Short story long. (I know the ideal is to make a long story short…but I have never been known for brevity) As TE and I continue the final race to the finish line on our Malibu home renovation project, we were faced with an age old dilemma. Tile vs. wood kitchen floors?
Pause. I just said age old dilemma but I wonder if it really is an age old dilemma? Have people wondered whether their kitchen floors should be tile or wood for centuries? Has this been an international issue that crosses all borders? Is this a conundrum that even prehistoric man has tried to solve? Will this design crisis be something that plagues all women, men and children in the future? Wood vs tile? Well…probably not…but for right now this is our little dilemma. So it is an age old problem for a month at least. Right? I digress as usual. Un-pause.
Anyhooo…my guy TE and I had to shift gears on our kitchen floors in the 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath house we are remodeling in Malibu – this will be our future home. We were going to do concrete floors in our kitchen and breakfast nook area. We were both set on this concrete (epoxy) look from the beginning. But once the new kitchen extension was framed out, we decided the space might feel a little too cold with the modern concrete flooring. The dilemma was that we had not planned for anything else. So for the last few weeks we have been on a mad dash running around town to different showrooms trying to decide whether to find a great marble tile, porcelain tile or just use the same heavy character wood floors that we are using in the rest of the house in the kitchen.
We are both members of the Soho House here in Los Angeles and we love love love the floors there. So I tracked down the company that made the Soho House grey and white aged looking marble floor tiles and priced those out. Then went to our favorite tile shop in town just last weekend and both of us were excited and overwhelmed. We had nearly decided on a marble and then a limestone and then a porcelain tile and then we remembered we are doing a quartz waterfall countertop (made from Caesarstone)…a waterfall counter has sides that touch the floor.
We worry about using wood in the kitchen for cleaning purposes. We worry about tile because we do not want the space to seem too hollow and cold.
Pros of a wood floor – consistent with rest of the house, softer to the foot, visually warmer on the eye. Pros of tile floor – Easier to clean, less chance of problems with water damage. Hmmm…
We have made a decision but the question was/is, should re rethink the waterfall counter so we could do marble floors, find a nice porcelain tile or keep wood running throughout the house including the kitchen?
See the video above to check out our dilemma.
So what do you think? Wood vs. tile kitchen floors? Look forward to your comments and what has worked for you.
Happy Wednesday!
xo
Coco
Why not use tiles that look like wood?
Dear Coco, I absolutely positively LOVE LOVE LOVE the wood floors you have chosen for the house and kitchen. They are warm, elegant and provide a lovely soft contrast to the marble counter and white kitchen. I have had both tile and wood in my kitchen and I prefer wood. It’s easy to clean and easier on the feet. Also, everything breaks on tile b/c it’s such a hard surface and it is harder on your feet/back if you like to cook and stand for long periods. I am re-doing our downstairs and am lightening up the kitchen and darkening the floors, so clearly I’m biased!! I love everything you are doing – amazing!
Very difficult….all options are beautiful….I personally would go with the wood like porcelain…the color is gorgeous. Second choice would be the marble soho floor. I love wood floors but i hate it in the kitchen area because of spills and vapor from cooking. It just isnt so easy to clean like marble or porcelain. Good luck with everything…really keen on seeing the final look
Wood is good!
I say wood for the Malibu kitchen. Love the rustic gray! I have some great leather tiles for the closet area!
Hi Coco!
I do wood floors all the time in kitchens. The only thing I would be concerned about is the dark color of the wood. It shows EVERYTHING! I have it and it drives me crazy. Also that tile in the Soho house has white marble. Which I would worry about staining in the kitchen. I also think it’s too much w the waterfall island. Also for me it’s a no no to mix quartz and marble. Beautiful house and space! Congrats!
Hi Stacy,
Thank you for the input. Really apprecate it. We also realized that the quartz/marble blend would not be good! Thank you so much for confirming! We need all of the help we can get with this one!
Coco
The Provenza woods are beautiful. We have used them on a number of recent projects. This gray color is gorgeous and layering patterns in your fabrics and rug will be easier than with the parquet look. It will be cozier, help with sound a bit better than tile and contrast with your counter and backsplash material. Also, it’s a natural choice for the beach!
Thank you. I had not heard of Provenza before this. I really love the floors. We just had them lay out 2 boxes for us the other day. Glad to hear that you have used them and like them. Thank you for sharing.
Does anyone know why the majority of pictures showing kitchens or living rooms show light/golden hardwood floors but it seems the popular colours being used or recommended are greyish or med brown floors…just curious! I love the look of the light golden floors in the pictures like the kitchen above but hard to imagine the same kitchen or living room with diff color hardwood. Wish they would show more of the current trend look.
If you spend any time at all in the kitchen you will appreciate the wood floors so much more than tile. Standing for any length of tile is not the most comfortable. Also the continuity of the wood throughout will be beautiful and look stunning against the waterfall island! I just swapped out the tile floor in my Santa Barbara kitchen and replaced the entire home (bedrooms included) with wood floors. It has made such a difference! LOVE!
We just remodeled our condo kitchen in a Lake Michigan Beach town and we wrestled with the wood vs tile choice. We chose wood look porcelain tile bleached oak look, our reasoning was dogs nails, sand and not wanting to be the grandparents that could let our grandchildren run cars on the new floor. You may have different needs but we have had our floors in for about six months and are really pleased with the choice.
Hi Kathy,
Those floors sound amazing! Send a picture!
Coco
Look in May’s House Beautiful (pg 110 I think) of Calacatta Gold Marble counters and limed pine wood floors in kitchen. Good combo for Malibu
I love wood floors in the kitchen and think they would look great in yours. What about doing some tests on one of your boards to see how it stands up to spills that are not cleaned up right away, in case you are planning to have kids down the road? Water, tomato sauce, strawberry. If it didn’t hold up well, maybe another coat or 2 of clear matte oil could be added to the kitchen?
We have had wood floors in our heavily used kitchen, and water damage has never been an issue. If your floor is properly finished, substantive damage should happen only if the floor has prolonged exposure to water. Wood will be a lovely contrast to the sleek counter surfaces you’ve chosen!
BTW, I truly enjoy your website. Love scrolling thru it on quiet mornings on the weekend!
Good luck with the renos!
We have wood floors in our kitchen and I would not trade them for anything! It flows so much better. Tough decisions though all your choices are exquisite. Love the updates 🙂
Nowadays it is easier to solve this problem, there are several tiles that look like wood, you can choose between many different sizes and colours!
Hi Coco
What a beautiful house. Congratulations.
I think that tiles are really easy to maintain BUT…
– They are hard to stand on
– They are not good regarding sound, wood absorbs more sound
– EVERYTHING you drop on floor by accident brakes
– When I had tiles I was always worried to spill something that would colour the joints between tiles.
If you choose wood I would recommend a kind of hard wood that doesn’t get scratches so easily and something that is lacquered which makes them easier to clean and maintain.
Anyway that’s my experience 🙂
Good luck!
Berit
I have lived with both wood and tile in my kitchens. I think the wood you have chosen will be fine because it is a matte, distressed finish, and not too dark. Wood is only a problem if it is shiny and smooth, then every drop of water, and every smudge shows. And if you have pets, then a shiny wood floor is an issue. The current style of matte, distressed wood floors makes them a great choice in a kitchen alongside the other choices.
Hi,
Thank you for this wonderful post. Really appreciate it.