Home » Flooring » Types of Wood Flooring for Kitchens – The Ideal Inspirations
Types of Wood Flooring for Kitchens

Types of Wood Flooring for Kitchens – The Ideal Inspirations

by Dylan Johnson

What is the perfect wood flooring for kitchens?

There is no doubt that wood (in this case, the hardwood) is beautiful able to deliver remarkable visual effect with homey atmosphere.

When you have hardwood at home, you won’t have to worry about any home improvement aspect.

There is great visual aspect that you can gain from the floor.

However, hardwood has its own weaknesses and sensitivity. Moisture is the floor’s biggest enemy.

The floor won’t be able to handle moisture or water damage, and you can rest assured that the extent of the damage is likely to be wide. Being organic, wood has pores and those pores are prone to moisture.

This is why hardwood shouldn’t be installed in areas where moisture level is high, like basements, bathrooms, and even kitchens.

But people have different opinions about it. Some homeowners believe that it’s okay to install the engineered type in kitchens because the chances of pooling and water spills are still limited.

For bathroom settings, however, you will have water spills and splashes from all over the areas, including shower, sink, bathtub, and possible pipe leaks.

Upscale Kitchen

Upscale Kitchen with Wood Flooring
Upscale Kitchen with Wood Flooring

You can upscale the kitchen with wood flooring, like shown in the image. In this example, wood flooring for kitchens is possible when you install the engineered type.

And then you back it up with special rugs (with rubber back) or the (anti-fatigue) floor mats installed on areas where the possibility of water spill is high.

Not to mention that you can consider about applying waterproof sealer on the surface to enhance the durability and strength.

When compared to bathrooms, kitchens may not be overly humid or moist. There are some areas where water spills are expected, such as the dishwasher and kitchen sink.

You are free to use light planks to create a brighter and more cheerful effect or you can use the dark shades to create an elegant vibe to the entire area.

Read Also: Complete Facts of Flooring Underlayment

Rustic Wooden Plank

Rustic Wood Kitchen Flooring
Rustic Wood Kitchen Flooring

Using rustic plank is one of the most attractive wood flooring for kitchens especially if you are into rustic style.

If you focus on rustic appeal, then having wood planks is crucial. And it would be even better if you can have the continuous and long planks known as the box plank.

Such a plank is generally sold in nested bundles. Although the majority of the planks are long (around 6 feets), some of them are generally shorter. The nested bundles are able to create mosaic effect that is just gorgeous for the floor.

If you use short boards too many, the resulting effect may be jumbled and chaotic.

If you use the long and continuous planks, the effect may be organized and even calm and it affects the overall atmosphere of the room too.

Thanks to the horizontal and unbroken lines, the effect imposes an orderly arrangement within the room. E advised, though, that continuous and authentic planks can be costly even difficult to find.

However, if you don’t mind spending extra for the initial project, it may be worth the investment.

Black Wood Flooring for Kitchens

Kitchen with Black Floor
Kitchen with Black Floor

How about having a black floor for the kitchen?

It is actually a great option to deliver a contemporary and modern look for the kitchen. You simply paint or stain the floor in black, leaving the natural grain intact.

Make sure that the grains can be seen from certain point of view (or angles) and within certain lights too. it will create a stylish and good-looking effect.

It is one of the most unique and stylish wood flooring for kitchens that exudes contemporary vibe.

Another good thing about painting the floor black is to cover the flaws of low-quality floor making it elegant and unique.

All-Wood Kitchen

Modern All Wood Kitchen
Modern All Wood Kitchen

Will it be too much to have the kitchen covered in all wood?

Not really not if you can manage everything in a well-arranged and creative layout.

The all-wood kitchen is one of the most unique themes for the room. And since it incorporates tons of wood elements, this is a unique wood flooring for kitchens that you can consider for your home.

A dull and boring kitchen can be transformed into a warm spot, perfect for gathering and get-together.

If you are into wood so much, you’ll love having wood on the kitchen island, window trim, door trim, cabinets, beams, and the floor.

Don’t be afraid to use different textures, shades, and shapes so it will create a stylish and homey spot.

With this gorgeous room, who wouldn’t love staying in it for a long time?

White Oak Wood Flooring for Kitchen

White Oak Kitchen
White Oak Kitchen

White oak can be a great alternative for wood flooring for kitchens.

Whereas most homeowners may focus on flooring in darker shades, the white oak can deliver a fresher effect without compromising the elegance and grace.

The shade can be various from completely ivory white to a rather creamy hue.

But the effect will be just the same your kitchen will be elegant and somewhat serene. When you combine it with antique elements or items, the result would be smashing.

Wood Parquet for Warm Effect

Wood Parquet Kitchen
Wood Parquet Kitchen

If you want to create a warm European elegant to the kitchen, use wood parquet flooring.

Whereas a black and white kitchen theme can look cold, the parquet floor will warm it up.

But keep in mind that parquet flooring has a busy pattern about it.

If you already have a decorated or ornate kitchen, then this type of floor won’t be suitable for your needs.

This is one of the main reasons why parquet flooring would be a perfect match to uncomplicated and clean background which is often delivered by the modern and contemporary look.

Wood in Country Kitchen Theme

Modern Kitchen on Country House
Modern Kitchen on Country House

Country kitchen theme doesn’t have to be shabby or ugly. In fact, it can be luxurious and exclusive if you are able to incorporate the elements in the right manner.

After all, when we are talking about good and stylish kitchen design, you are talking about having contrast elements within a balanced manner.

You can match up natural elements with the artificial one, the dark with the light, or the smooth with the rough ones.

In this kitchen, you have wood all over the place with polished countertops. To balance the wooden elements, the floor comes as the distressed wood planks.

The distressed look balances out the natural wood (with darker color) on the wall and base cabinets, the breakfast bar, and vertical post.

Streaked Wood for Contemporary Kitchen

Modern Contemporary Wood Kitchen Flooring
Modern Contemporary Wood Kitchen Flooring

The floor is unique and one-of-a-kind. The streaked wood has a nice color combination that adds freshness and vigor to the room. The open space is nice to create a flowing harmony to the room.

The modern kitchen has all the right elements about it: the recessed lights, appliances from stainless steel, slab cabinets and the doors, and other metal-based appliances.

To reduce the effect of ‘modern vibe’ with all the appliances, come the streaked floor.

The floor somewhat tones down the overall textures and colors. As you can see, there is a long mat right in the center to minimize the tear and wear of the floor.

The mat is functional and it is totally helpful in managing the kitchen’s functionality.

This is one of the best arrangements in wood flooring for kitchens.

Wood Open Kitchen in Modern House

Wood Open Kitchen in Modern House
Wood Open Kitchen in Modern House

When you have an apartment or a condominium, the floor is generally covering the entire area. There won’t be any different flooring type for different rooms or areas.

Just like in this image, the floor is covering the entire unit, so you don’t really have different options in managing the kitchen floor.

However, you can use other elements to define boundaries.

For instance, you can consider having wood-look vinyl flooring only in the kitchen and try to use it with different shade, such as white or terracotta.

The combination of the open layout and the creative flooring planning can actually improve the look of the overall unit without you having to spend a fortune.

Read Also: Flooring Ideas for Entryway: 15 Unique and Stylish

Natural Wood Flooring for Retro Kitchen

Natural Wood Flooring Retro Kitchen
Natural Wood Flooring Retro Kitchen

If you have an all-white kitchen, you don’t want your floor to come in another white shade.

You have everything in white, including white backsplash, white paint, white cabinets, and white wall tiles.

Do you want another white floor? I don’t think so.

For this matter, natural wood floor would be the most perfect element to complete the entire finish.

And if you want to have even more interesting appeal, consider having contrast floorboards so the floor isn’t plain or bland.

With different boards on the floor, you create a unique and somewhat personal look to the room.

Take a look at the color arrangement: some of them are light, while some are dark and some are in between the shades.

The floor looks pop with the all-white canvas as the background. It looks elegant and functional at the same time.

With these example images, you can design your floor in any design that you like by using the hardwood.

You don’t necessarily have to consider hardwood as your enemy not if you have these inspirations of stylish wood flooring for kitchens.