Vinyl flooring for a kitchen - does it look naff?

[snowgirl1]

We're getting our kitchen re-fitted. I was thinking of getting sheet vinyl as the flooring as, while I like the look of tiles, the grout just seems like a dirt trap to me - especially in a kitchen. Sheet vinyl would mean no joins at all, so fewer places for dirt to gather. I had been planning to get something speckled (maybe like this although maybe white background with grey-ish speckles). DH has been pulling faces at the idea of vinyl and thinks it will look really naff. If you walked into someone's new kitchen (handless wooden painted style - so modern, not a 'farmstyle' kitchen) and they had sheet vinyl for flooring would you think it was a bit naff?

[Sunnyshores]

I think it looks cheap and it never seems to be fitted properly, not tight enough, or the floor under flat enough. Even if it is then it tears easily if you're moving fridges, tables, dog claws etc.

I think stone/ceramic tiles look much better, but yes the grout needs regular cleaning, I just stem clean the whole floor when I can be bothered every fortnight. Instead, how about laminate or karndean (I think its called).

[Pippidoeswhatshewants]

My friend has really nice vinyl flooring in her kitchen, black and it looks like wooden floorboards.
I think very plain patterns and thin vinyl can look quite cheap.

[snowgirl1]

Steam clean? Jeez, I don't want to have to buy (and find somewhere to store) yet another bit of kit to clean grout. I agree that vinyl can look crap if not fitted correctly, but I was going to get it professionally fitted.

Bit worried Pippi thinks plain looks cheap. I definitely don't want wood or stone/tile effect vinyl as I think it looks really obvious that it's not real. And the dining room we're knocking through to has wooden parquet flooring and wood-effect vinyl wouldn't match that.

[TheSilveryPussycat]

A really thick one like Rhinofloor (if it's still the same as what I had years ago)? Looked like vinyl, but Quality vinyl.

Avoid ones with little bumps and ridges, they are a bugger to clean.

[wowfudge]

We have vinyl that looks like herringbone parquet. People think it is parquet when they first see it. Small floor space though.

[suzyrut]

I'm just about to order some plain vinyl flooring from this company //colourflooring.co.uk in Nordic Dove for my new bathroom. I've had samples of this and a few of the other colours and it does look modern and expensive. The colours are proper solid colours too not speckly like others. HTH.

[iwantgin]

We had vinyl flooring fitted and it looks fine imo.

The company did lay a layer of scree (?) first, so it is totally flat. The vinyl is quite thick, good quality. It looks like dark grey tiles- but without the hassle.

the only drawback is that where I have dropped knives etc, there is a nick inthe vinyl which does show up.

[bobthebuddha]

We went for proper linoleum in our last kitchen and are doing the same in our current one (and bathroom) - it's all-natural and looks much nicer than vinyl. Armstrong does it - we use Forbo's.

[bobthebuddha]

...and since you like speckled, here's theirs..

[Stinkersmum]

Done properly it can look fab. Have a look at Amtico.

[PigletJohn]

vinyl flooring is often padded with a foam layer to make it soft. This is OK in e.g. a bathroom but will dent under appliance feet and chair legs, and may tear if you drag heavy objects across it. A hard, unpadded flooring will stand up to wear better.

To get it flat, lay it across the whole floor and leave it for a week to settle before you constrain it with furniture or appliances.

Kitchen fitters like to put the units in first and cut the flooring to fit, but IMO this is not so good as there are lots of cuts where ants and spilt milk can get under it.

Vinyl flooring is not very expensive so you can renew or replace it at whim.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

We have vinyl flooring. I don't personally think it looks naff - but we went for a modern look www.colourflooring.co.uk/collections/vinyl-flooring

It's the most practical option for us at the moment with animals and small children. It's warm underfoot, easily cleaned and with small kids I didn't want a surface that everything would shatter on impact on. We had large format tiles before and we will go back to that in time when funds and time permit to put in underfloor heating.

Just to warn you, plain vinyl shows up all the dirt and dust. We bought a steam cleaner within a few weeks.