those, the good ones for sure, can be refinished a couple times too.

I wanted hard wood when we built the house almost 10 years ago. However, we do have a large dog and hard wood was not recommended. So we put in laminate. It looks as good as when it was new. Yes there might be a ding here or there, but, it really doesn't show. The laminate even survived a situation when the fridge decided to turn itself off when we were on vacation. Water from the freezer did leak out and swell it a bit but after it dried the swelling now is almost invisible. In my previous house we had ceramic tile. If you dropped something glass on it, not only did the glass break, but the tile usually chipped.

Custom Solarian solid vinyl - what was installed in our kitchen and mainfloor bath - It's not Epoxy that is used - but a special vinyl cement that chemically "welds" the vinyl.

Strange story on ours - we "won" it at a home show - all we had to pay was the installation. They brought it in about 8am on a cold Ontario December day and started laying it. They were done well before noon (I was at work - wife was home). When I got home I found there were 2 corners where it was visibly cracked - due to the "installers" not knowing what they were doing and working it while still cold and stiff. I called and told them they had 2 options - and only 2. Eother come and rip it out and replace it properly, or forget about the installation fee. They decided it was a lot cheaper to forget the installation fee. I can live with 2 cracks about 1/2 inch long - particularly after I glued them - they hardly show even now 20 - some odd years later.

Looks just like Terrazo. Used a lot in institutional installations where the corners are water-tight and easy to keep clean.

It was two part epoxy when I was installing it, mid 70s it did change in late 70's early 80s