When deciding what kind of floor to lay above our new sub-floor in the kitchen, David and I spent a lot of time thinking about our options…
Brick Floors
This was originally my go-to plan. I love the look of brick floors inside– they add a certain casual warmth and feeling of established tradition. Then I started pricing it out, and bricks themselves aren’t tooo bad– if you can hire someone to cut them (and install them, really) perfectly. Next we looked at brick pavers, which are a bit more expensive. All in all… while I love brick floors, we couldn’t really afford them in our kitchen right now.
Cork Floors
So many options when dealing with cork floors!! You can get cork in different colors, tile shapes and sizes, prices… just the research alone made my head spin! Ultimately I decided cork wasn’t for us because it just doesn’t look very 1850 Virginia farmhouse to me. (Too bad- there are some serious benefits to having cork floors!)
Tile Floors
If I thought there were options when it came to cork floors, oh my gosh the number of different tiles there are to choose from… whoa. There are so many choices about tile– what color, what shape, what kind of grout, what finish, what pattern… it’s overwhelming! Choosing a good tile floor that you know you’ll love is a serious decision. We hadn’t ruled out tile, but…
Wood Floors
I just love the classic look of wood floors in a kitchen. They would match the rest of our first floor and even though our kitchen is a step down, would help make for a more seamless transition. The problem with wood floors? I don’t like stressing about them! We have two huge rambunctious dogs and a baby with a high chair and a huge un-landscaped backyard full of dirt… point being, wood isn’t always the lowest maintenance. In this season in our lives, we need low maintenance flooring.
Fake Wood Floors
I won’t bother showing pictures of laminate wood floors because they’re hard to tell in photos– but needless to say, David and I think wood-without-the-hassle-of-wood floors are the way to go. We can afford them and still get the classic look, install them ourselves, and not worry about dog toenail scratches or toddler toys ruining them. 🙂