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It used to be taken for granted that the kitchen floor (and maybe the bathroom floor) had linoleum. But the place I moved into in 2001 had all ceramic tile, not just in the kitchen, but every last room. Cold white slippery noisy tiles everywhere. And so many broken cups there that never broke before. Then in 2005, I moved to another place that had moldy carpeting in most rooms, but stone tile in the entryway, kitchen and bathroom. The carpet had to go as the mold got to be just too much for me and my cat had a flea problem at the time, so wood-looking hard flooring replaced it. I highly doubt it was real wood. The stone tile was nearly impossible to clean or keep clean! Now I've just moved into a better home, where the carpeted areas are fresh, the cat has good flea medicing and the kitchen has linoleum flooring. That kitchen floor is so much easier to clean! Unfortunately, the 2 bathrooms have stone flooring that I'd really like to replace with linoleum. In my newspaper, there are all these ads for flooring stores and contractors, but they only advertize carpet, ceramic tile, stone tile and maybe the faux wood slats. Why not linoleum? Why has the popularity of ceramic and stone tile usurped that of linoleum? I like linoleum so much better!
I assume you mean vinyl, since actual linoleum is a more specific product and not as common.
The HGTV snob factor has forced vinyl out of fashion while wood and stone are considered preferable. But stone is MURDER on your feet in a kitchen. I like wood floors.
IN a bathroom, tile is practical, but so is vinyl, and it's cheaper and easier to replace.
CHoose what you want, but know you will deal with it in resale.
I am in the same pickle. My and guest bath and kitchen are all vinyl. I hate the patterns so I have started to think about replacing them. My kitchen in my former home was hardwood that was site finished and I loved it. I have prefinished wood floors through the remainder of the house here, so I am guessing that I won't love the kitchen in site finished and I don't think I am too crazy about the grooves in a kitchen.
I am now thinking about what to do in the baths and kitchen. I don't mind tile in the bath but my master is huge and since I have 3 rooms I am unhappy with I have to weigh the ultimate cost factor carefully. I can let the kitchen slide because while I am not crazy about the pattern it is on good shape and an estimator told me it is top of the line Congoleum. I knew it was Congoleum from the left over stuff.
I do love the look of tile in the kitchen but that is where it ends.
Tile feels so cool on your feet when you live in a warm clime ...but of course, I have a l-o-n-g gel mat spanning the range through sink wall. I get breaking cups, but I don't get "impossible to clean" tile, unless it was scratched/abused by cleansers.
Always remember it is YOUR home. Do what you like. And yes, there may be a price to pay at resale -- but unless you have that hard date known, get & enjoy what you want.
Never have figured out why people like ceramic tile. It's bad for your feet and back and it's cold. And if you drop anything, either the object you drop or the tile breaks.
We had some kind of terracotta tile in the kitchen of the last place we rented and I agree, it was THE. WORST. to clean - unless the tile is well glazed and sealed it just absorbs everything that comes in contact with it. That and the easy breakability of glass jars dropped on the tile were a bad combination.
In the last few years it seems like some higher quality vinyl tile products have hit the market that seem thicker, durable, and more attractive - many are made to resemble stone tile. We have these in our kitchen, I wish I knew the brand to recommend to you, but they're easy to clean and look great even with our family foot traffic. If you're handy you can install them yourself and spend more on materials since you're saving in labor. Check out "vinyl tile" or "luxury vinyl tile" on the big box websites to see what's out there.
We had some kind of terracotta tile in the kitchen of the last place we rented and I agree, it was THE. WORST. to clean - unless the tile is well glazed and sealed it just absorbs everything that comes in contact with it. That and the easy breakability of glass jars dropped on the tile were a bad combination.
In the last few years it seems like some higher quality vinyl tile products have hit the market that seem thicker, durable, and more attractive - many are made to resemble stone tile. We have these in our kitchen, I wish I knew the brand to recommend to you, but they're easy to clean and look great even with our family foot traffic. If you're handy you can install them yourself and spend more on materials since you're saving in labor. Check out "vinyl tile" or "luxury vinyl tile" on the big box websites to see what's out there.
I was just looking at the LVT myself for the bath. Do you have grout or not? I am considering it although I am wondering about the "lines" if I skip the grout, which I do not want.
I was just looking at the LVT myself for the bath. Do you have grout or not? I am considering it although I am wondering about the "lines" if I skip the grout, which I do not want.
No grout. There are lines but they're not super noticeable - just a hairline width, since the tiles are placed right next to each other. The edges of the tile are stamped and colored to look as if they have grout.
If you're down close to the floor everything looks obvious but from a distance you couldn't tell what materials they were made of, and even from a standing height you have to really pay attention to the floor to notice lines and things, which I'm hoping the average guest in my kitchen wouldn't do.
Do you have a stone pattern? That is what the vinyl in the baths look like now so if I change it, it will have to be a different look or it is worth less to me. One of the tiles I looked at was a more solid pattern and I am thinking that the lines would be very noticeable.
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