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You might not think about it much, but flooring is one of the most important kitchen features.
It’s essential to the room’s aesthetic, complementing the furniture and appliances. Still, you can’t pick flooring based on looks alone. You need something stain-resistant, easy to clean, and non-absorbant.
There are also some vital questions to answer when picking flooring: Do you walk around barefoot? Do you have pets and/or kids?
When you hit the store, you might feel overwhelmed. Should you choose a new hardwood floor, vinyl, tile, or even carpet…?
If you feel an anxiety attack coming on due to this veritable Goldilocks dilemma, you’re not alone! Homeowners often resign themselves to whatever’s easiest, but that leads to inconveniences down the line.
The answer is hiding in plain sight: Classic hardwood can solve all of your problems. Take a look at these signs you should install hardwood in your kitchen or renew your old wood floors.
1. You Want Control Over Floor Finishing
If you’re looking for something indestructible for your kitchen, good luck. Nothing’s perfect: There are types of floor damage that affect every kind of floor, even plain concrete.
Homeowners sometimes avoid hardwood because it requires a lot of maintenance. That’s true for certain types of wood, and some finishes, stains, and sealants.
In reality, the wide variety of available customizations gives you a lot of control. You can pick how your hardwood floor looks and how much maintenance it takes.
If you find a certain finish is a
Having a reliable hardwood floor for your kitchen requires knowing when you need a replacement. Here are signs you need a new hardwood floor.
too much work, you can sand it off and start over without replacing the floor. When it comes to carpet and laminate, you often have to put up with damage or rip the floor out.
Engineered planks are another flooring option that some consider a kind of hardwood. These planks look much the same and share many benefits with the traditional option. Some call engineered wood “fake” and dismiss it because it’s more processed and a cheaper option than solid hardwood.
Despite that, the planks are indeed made of wood. It’s hard to tell the difference between them and solid boards once they’re installed because the top layer is hardwood. After that, the planks have several layers of wood glued together, designed for durability.
Whether you choose engineered hardwood or solid wood planks, you have a wide choice of glue options that affect how your floor holds up over time. A guide to wood flooring adhesive is a handy tool for selecting an approach.
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2. Your Toes are Freezing
As cooler weather sets in, adjusting your home for comfort can be difficult. Before you know it, you’ll have to run the heater and break out your cozy sweaters and pajama pants. Wear slippers, too, or you’ll freeze your toes when your bare feet hit the cold floor!
The early morning journey to the kitchen for a cup of tea or coffee becomes miserable for many who dislike slippers or forget to put them on. This issue is much worse for folks with tile and laminate floors.
Some folks with chilly feet use rugs and carpeting to solve the issue, but putting them in the kitchen isn’t practical due to spills. Adding a wood floor to your kitchen is a better solution. Hardwood doesn’t cool overnight when you turn the heat down like a stone and ceramic tiles do.
Installing a new floor may seem an extreme solution for chilly toes, but it’s well worth it for the other benefits. If you’re considering replacing old floors anyway, keeping your feet warm is a good reason to pick hardwood.
If you live somewhere that doesn’t get cold—or if you do, but are concerned about the summer—worry not. Because hardwood doesn’t conduct heat well, it won’t burn your feet, either.
3. The Kitchen Has a Cold Look
If your kitchen floor feels cold, there’s a good chance that the room looks cold, too. Tile and laminate floors can look industrial and cold. Stone floors are even worse in that regard, as many have cool gray tones.
Black, white, and chrome appliances don’t help the problem. Stainless steel and professional appliances are popular for their sleek look and top-of-the-line function… but letting them dominate the kitchen’s aesthetic is unwise. The tones are cool and without the right accompaniments, the room becomes impersonal.
Replacing old floors with hardwood warms the kitchen’s aesthetic. Although they’re brown, natural wood tones and finishes incorporate warm reds, oranges, and yellows. They add life and hominess, perfect for the room many consider the heart of the house.
If you like your cold, industrial kitchen the way it is, more power to you! You can reap the benefits of hardwood, too, with black, white, and gray boards. You might want to reconsider those colors if you plan on selling your house down the line, though.
Most modern homebuyers look for a happy, vibrant, cozy kitchen. Installing a new floor made of warm-colored wood could get you more money when parting ways with your house.
4. Your Kitchen Sticks Out Like a Sore Thumb
Adding hardwood to your kitchen can also help the room better match other areas of your house. If other rooms have hardwood while your kitchen has tile, you’ll create a better sense of flow by switching to wood. With all the various board sizes, stains, and finishes available to you, matching other hardwood is no problem.
This consideration is extra-important in light of the ever-popular open concept floor plan. When the kitchen is open to other areas of the house, mismatched floors are awkward. Even if you prefer carpet surrounding the kitchen area, hardwood’s warmer feel may match the fabric better than tile or stone does.
Live Better with a New Hardwood Floor and Other Bright Ideas
If you relate to any of these signs, you need a new hardwood floor in your kitchen. Soon, you’ll be hunting for a floor installation service or busy browsing planks.
Don’t overwork yourself! Take a second to relax with some light reading.
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