Wooden floors are one of the most popular materials in homes and commercial spaces. New home buyers are often willing to pay more for a home that has hardwood floors than one that has other materials. Many people changing out flooring in their homes will also give at least one close look to wood.
But one area that builders and interior designers typically end up avoiding wood is in the kitchen floor. While avoiding wood in some areas like a mudroom, laundry room, or bathroom makes sense, because you don’t want to damage the hardwood floor from moisture, the kitchen design is actually an ideal area to have a wooden floor. Using reclaimed wood in kitchen designs actually has a lot of benefits for the homeowner, which can translate into higher and faster sales for you, as well as better portfolio photos and references.
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Kitchen Wood Flooring Benefits
Take a look at the benefits of using wood as a kitchen floor material and see how you can start incorporating this material into your kitchen designs or kitchen remodels.
1. Unbroken Floor Plans
Open concept floor plans have been the most popular home layout for the last several years, and it is predicted to continue trending in the same direction moving forward as well. Open concept floor plans let people entertain, cook, watch their kids, converse with one another, and simply keep things in order more easily.
But many builders and designers visually break the flow from room to room by changing the kitchen floor. This disrupts the design for no reason, and tends to chop up the space.
By using the same wood flooring right through the entire level, you create uniformity in the interior design. You also visually enlarge and open the area even more, because there’s no abrupt change in color or texture to jar the eye.
2. Durability
Wood is one of the most durable materials that you can use on the floor. This is true whether you’re using new cut wood or antiqued and reclaimed wood. Wood is versatile enough and durable enough to easily withstand everyday use. Keep in mind that a beautiful kitchen is one of the most frequently used rooms in the home. It gets more foot traffic than living rooms and family rooms – both places where wood is often installed already.
Using a highly durable material like wood in a modern kitchen means that it will hold up well to daily foot traffic, dropped pots, and plates. There’s no grout lines to crack, no surface texture to be worn away or chipped, and it’s still resilient enough to feel good underfoot.
This durability translates well to homeowners, both because they know up front that they’re getting a floor that will last, and because there are fewer problems to crop up in the months to years after installation when the floor may still be under your warranty, necessitating costly and time consuming call backs.
3. Versatility
Wood is an incredibly versatile material. Regardless of what style your clients ultimately want to impart on their home, there is a wood floor to match. This is true regardless of what type of cabinetry your clients want to use in the kitchen, what finish or color they give it, or what kind of countertop they have.
A warm, rich wood floor works well with natural and painted cabinetry and with nearly any style of countertop. It can be dressed up or down, and it’s possible to find highly polished and gloss finished floors for a formal kitchen or to find an antiqued and rustic floor for a farmhouse or cottage kitchen.
With hardwood flooring, you can offer your clients versatility and options, but without having an endless parade of materials. And because your client is likely already considering wood for other areas of the home, extending it to the kitchen flooring means one fewer choice for you both.
4. Ease of Installation
Hardwood flooring is far more straightforward and easier to install than tile, cork, slate, and other flooring materials that are often found in the kitchen. And once again, if wood is already present in the home, then you can use the same installer to run the material right through the kitchen, rather than wrangling another installer, another set of installation dates, and another material to run down and keep track of.
Using wood in the kitchen as well as other areas of the home means fewer headaches for you and for the homeowner. This translates into a faster, easier, and often less costly installation for you both.
5. Environmentally Friendly
More homeowners than ever before are looking for green and environmentally friendly building materials. This is particularly true in places like the kitchen, where they may be more wary of man-made materials, which can contain hazardous chemicals.
Using natural wood and antiqued reclaimed wood throughout the home and including in the kitchen helps you provide that more eco-conscious choice for your clients. It also helps you meet LEED standards and helps set you apart as an architect or builder who creates environmentally friendly designs. This in turn helps you grow your business, reaching out to the increasingly larger population of homeowners for whom this matters.
5 Wood Floor Kitchen Design Ideas
Wooden floors are a popular choice throughout the interior design of a home. Why not incorporate them in one of the most popular rooms? The kitchen! As a room that’s meant for gathering around food and community, kitchens are a space that are meant to be enjoyed. Explore some of the design ideas our clients have used to add wooden floors in their kitchen remodels.
1. Blending New and Old Materials for a Modern Farmhouse Style
This kitchen design has an open concept layout that brings a lightness into the space. There is a beautiful mix of new and old materials, from the white kitchen cabinets and pop of various blue tones to the rustic reclaimed flooring. All the elements come together to create a modern farmhouse feel that is as beautiful as it is functional.
2. Mixed Reclaimed Softwood Flooring
The kitchen floor doesn’t have to be all the same material to be beautiful. This small kitchen features a wooden floor that uses a medley of reclaimed softwood species to showcase a unique color palette. White shaker cabinets are a simple yet popular choice that pairs well with the vibrant flooring.
3. Create a Minimalist, Rustic Vibe with Elm Wood
Reclaimed elm wood is a perfect option to create a modern yet rustic kitchen design. The light color tone of the wood brings in more natural light to the modern kitchen design. This light wood has a straight grain that showcases well in the wide planks and provides a refined look against the stainless steel appliances.
4. Reclaimed White Oak Flooring is a Classic Choice
White oak flooring is a classic, light wood choice for many home interiors. This spacious kitchen mixes different colors of textiles to create a unique aesthetic, from the white cabinets and wooden countertops to the bright tile backsplash and dark kitchen island. The light wood floors are reclaimed from old barns and feature characteristics like nail holes and natural weathering.
5. Use Matching Wood Throughout the Design
This open concept kitchen brings the space together by using the same reclaimed woods from the flooring for the custom built table and bench set. This kitchen design strikes a balance of beauty and functionality in multiple spaces to bring together a cohesive design. Reclaimed wood was chosen for its rustic aesthetic while bringing warmth into the space.
Consider the Use of Wood Floors in the Kitchen
There are many benefits to both you and the homeowner when you extend wood flooring into the kitchen area. Wood is durable, versatile, attractive, and holds up well to the high traffic and daily use of the kitchen area. And when you choose Elmwood Reclaimed Timber, you can rest assured that your wood flooring will be a high-quality product. Consider using real wood floors in the kitchen of the properties you work on to help capture these benefits for yourself. We have years of experience in helping homeowners and interior designers choose the right wood floor for their space. Contact our team of experts today to get started.