anyone had cork or wood floors in the kitchen? (Sarasota: Home Depot, buy)

[Restrain]

Wood and laminate are not good for wet areas. You get it seriously wet (dishwasher leak, etc) and it will warp. Try sanding out a wood floor after a serious leak or flood waters. You really don't want to. Also, you can and will get mold under the floor if it doesn't dry quickly.

Tat is why builders avoid hardwood in these areas. There have been big lawsuits against builders for these issues.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Had not thought about the mold issue. That puts a stake in the heart of that idea.

[SCCCLUB]

My insurance company just paid to have the laminate taken out of the kitchen because of a water leak from my ice maker line in the back of the refrigerator that slowly leaked under the floating laminate floor. I would NEVER put a wood or laminate in the kitchen for that reason!

[bbronston]

When we built our house in Braden Woods, we opted for vinyl in the kitchen because a) we didn't give any thought to flooring choices beyond pattern and color, and b) it was the standard offered by the builder. We had moisture in the slab near the slider to the pool and it ended up creating a mold situation which caused the coloring of the vinyl to change to a pinkish/purple color. They fixed it under warranty but did a bad job and we eventually went with tile. There's a reason that tile is used so extensively here. My solution is to wear good quality flip flops all the time in the house the ways some people might wear slippers. I'm comfortable and the sandal has molded support that is cushy enough to mitigate the hardness of the floor. What could be more "Florida" than wearing flip flops all year round?

[Cardiff by the Sea]

I have come to terms with the idea it is going to have to be tile. I am victim of the CA mentality, and am accustomed to the look of stone. Tile looks really cheezy to me and I am having a hard time getting over it.


I have been tile shopping on line. I remember people here talking about how tile fashions date a house. Trying to find sometime timeless. Not a fan of the fake stone patterns because they look fake. Considering going with just white tile.

Is there some quirky Florida problem with white? (attracts scorpions or something that would never occur to someone in the other 49). Seriously, other than keeping it clean, are there any problems I haven't considered?

Any suggestions on something affordable that doesn't look cheap and fake?

[bbronston]

As the saying goes, it takes one to know one...you are suffering from 'paralysis by analysis' syndrome. Don't get white...that will look dated almost immediately and definitely get something with at least some texture to it or you will kill yourself or someone else if the floor gets even a little wet. Large tile looks best, IMHO, but get something that is neutral. You are seeing the mountain now because you are focused on the subject. Once it is in, and you are living there, you will hardly see the mole hill. Large, neutral, a tiny bit of texture, and a grout that is no lighter than the lightest color in the tile is the way to go, IMO. Then, trust me, get the grout sealed before you live with it.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

I agree with you on the texture and grout, but I think large format is going to look so last decade in the not too distant future.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

I agree with you on the texture and grout, but I think large format is going to look so last decade in the not too distant future.

[macrodome2]

I agree with bbronson on the white. The builders seemed to have used white in the late 80's- early 90's. If you see homes in that era many times they have pure white tiles.

I did our bathrooms in NJ a couple of years ago and I got a tumbled tile that was predominately gray with a slight blue tint. Instead of the edges of the tiles being perfectly straight, tumbled tiles look slightly chipped at the edge. I've always been one that does not like the "unfinished" or "shabby chic" look, but I found this to be interesting. We used a medium to dark grout, so they're easy to keep clean. Since the bathrooms weren't large, I used the 6" tiles instead of the 12". (One was a small powder room that the other isn't much more than 3ft wide.

I actually think it would be more difficult to figure out the time frame the tiles were done in NJ than what we have in the house in Venice, which was built in 2008. Unfortunately, the Venice house has standard Lennar, 18" beige/tan tiles and looks like every other house, so it's very easy to figure out what decade that house was built in.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Originally Posted by Obrero

Why don't you go with stone then? I HATE fake stone tile on the floor. If you shop around you can get trav not that much more expensive than tile. I love the light color 24 x 24 tiles on a diagonal. Will they look dated at some point...who knows, who cares. I'm with Bob also - soft indoor flip flips - perfect for tile floor protection.

I was thinking about that. At home depot they have castle trav for 2.09 and walnut trav for 2.79. I do like the look of trav a lot. I had selected a countertop that was a marble look white. I didn't think it would look ok with trav.

Forgive me while I whine some more. The builder has a couple of nice choices in the standard-not upgraded-category. The problem is they don't go together. There is a wood floor I like for the living room and a kitchen cabinet that I like, but they don't quite go together. It is really aggravating me that I havent' found a combination of flooring, cabinets, tile, and counters that all work together. So if I go with trav, it is back to the drawing board on the counters.

But as I write this, I can see that this is way to go. Thanks for the input.