Houston, we have liftoff! We made a big kitchen purchase. We ordered the floor! Wait, we should back up. We originally hoped to find hardwood floors running all the way under the linoleum in the kitchen (after finding out that it ran under the fireplace side of the room here)…
… but we removed the transition between the kitchen and the office on the other side of the room to find… booo!… plywood. So no refinishing for us. Gotta start from scratch.
But there were a few limitations off the bat. We learned from the previous owners that the kitchen floors couldn’t handle tile (they would need to be reinforced/leveled from underneath = $$$), so tile was out. Even laying down new hardwood worried us since it’s thick and heavy and not as flexible as some other options. So based on the limitations, we honed in on these three options (any of which we hoped to install ourselves if we chose it):
- cork
- floating wood laminate like Pergo
- vinyl or linoleum/marmoleum
At first we loved the idea of laying some sort of sleek eco-friendly linoleum in some chic tone-on-tone stripes. Candice Olsen does it sometimes, but I couldn’t find any online pics. And I’m sure it sounds really tacky but I promise it looked really good and that lady spends five thousand dollars on sconces so she’s not exactly about compromising when it comes to form. But after checking out a ton of local places /online stores we just couldn’t find anything that we liked. And we didn’t want to give off that “we upgraded the whole kitchen but forgot to update the floors effect” (which is a pretty embarrassing result if you do, in fact, upgrade the floors but no one can tell).
So we were happy to move on from the whole striped linoleum thing. We also realized that we prefer when our floors fall back and let other things be the star (like the wall paint, textiles on the chairs & windows, light fixtures, art & accessories – etc). Next was the possibility of: 1) a Pergo type wood-look click floor or 2) cork (since it was substantially lighter than hardwood and even bamboo). So we looked at a bunch of options in both materials and zeroed in on two options that we liked best.
One was a whitewashed Pergo from Lowe’s (for $3 a square foot called “Driftwood Pine”) that looked so much like the hardwoods we already had in the house, except whitewashed – which could have been a fun choice for the kitchen. The planks were the same size as the existing ones and it still had warm wood tones underneath so it would almost look like we had the same hardwood running through the kitchen that we had in the office, dining room, and bedrooms, but decided to whitewash them in the kitchen.
The other option was a rich mocha cork from Lumber Liquidators (called “Porto” by Libson Cork) that was on super sale for $3.26 a square foot. Which is an awesome price since cork usually starts around $4 or $5 a square foot and can go all the way up to $10+.
We realized we might have initially been attracted to the whitewashed Pergo because it’s similar in tone to the existing vinyl flooring in our kitchen (so our eyes are just used to seeing that tone underfoot), but once we paint the cabinets white and add stainless appliances and make a bunch of other upgrades, we realized that we might appreciate a warmer toned floor (so the whole room wouldn’t be white and gray). Boom, option one was effectively eliminated. Buh-bye graywashed Pergo.
The funny thing was that when we checked out nearly all of the inspiration kitchens that I pinned on Pinterest, they all had one thing in common: rich dark floors. Talk about subliminal messages. Can’t believe we didn’t pick up on that sooner. They were actually similar in tone to the mocha hardwood ones that we added to our first kitchen, which we still miss on the daily. Oh and it bears mentioning that while some folks prefer lighter wood for shows-less-dust reasoning, we never had any issues with that (or keeping them clean in general) since they weren’t super dark/ebony, just deep enough to be called “mocha.”
Decision made. Mocha cork it is! Especially since we planned to refinish the existing hardwoods in a similar tone for an even more seamless whole-house feeling down the line. But before pulling the cork trigger we googled around for cork pros and cons – just to be thorough. We learned it’s warm, quiet, naturally fire & water & bacteria resistant, soft underfoot (for less dish breakage and sore knees from standing), and eco friendly. The cons were that the finish could be scratched (like hardwoods) and it could be dented over time by heavy appliances or furniture if you don’t put those felt feet on them (like hardwoods). But if scratched or dented it could be sanded down and even restained and resealed (yup, you guessed it – like hardwoods). So it didn’t sound too out of our league since we’re definitely not strangers to oak flooring, which is apparently pretty similar.
But because we’re neurotic, we took it one step crazier further. We emailed four people we know and love who have cork and asked them to be brutally honest with us and tell us what they hate and if they’d recommend it and what they’d change and all the bad stuff. Well, not a complaint among them. Everyone said they loved their cork and would make the same choice again. Whew. So we (finally) went for it.
We put in an order for 265 square feet of it to cover the entire 25′ kitchen and adjoined laundry room (and account for about 10% of extra cork, just in case of a catastrophe cork-tastrophe). Of course I haggled with the Lumber Liquidators guy to get $15 off our $863 cork order (down to $848, baby). Haha. Every penny helps. It’s definitely not a drop in the bucket, but we’re excited to install it ourselves (it should be pretty simple since it’s click + lock and doesn’t call for any adhesive). The awesome thing is that refinishing hardwoods usually runs around $3-4 a square foot around here, and our new floors were $3.26 a square foot – so we’re psyched that new cork floors are about the same price as refinishing what we wished we had found under that old linoleum. In the words of Clara: yoi! (that’s how she says yay).
The only ironic thing: installing the floor is one of the last things we’ll be tackling (floors usually go down last so they don’t get dinged up by demo or painting or appliance installing) but the price was right so we pounced! For anyone wondering what we have to get done before cork-ing things up, here’s a brief rundown:
- Switch out/alter some of the existing cabinets & relocate some appliances
- Order/install new appliances (since we have some bisque mixed with black going on)
- Open the doorway between the dining room & kitchen (still working on permits/contractors)
- Create a peninsula out of secondhand, built, or purchased cabinetry
- Upgrade the counters (possibly with some DIY concrete ones if the floor can support them)
- Redo the backsplash (we have something pretty fun planned… more on that later)
- Paint the old and new cabinets white, so they look nice and seamless
- Add some open shelving (that’ll go along with our fun TBA backsplash idea)
- Completely upgrade the lighting (goodbye florescent tube lights!)
So yeah… we might not have after kitchen pictures for you until 2013. Just kidding. But maybe not. Have you guys purchased flooring lately? Gone crazy for cork? Or whitewashed wood (or faux wood)? Or realized that there’s a subliminal common thread among all of the kitchens you’ve been pinning on Pinterest? It was kind of hilarious when we noticed they all had nearly identical floors.
Melissa says
Super excited about this!! We are going to redo our kitchen floor soon and are like 99% sure we want cork and I can’t wait to see yours!
The only issue is that there is a half bath off the kitchen and the thought of cork in the bathroom skeeves me out!
YoungHouseLove says
Someone just commented to say that Frank Lloyd Wright used cork in bathrooms! I’m not sure if the cork tile (or snap in flooring) is sealed to uphold that much steam (like in a full bathroom with a tub or shower) but I bet it would be awesome in a half bath! It’s a naturally anti-bacterial product so it’s probably less skeevy than hardwoods (which we had and loved in our last half bath).
xo,
s
Kris says
When we purchased our house two years ago, it had cork in the kitchen as well…and we hate it. Even after moving day, it had a few big dents taken out of it. Not small scratches that blend in nicely, but big chunks. I’m surprised to hear that your friends and so many followers (commenters, what do you call us?) love their cork floor. Maybe we had some cheap stuff installed??? Wish you the best, hopefully you will love them.
YoungHouseLove says
It sounds like yours might need to be resealed! Just like hardwood if cork isn’t sealed it can get dented or scratched a lot easier- but that topcoat really protects it like hardwood floors!
xo,
s
g @ gingerpiece says
Kris, I have similar issues with the click-lock cork flooring in the kitchen of the house we bought this year. The flooring is not even 5 years old and it isn’t looking too good.
It’s definitely sealed (I agree with the other commenter that the sealant makes the seams more pronounced – too pronounced), but has all sorts of permanent dents from chair legs, etc., and is terribly faded anywhere it has been exposed to sun.
Amongst the paperwork the sellers gave me was an invoice for the materials: $1500 for ~290 sf. I guess at the lower end, though maybe not the cheapest. I do like the idea of cork floors, the way it looks in other people’s pictures and the way it feels on the feet (aside from the edges), so I might consider it higher-grade version when we redo the kitchen.
eliza says
umm….. i’m really excited for your kitchen! i feel a little dorky, being so enthusiastic for someone else’s to-do list. but i’ve been hearing a lot about cork flooring recently, and that sounds awesome. and i’ve had such a crush on open shelving in kitchens recently! it’s going to be exciting!
Nancy says
Glad you decided against the laminate…we had it installed in our kitchen a couple of years ago and are not that wild about it…have considered replacing it and cork was one of my choices…you may have just convinced me to do it, especially if the sale is still on at Lumber Liquidators! We just repainted our oak cabinets slightly-off-white and all of my kitchen (inspiration) pictures show dark wood floors also…we simply overdosed on oak cabinets and oak laminate…if I never see oak again it will be too soon! Love love love Young House Love!
Kelly says
That cork is so pretty! I like the look of Pergo, and it’s definitely something we may put into our house one day, but my parents have it in their kitchen/entryway, and it creaks quite a bit. Plus, their refridgerator was leaking in the back, unbeknownst to them, and when they replaced the wet planks, the floor never laid back down exactly like it had before.
I can’t wait to see the kitchen remodel! We are going to start tackling our kitchen over Christmas break, so it’ll be great to see what you guys do!
Allie says
Hi guys!
I am super excited that you chose cork for the kitchen floor. We had it in our last home (which we renovated oursleves from soup to nuts) and my folks have had it in 2 kitchens. And we have all just loved it. It is soft under foot, easy to clean, toddlers don’t get hurt when the fall on it (neither to glasses and plates!) and, as an added bonus, it really dampens sound – which is great when you have an early riser or when someone is doing dishes late at night. I do have one suggestion…most cork floors now come “pre-sealed” but we found that it significantly increased the durability of our floor (and the shiny-ness!) to put a couple of layers of eco-friendly polyurethane on it every couple of years. My folks skipped doing that and their floor definitely didn’t wear as well as ours did.
If you want to see our floor in action, here is a little video of it: http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=ti5pBPIjI7s
We sold the house about 18 months ago, and the new homeowner still tells us how much she loves it!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip! We actually plan to add a few thin coats of eco friendly poly after we install it! We’ll take all the durability that we can get! And we’ll definitely share the steps we go through for anyone else out there. And I love that the new homeowner still tells you that she loves it and your folks have had it in two kitchens!
xo,
s
Angela says
Don’t add poly after installing! As a one time flooring salesman (15 Years) this will void any warrenty that the floor has.
YoungHouseLove says
Ours actually requires that we seal it to be under warranty since it provides durability! So funny how those things can vary.
xo,
s
Amy @ this DIY life says
Love the floor! I’m so terrified that we aren’t going to find hardwood under the horrible linoleum in our kitchen. There is no doorway or separation from between our kitchen and our entry room (floorplan here: http://thisdiylife.wordpress.com/tour-from-the-beginning/). The entry room has the original 2 inch 1910 maple flooring that we are hoping is under the linoleum in the kitchen. If not, I think we’ll be spending half of our kitchen budget on the floor or putting of the remodel for another year- boo!
Did you budget for the possibility of having to replace the floor? Since the replacement was the same cost as refinishing, I guess it wasn’t a huge deal though.
YoungHouseLove says
We knew going into this house that we’d be putting some money into the kitchen and actually didn’t think it had any hardwoods under it at all (discovering them under half of the kitchen was a total accident/surprise). So we built new flooring into our “guestimate” when it came to what we’d need to fix up the kitchen over time (along with new appliances, new cabinetry, the possibility of new counters, a new backsplash, etc).
xo,
s
Lindsey says
We redid 75% of the floors before we moved into our first house, and nine months in I still love them. We tore up the gross, thin, stained carpet and put down cherry-colored wood laminate. We have two very active terriers, so real wood was out due to the scratch factor (and cost). And carpet was also a no-go, since the pups have a doggy door and could easily track everything inside (and they do!). The laminate is super-easy to keep clean, and most people think it’s real wood anyway!
Eilene says
Love cork! I did a ton of research when planning an eco-friendly nursery and I ended up choosing cork. I even got the “cork” look because the other options would look great in a kitchen, but not so much in a nursery. I do love everything about it, and it really is comfy when playing on the floor.
I had my husband and his friend install it, and they did say that it tended to spliter when cutting it… but that might just be their fault. Just thought I’d throw that out there. Maybe there’s a prefered power tool for the job???
YoungHouseLove says
We’re not sure yet what we’ll use to cut it- but we’ll definitely share any and all installation adventures when we get there! Oh man, can’t wait.
xo,
s
Michelle says
Great call on the cork! You picked a beautiful pattern and I think it will stand up well to the traffic of a toddler and pooch. My friend has cork in her house and loves it. It’s also easier on your knees when you’re standing for a while cooking something, since it’s a softer material. Can’t wait to see it installed!
Annie says
Cork is on our wishlist for our next house! We went with cheap-o $0.60/sqft ceramic tile for this one. I can’t wait to see how your renovation progresses over the next ??? years!
Claire says
I’m guessing that since you’re existing flooring support can handle granite, it should be able to handle concrete. Especially since it is generally less dense than granite.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s exactly what we’re hoping! Although we’re adding a big ol’ peninsula in what used to be a doorway of the house (the kitchen used to be two rooms- a den and a kitchen) so we’ll have to get an architect/inspector to look under the house to be sure it can handle that extra slab in that new spot.
xo,
s
Corrie says
Ahh! I LOVE cork! When we were looking to buy a house and thinking of reno-ing a HUD home, I did a lot of research on flooring and fell in love with cork for its ‘green-ness,’ warmth, and sound absorbing qualities. We ended up not going the HUD home route, but if I ever have to replace any of the floors in our house, cork is totally what we’re putting in. So excited to see that you guys are using it! I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Heather says
I’m craving rich dark floors right now! I cannot wait to see the finished product. Good Luck!
Janice says
I was dying here when you were considering Pergo. It’s so noisy – just awful stuff. I was in a house once that had Pergo floors and the sound our little 12 pound dog made on those floors was insane. I’m not familiar with the clickable cork squares. Will they be noisy, since they’re not being adhered to the floor? That floating stuff makes me nervous.
They’re gorgeous though, and should work well the regular hardwood you have and the parquet.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, cork is super quiet just due to the material (it’s literally backed with cork pinboard stuff). A lot of cork owners have commented to say it’s great and really absorptive so it’s a lot less noisy than hardwood or laminate.
xo,
s
Janice says
Yeah! Should be perfect then. I have hardwood in mine and, like cork, the look just can’t be beat!
Kate says
Yay! I am so excited you picked the cork! I am wanting to put cork in our hallway and bedrooms sometime down the line. We have hard wood and tile in the rest of the house, but cork is “softer” underfoot and would be great to replace our icky beige carpeting. Someday!
I can’t wait to see how the install goes!
Sarah says
I’m so glad you chose cork! We will be remodeling our kitchen this summer, and we’re considering cork floors. My husband isn’t totally on board, so maybe when he sees how great yours looks (and how easy it is to install) he’ll come around.
Jen says
I’m so glad you guys went with the cork for your floor! What you think and decide is what matters most, but I’ve lived with laminate floors before and the hollow sound is just awful. They look nice and hold up well, but there is nothing worse than echoing around on your own floor. Perhaps they’re not all like that, though.
I helped my grandmother choose cork for her kitchen several years ago, to replace the ceramic tile, and she (and everyone else) loves it! There has never been an issue, it feels great underfoot, does not have any hollow sound, and it is so much better for your joints. Being eco-friendly is also a huge plus, of course.
Nicely done, can’t wait to see it all finished down the road!
Andrea says
Love it! Sooo excited for yall to get started on this project so I can live vicariously through your reno. :)
Briel K. says
I don’t know anything about cork but how easy is it to keep clean? It just seems like food and dirt would get into the little nooks and crannies in the cork. Maybe it’s sturdier than what I’m picturing in my mind!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s all sealed like hardwood, so those nooks and crannies are all super flat if that makes sense – sort of like hardwood’s grain (when you run your hand over it there aren’t any dents or dings, it’s all flat and easy to sweep or swiffer). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Briel K. says
Oh, I see. Good choice then!
My parents should have chosen cork years ago when they built their house. The hallways are all tile and I always sound like an elephant when I’m walking around. haha
Victoria says
Ok so this isn’t really a flooring comment but a kitchen comment in general. You mentioned altering some of your kitchen cabinets. I just bought a house and I have a microwave that looks as low as yours above a stovetop and I want to replace the cabinets above it so it can be raised to a normal height but can’t find anything to match. I was actually thinking of just taking out the old cabinets and putting a shorter blank panel and trying to match the stain (or paint whenever I get to that project).
Is that something you guys will be changing? If so, what do you plan to do?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we have big plans for our too-low-completely-annoying microwave. We actually are going to move it so it’s in a different spot! More details soon (with pics and stuff, which will make a lot more sense).
xo,
s
Cheri says
Thanks for the information…we are also needing to get new flooring in our kitchen to replace cracked linoleum, dining room (ripping out carpet) and what is now my hubby’s office.
Holly says
Great choice…can’t wait to see the kitchen come together!
VOL25 says
We used a version of the white washed Pergo pine flooring in our motorhome remodel: http://vol25.typepad.com/vol25/2011/10/vintage-motorhome-before-and-afters.html
It shows dirt really easy, but when it is clean it sure makes the motorhome feel really clean and fresh. 110% improvement over the nasty burnt orange shag carpet that was installed. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Such an awesome completely amazing makeover! I love it.
xo,
s
susanne says
We bit the bullet a few weeks ago, got out the sawzal and discovered the same original fir that is in the rest of our 80 year old house in our kitchen…under a layer of Pergo, Linolelum, and plywood of course. We ripped that up and refinished the hardwoods, and they are absolutely gorgeous.
Best decision we have made in our house…Can’t wait til yours is finished!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s amazing! What a great discovery!
xo,
s
Jamie@NoPlaceLikeVermontHome says
I am intrigued by the whole dark cork flooring idea- would never think to do it myself, but see the pros. Can’t wait to see the “after” product! My husband and I have the same vinyl floors in our kitchen that you currently have, and I DESPISE them- they are SO noisy. I can hear my dog’s every step and they show every piece of dirt. They were one of the first things we planned on switching out when we moved…and yet here I am a year later, still complaining ;) Hopefully, your after pics will spark the motivation yet again!
Mandy says
Soooo jelly of tthe cork floors! I want them so bad, but I m not sure if we will do them in this house or wait til the next. Until then, I will live vicariously through you guys!
Amber says
I have floating mocha pergo in my kitchen that I just redid last summer for the same reasons you considered them. They have held up very well! I love that you are taking risks, and not making an idential twin of your old house. I think your choice in the new kitchen floor will look great!
Carrie C says
This post made me laugh out loud. My new husband and I went back and forth on hardwood floors on our upstairs gut/remodel. I have never had the darker tones and wanted to try it since we know we wont be in this house forever. He hedged for weeks thinking it would look too dark or modern. We knew we wanted grey and white kitchen cabinets and I had been pinning away on pinterest because its always better to show him my ideas than try to explain them. All my kitchen pics, which look very similiar to yours, had a rich dark floor. I was able to win him over and I AM SO GLAD. It pops against the light cabinets and stainless steel appliances and it gets us out of our comfort zone.
http://greenearthredo.blogspot.com/2011/09/dark-wood-is-good-wood.html
YoungHouseLove says
Those are gorgeous!!
xo,
s
Patsy Desautel says
The cork is beautiful, great choice! I’m so glad you opted out of the floating laminate floors. We picked that for our kitchen in our last home – nothing but problems. It had a guarantee for strength, but chipped as soon as my son dropped a plate. Our in-ceiling swamp cooler leaked – welting. My husband accidentally put dish detergent in the dishwasher and it leaked – welted. It’s really not a great choice for a kitchen.
Lynda says
We recently went through this and we installed Brazilian Teak. Teak is known for its durability especially around water etc. It is extremely hard, not for the faint of heart home installer. It can be purchased through Lumber Liquidators and is often on sale. It comes in different widths. Absolutely everyone who has seen it has loved it and the kitchen designer (who didn’t agree with us) said it would be a new product in her kitchens.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh teak sounds gorgeous! Love it.
xo
s
Bob says
“Of course I haggled with the Lumber Liquidators guy to get $15 off our $863 cork order (down to $848, baby).”
So you haggled for a 1.7% discount? And you share that in a public forum?
Come on, $herdog, this is getting just a bit embarrassing, no?
YoungHouseLove says
Every dollar counts Bob. Fifteen bucks in my wallet for one simple sentence (“is that the best price?”) = cool with me. More money for ceramic animals!
xo,
s
Bob says
OK, if that was his response to that question, then I am embarrassed for him, not you. So please accept my apologies. I think I would have laughed at him if he said that to me.
YoungHouseLove says
Sometimes folks can only do so much (especially since the flooring was so deeply discounted to begin with). Just had to ask. And he did what we could.
xo,
s
Emily says
We just just whitewashed our bedroom floors. It was too expensive to have them refinished, and heck, I wanted a beach room, so we just went for it! I love them, imperfections and all!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like so much fun!
xo,
s
Amanda says
Hrm. The first thing I thought of when you said “fun blacksplash” was a chalkboard backsplash. Which would be fun yes! (And I love the look of it!) But I can’t imagine all that dust around my food/counters.
Can’t wait to see what you have in store. :)
Kelsey says
I love that you’re using cork! I never get to see it used in kitchens (normally in living rooms, etc.) so it’ll be exciting to see how it turns out (in 2013, haha).
Kristen says
I work at a historic mansion in Newport, RI and the servant’s hallway in the service wing has checkerboard cork floor. Not only is it gorgeous, it has lasted just about 100 years now. We know wax it about once a month because it gets heavy traffic as the main exit from our house tour, but overall it is the least troublesome historic feature of the house!
Also contemplating a cork floor for my kitchen.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow. 100 years = the best cork floor review ever! Amazing.
xo,
s
Lucy Dolan says
I installed cork tiles (12 X 12) 4 years ago and i loooove them. They are warm underfoot and i never see any dirt. I installed them using 2 tones (light and dark) in a checkerboard pattern. They are also completely silent (unlike my hardwood). Really nice.
YoungHouseLove says
Love the checkerboard idea! So fun.
xo,
s
Val says
Yay! I am considering cork or linoleum for my kitchen, so it is great I get to see how yours goes first. I have a cat who likes to take off running like a Tasmanian devil, so I am worried about the cork getting scratched, but my kitchen is really sunny, so I worry about fading with the linoleum. Plus, despite all of those colors, there is not a linoleum that is “the one.” I recently found a pale gray marbled cork that would be perfect. So, after a new roof (argh), maybe a new floor is in the cards. I currently have vinyl stick-on tiles over basically concrete, so my feet really hurt after a marathon cooking session.
Tracey says
We recently purchased flooring for our house from LL as well. We went with an engineered hardwood in a dark brown. Like you, I love a white kitchen. The oak cabinets were in OK shape and we couldn’t afford to replace them so we had them painted. Sadly, the paint is showing little chips everywhere. I wouldn’t recommend painting cabinets as a long term solution. They just don’t hold up well. Maybe you’ll have better luck than we did.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Tracey! So sorry yours aren’t holding up. We painted ours in our last house and John’s sister painted hers in the mid 90s (so they held up for over a decade before she moved into her new house). Did you use an oil-based primer? Sometimes that’s the key (along with high quality paint applied in thin and even coats – thick ones can lead to chipping and peeling).
xo,
s
Tracey says
Yep! Two coats of oil based primer and two of oil based paint. And chipping galore….
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man- so sorry to hear that!
xo,
s
heather says
I agree that I love the look of dark floors in a kitchen when everything else is lighter. It gives such a nice rich look. I guess my only concern would be using click cork in the kitchen/laundry/bathroom area. The top is water resistant but underneath isn’t, and the click stuff is known to let water leak through and ruin the board underneath. I’m sure a kitchen sink area rug would help though. Just keep in mind that cork top is also pretty thin, so you need to be careful sanding (on most brands I’ve read about).
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Heather! We’re definitely planning to follow all of the recommended guidelines for using it in a kitchen! Thankfully lots of folks we know (and readers alike) have used it for years (many of them in their own kitchens) and are very happy with how it has worn!
xo,
s
heather says
I was surprised to read that people with large dogs have no issue – that interested me since I have opposed cork for our own home (though I have no issue with it in others, how I typically feel about granite too – just not my thing, but it looks nice elsewhere) so I guess I’ll need to keep an open mind on it. I think we’ll still go with hardwood to keep it all matching throughout the house, but who knows. My aunt proved me wrong on granite too – she has some nice honed stuff in her kitchen that’s beautiful, it’s dark almost black and not shiny at all. It almost looks like concrete.
Heather says
Love your choice! We redid our entire great room in pergo flooring earlier this year and it was a breeze to put in! I LOVE your blog!!
Caitie says
We just finished our entire downstairs flooring project! We went with a very dark mocha color too, using Bamboo we purchased at Lumber Liquidators! Originally, I wanted to refinish the old hardwood plank floors that were underneath the DISGUSTING green shag carpets….but alas, they were very damaged and the house had done some major shifting and all the floors were uneven. We ended up having to cut the floor out, laying down new floor beams and subfloor…We did it all ourselves though (with help from family) and it turned out amazing! We looked into cork as well, I’m excited to see how it turns out for you guys!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that sounds like quite a project!
xo,
s
lara says
so glad to hear you went with the cork. you’ll LOVE it!
just be sure all your nails in the subfloor are pounded in really well, cork can start to telegraph the nail heads over time.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!! Thanks!
xo,
s
Cara says
I lived in an apartment with cork flooring many moons ago. LOVED it. Easy to clean, looked great and so comfortable to walk on. It was a sheet of cork, not tiles, but I never had a problem in the bathroom.
Lara says
I just have to comment on this one. I was showing my husband your kitchen pins the other day and I noticed the rich dark floor theme too, and I love it! While I read this post and saw the options you were considering I kept saying “Go for the cork! Go for the cork!” all the way through- and I’m so glad you agree! I think you’ll love the richness of the floor and it’s great that you found an option that won’t cause any structural dangers. Kudos!
Claudie says
I love the color of the cork floors! In fact, we have floors that are almost the exact same color. We did go with laminate because we redid the floors in our entire house and we couldn’t do hardwood (we have concrete subfloors). I was a little unsure at the time, but we got an awesome underlayment from Lumber Liquidators, actually, and we don’t have to deal with that noise issue that a lot of people say they experience.
We installed the floors ourselves, which were a click and lock type. You are doing a fairly square space, so it’ll go quickly, I think. Our house has a couple of spots that aren’t exactly at right angles, so that was a bit of a challenge, but we figured it out.
We also had a couple of uneven places that had to be leveled before installing, so if you have any really low spots (like the gap in the first picture), you’ll have to address that first so you don’t have any issues later on.
Anyway, I think you made a great choice and the color is the best, in my opinion!
Claudie says
I wanted to add that when I said we redid the floors in the entire house that was including the kitchen, but excluding the bathroom and utility closets. We haven’t had any issues with water in the kitchen either. We do have a small rug that sits in front of the sink and we’re not really messy people. I’m sure we’ve spilled small amounts of liquid from time to time, but we tend to clean up as we go so nothing had much time to soak in. If something disastrous happened, I’m sure they’d be ruined, but almost any floor would. It’s been over 2 years now and they are still as good as new!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so awesome!
xo,
s
Sarah says
My parents put cork floors in the house they designed/built (and the first house I remember living in)…and to this day, nearly 30 years later, they talk about how much they loved those cork floors. Can’t wait to see your progress/results!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- thirty years of use is awesome!!!
xo,
s
joyjoy says
I love that cork! We were looking into a very similar style of cork for our kitchen as well, but the total price for the square footage we’d need (we have an open layout where the kitchen connects to the dining room and living room) made the hubs veto it. :-( I’ll just have to live vicariously through you!
Becci L says
My husband and I just built a new home and I really wanted to use cork, but we decided against it since we have two 60+ pound dogs in the house and we were worried about their nails scratching the cork. We ended up using teak hardwood that is handscraped (so it will hide scratches better) and we love it! It is very hard and doesn’t ding much, but it is very heavy and was difficult to install since it is so hard (the nail gun would misfire since it couldn’t penetrate the wood). I am still hoping to use the cork somewhere….maybe in my craft room in the basement!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s some crazy strong wood! Love it.
xo,
s
Daniella says
My boyfriend and I just bought 700sqft of cork floors to put all throughout our living room and kitchen. We laid it all ourselves and it looks gorgeous! Everyone thought cork was like the type you would see on a tack board and that it would absorb everything, but they make it now with polyurethane so anything spilled just sits on top until you wipe it up, and they are so easy to swiffer, just like a laminate or hardwood floor. Some tips after laying our floor, would be make sure your first row is straight, the walls is our 1950’s ranch home are NOT straight…so we had to actually jigsaw strips of the planks to fill in at the top of the first row of cork. It was a huge pain because you have to basically waste a piece to make sure you have the right “lip” that will fit the top row. We used a string and a nail on the adjacent walls to figure out if our row was straight. Also, you probably already know this, but use silicone in the joints that will be around the sink, dishwasher and any doors where moisture may be from going in and out. You let the silicone ooze and dry on top of the joint and then it wipes away easily on top. Also, you’re body is going to really hurt from all the getting up and down, oh and buy some volleyball knee pads!!! Good luck and can’t wait to see it!
YoungHouseLove says
Love the silicone near the sink and dishwasher and door tip! Thanks so much for sharing!
xo,
s