New home help (living room layout, flooring options) (vinyl, granite, laminate)

[KristaT]

Hello! I'm new to the forum, but I really hope you can help with a few dilemmas I'm having with the new home we're currently building.

I know it's quite a lot to take in, so please feel free to answer whichever part(s) you like. I figured it would be easier to put it all in one post as the flooring and living room layout may affect one another.

To start, the kitchen will be somewhat dark, as you can see in the first photo, it will be a black/red granite counter with dark brown cabinets. Though I don't have a photo, there will be stainless steel handles on the cabinets, and all of the appliances including the undermount sink will be stainless steel as well.

This brings us to my first question, what is the best flooring to complement the dark cabinets and counters?

We really aren't big fans of carpet or tile, but we want the flooring to be consistent throughout the entire lower floor of the home (dining room, great/living room, nook, and kitchen), so basically everything you see in the second photo, excluding the stairs which will be carpet.

We've been discussing possibly doing wood (similar to the 3rd photo) or maybe even pulling up the carpet/vinyl and staining the concrete beneath (similar to the 4th photo), but we aren't sure the best route to take with such a large space. Please share any alternate options or opinions; photos to illustrate your point are also greatly appreciated.

Also if you choose wood, stained concrete, or any other alternative, please give your reasoning. We've been leaning a bit more toward wood because it's what we've always had, but I honestly don't know how concrete is, I'm assuming it's cold, but we live in a very hot climate so that could be an advantage in the summer (a disadvantage in the winter).

This brings me to my next question, how do you break up such a large space?

The great/living room is an "L" shape, but it's quite large. The west wall is approximately 23 ft long and the entire great/living room including the kitchen from the west wall to east wall is approximately 45 ft.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

[silibran]

I'd put wood or a very good wood grained laminate down. IMO, you need to warm up your kitchen. Wood would do this, unless you choose a gray or ashy tone. But a nice warm oak would always be in style, and would look good elsewhere in the house.

But you aren't limited to oak. There are many wood options available.

I personally don't like ceramic tile on a kitchen floor because if you drop anything breakable, it will definitely break. And it is hard to stand on for long periods.

I think stained concrete is better reserved for casual settings. Your kitchen appears to be more formal. Also, standing on concrete is hard on your joints. And it won't add value to your house, either.

I'd put down a pleasant warm wood and paint the ceiling a light warm ivory.

[KathrynAragon]

Since this is a preexisting home, I would definitely recommend AGAINST going with stained concrete. There is no telling what you will find when you pull up the existing flooring. The original builder didn't plan on having the floors "bare" and that does make a difference. Plus, even when an owner and builder DO plan on stained concrete floors, the owners are often dismayed to find hairline fractures appearing a few years down the road - these are usually very normal, but we just don't see them when the concrete is covered with other flooring. This is NOT good for resale because people start questioning whether or not the foundation is OK (it nearly always is, but even hairline cracks are disconcerting).

I would go with wood in a lighter, warmer shade than the cabinets. Does your kitchen get much natural light? I hope so! Regardless, I would go with a warm wood tone with a touch of red to it to blend well with the reddish tone in the counter tops. Don't go with a yellowish tone! A red oak might look terrific. I'm a fan of oak floors anyway -they're very durable and they tend to have a lot of character and texture without necessarily being too rustic. I'm also partial to wide planks if you're covering a large space.

I personally really dislike most laminate floors - in my experience they tend to be "loud" and clackety as you walk across them in a large, open floor plan. Also, I've had a high quality laminate floor that buckled in several spots - come to find out that some moisture (grandbaby spilling something?) got under the surface. So they really worry me in a kitchen (not so much in a living area).

And real wood is just so beautiful. It's a big investment but in my opinion it's well worth it in the long run.