Kitchen Floors

A kitchen is the hearth of many families. Not only does it provide a utility, but it also a place to cook and prepare food.

Design Considerations

Several things should be kept in mind when creating your kitchen design. First, you will want to set your budget and priorities as these decisions drive most of the layout and design choices. 

Flow: Layout the kitchen should flow with its adjacent rooms, while outdoor views and traffic patterns should be optimized as well.

Layout: The layout of a kitchen should center around appliance and sink placement. In kitchen geometry, TLC Home suggests that, “The work triangle is the shape that connects the sink, cooktop, and refrigerator. The work triangle is the functional center of every kitchen.” The most efficient kitchens have the three legs of the triangle add up to between 12 and 23 feet.

Material Considerations

Flooring: The floor you choose affects every other element of your design and with the variety of material available today, your choices are vast. The basis of your flooring decision should center on two things: the utility and design style. Popular options include: hardwood, stone/tile, cork, vinyl, or laminate. Hardwood provides a warm look, though is harder to maintain than a laminate or vinyl floor. Consider durability, water resistance, color, texture, and cost when choosing your kitchen floor material.

Walls: Walls around the sink and stove area should be protected by a tile backsplash.

Countertops: Countertop materials already come in a great array of choices, but they can be customized even further with special routing or inset bands of another color or material. Try to include a minimum of 10 linear feet of both base cabinets and upper cabinets.