Which type of flooring?

[Cloudhopping]

Would really appreciate some advice. We are having our kitchen done and have decided on some type of wood flooring.

We are also considering getting the rest of our downstairs done in the same flooring as the kitchen. I know the cost differences but I’m more concerned about how hard wearing the floor is going to be. Would appreciate views/experiences of hardwood, engineered wood and bamboo-which would you recommend and why?

We do have a budget so don’t want to blow it unnecessarily but want the floor to last. We are a family of 4 (2 teenagers) and a dog.

I had sanded and varnished pitch pine in the kitchen/ living room. Where a sofa and tv are. We also have a separate good sitting room.
It was there when we bought the house.
I decided to put engineered wood down. Paleish oak.
Big mistake
The floor hasn't worn well at all.
Perhaps if you are a very careful family.
Mine aren't.
If I had my time again I would have left as is, perhaps sanding down the pitch pine to a paler colour or putting in a laminate that I've seen that is similar in colour to the engineered wood but would be more durable.

@LadyEloise, what was there when you bought the house? The Pune flooring? Did you replace it with engineered wood and the engineered wood did not wear well?

*Pine

We’ve oiled solid oak down and has been for past 10 years, worn remarkably well especially given we’ve completely failed to regularly re-oil and maintain as we believed we would pre kids 😆. It does bear a few stains here and there now but good thing about it is there is always option to sand it back if it gets too wrecked. A coat of matt varnish rather than oiled probably would have made it more durable in hindsight but no regrets.

Thanks all. @LadyEloise you have confirmed what I’ve heard about engineered wood and @Vikingmama79 you’ve confirmed my thoughts about hardwood! I just wanted to avoid shelling out unnecessary money if there wasn’t much difference between the products but it may be unavoidable!

The pine flooring was there.
It was great. But I wanted a paler colour. 🙄

Hi OP, we were told not to use solid wood near water/heat, so for the kitchen it had to be engineered. I've heard plenty of anecdotal stories for and against solid wood - lots of people who say it's fine, lots who say it was ruined after a week especially around the dishwasher?

Anyway I went for engineered as safer. We used Kahrs which can be sanded down and re-finished, as it has a thick layer of real wood. They're a very reputable Scandi company and have a 20 year guarantee FWIW! It looks great but is only a few months old so time will tell... Good luck!

Just to add @Cloudhopping, I have a utility room so the washing machine and dryer aren't in the kitchen.
However the dishwasher is. So far, so good 🤞

I wanted the same floor throughout the downstairs (which meant it had to be waterproof for the kitchen/diner, utility, downstairs bathroom etc). We have downstairs bedrooms, as well as living areas so I didn't like the idea of tile or lino in them (and didn't believe real wood or engineered flooring could ever be really waterproof) - so I went for "waterproof" wood effect laminate throughout (Quickstep Impressive). It looks very like real wood in terms of feel/look (it's not shiny like the old or cheaper laminates - the only way you can tell it's not real is that the are only about 10 different wood effects on the planks, so the patterns are repeated if you look very closely). So far it seems to have held up to it's waterproof claims too, although I am careful to wipe up any big puddles/spills.

This is our second property with bamboo flooring, it looks great and is easy to maintain. I think it’s quite a bit cheaper than engineered wood? We have parquet in this house which looks quite snazzy.

We have Polyflor expona oak. It's an LVT. It's bulletproof and warm on bare feet. We have it in the kitchen, lounge, study and hall.

I have engineered oak and underfloor heating throughout. It is lovely.

We have wood effect ceramic tiles

I like the look of pine flooring. I know it’s soft wood but it looks wonderful. I’m not sure how durable pine flooring is though.

We have oak hardwood floors in lounge, dining room and hall but tiles on kitchen just on case of washing machine or dishwasher flood.

We have solid oak through most of the house (with UFH) but large tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen.

Personally I would never put wood in the kitchen as it will invariably get stained no matter how careful you are. Water drops will leave marks if not wiped up straight away and oil will often stain. Our wooden floors have got quite a few water marks that will need sanding back (MIL likes to insist on watering my plants and splashing water everywhere). My DD also once dropped a bottle of bath oil which luckily eventually faded after several months. I expect in the kitchen you won’t be able to stop marks all over the floor. What about hardwood everywhere except the kitchen?