Cork floor in kitchen - yay or nay?

[Zinnia]

Anyone got a cork floor in their kitchen/diner and care to share their thoughts? We're planning an extension and I'm going through the usual flooring dilemma (have read a LOT of MN kitchen renovation threads).

Cork seems to tick a lot of boxes - environmentally-friendly, warm, moisture-resistant, forgiving of breakages, looks good - but am concerned about durability in a high-traffic area, and fading in sunlight (we will have veluxes in new room).

Any recommendations for UK suppliers also welcome (I know about Colour Flooring but would be great to hear about others).

For context, no pets and DC old enough not to wreak havoc in theory.

I'm thinking something like this... TIA

Hopeful bump...

All I can think about is the awful cork flooring in late 70s, early 80s kitchens - the obvious groove where you stand in front of the cooker, the spongy feel under foot. I instantly screw my face up at the idea! But I agree that it is warm underfoot and ef.

I don't have any experience of it but I really like both the look and the sound of it. How does it compare price wise OP, is there an alternative floor covering in the running?

I had some Lino type tiles that were designed to look like cork in the kitchen in an old house, they were brilliant and held up really well. Still going strong when we sold. I think genuine cork isn't hard wearing enough?

@dotdashdashdash

All I can think about is the awful cork flooring in late 70s, early 80s kitchens - the obvious groove where you stand in front of the cooker, the spongy feel under foot. I instantly screw my face up at the idea! But I agree that it is warm underfoot and ef.

Same. I remember my best friend’s house had a kitchen floor with it in the 1980s and it looked like the inside sole of a pair of Birkenstocks!

A well worn pair, I should add 😂

My dad was obsessed with cork tiles in the 1980s. Kitchen floor, bathroom floors - he even made a feature wall in the kitchen to use as a noticeboard Tbf they did last a long time.

MN does not love cork.

We have it in our bathroom and I love it. Warm and wipeable. Different shades and difference finishes for different rooms. I think it can be environmentally good depending on the final product.

MN does not love cork 

I totally get what you're all saying about the cork of yore, and those associations put me off for a while but these days, reportedly, Things (cork) Have Moved On and there are hard-wearing coatings and you can get it in planks as well as tiles.

@Wishingwell75 this stuff looks good and is £49/m which compares v favourably with engineered wood (my second choice) price-wise.

Bamboo is the other main eco option but it's not as nice looking as wood and has the same drawbacks with water resistance/ lack thereof. What I really want is reclaimed floorboards but I think that's probably a pipe dream.

I know MN loves LVT, but I do not. Not doing tiles either, my kids like dropping things too much. Cork looks like a pretty decent option, all things considered.

Gah!
MN does not love cork

I put in a cork floor many years ago it was practical and warm underfoot but it has definitely fallen out of favour and due for a resurgence.

It was a really good insulator and with underfloor heating may not work well.

We've just bought cork planks for the utility room and downstairs toilet. There are types that repel moisture more for humid rooms and you can seal it for a bathroom.

Can't say yet if it will wear well, if it does I'll use it in the new bathroom. I've been using an off cut as a coaster and it's coped fine with hot mugs! Ordered it from Wood2U and ordered a sample first to see what it looked and felt like, and tested that sample with water drops.

I do t really want underfloor heating @fairislecable which is one of the reasons I'm attracted to cork. Like the idea of having a material that's warm underfoot as my ruddy kids never seem to wear slippers.

Thanks for the supplier info @PragmaticWench, am planning to order some samples shortly and do the same!

Ours has been down in the bathroom for 6 years and looks good still. I think it may have faded a bit where it gets bright sunlight but I'm fairly sure I could have bought a variety which didn't. My only regret is perhaps not getting a lighter grey variety for the bathroom (which has white/grey furniture).

Thanks @didireallysaythat, that's very good to know especially as the water resistance is one of my main reasons for being interested in it. I can feel a sample order coming on...

I like cork OP. Never had it for floors personally,, but I can remember the previous trend, time for a come back. Yes warm, lightweight and great sound proofing. I switched to cork table mats some time ago, as I was fed up with the laminate lifting on the usual type of table mats, even expensive ones had the same problem. They are really fab, so I am definitely a fan of cork. You have given me an idea this morning OP.

My parents had cork in their kitchen for decades, it never altered, peeled or wore out., it was the main thoroughfare through the house. Always warm underfoot, & never stained.
Some indentations where the table was permanently

We have cork tile floor in kitchen and bathroom.
It feels warmer barefoot compared to the wooden floor in rest of the house. Kitchen floor gets dirty pretty quickly and requires a weekly scrub to keep clean. Bathroom is fine, just need to wipe off any water and not let it stay wet for long.
Overall decent option.

😂 We have not long removed the bloody awful cork floor from our kitchen - it was original 80s tat and absolutely hideous, I can't believe it's come around again!

I had cork in my bedroom, 30yrs ago. It wasn't a high traffic area, but it looked fabulous for years and was so nice to live with. I'll have it in my next house.

I am at exactly the same point in my prognostications as you, @Zinnia, and MN is not proving the mine of knowledge and tips it usually is!

We're starting a kitchen/diner/living room extension soon, and cork has become my preferred flooring choice, for all the same reasons as you: comfort underfoot, sound insulation, heat insulation.

I don't know whereabouts you are, but I've spoken to Siesta Cork Tiles in London, and they were very helpful on the phone, working out a quote for me for some Wicander cork flooring, for whom they are one of the main UK suppliers.

I've ordered a few samples, none that I love so far, though I've just spotted Wicanders Essence in Fashionable Cement. I need to convince a sure-to-be-reluctant DH who doesn't like anything 'different'...

@DblEspresso and @didireallysaythat did you buy a special type or cork for use in the bathrooms, or just a normal range with a waterproof sealant on top ( all tiles need to be sealed anyway)..?

@HBGKC I think they just have been rated for bathrooms - we certainly haven't sealed them with anything ever. I'll see if I can find the details (it was a while ago...)

I get that cork makes sense in terms of practicality and sustainability, but I struggle with the way it looks. I think it would go well in a very industrial scheme with lots of raw plywood and exposed steels etc but that's not what I'm after. Check out Granorte as a supplier, I often see them recommended.

Thanks very much for the recommendations @HBGKC @HouseyHouse21

I've just received my (first) sample, "Camada Corka" from Colour Flooring (think I linked to it upthread). It's guaranteed waterproof for 15 years so would suit a bathroom as well. Am rather impressed - less yellow in tone than I'd feared and not at all shiny. Pic below is taken in direct sunlight on my existing kitchen floor. I like the plank effect which gives it more gradation than the classic cork look I remember from the 80s.

Unlike you @HBGKC my DH is very pro-cork for some reason! It was he who reminded me we'd been thinking of it a while back.

Am off to look at Siesta and Granorte now!