Real stone floor in kitchen?

[Chocolatehobnobs2948]

Does anyone have real stone flooring in a kitchen and how do you find it? How expensive/difficult was it to put in, and is it easy to keep clean? What type of material did you go for?
I'm considering limestone or sandstone, something similar to the attached picture.

Mandarin stone

yes expensive

Not difficult upkeep at all. I use their product

I love it

Mine is slate. Cost £5k including labour to lay the tiles. Looks fabulous. I wash it with one of those electric mop things. It has a few little dings and scratches after several years but otherwise has lasted well. It can be cold on your feet in winter so you need slippers!

@Spodey Oh wow that's a lot. How big an area did you cover though? Ours is only 4sq metres.
Also considering porcelain tiles that look like stone but obviously natural stone is nicer.

Our first house had a slate floor. We all hated it. So much so when we bought our latest house we all agreed slate/tile/porcelain etc was not going anywhere near our flooring.

Its cold. Its bloody horrible having to look for your slippers all the time just to be able to walk around your house. Its inefficient to have such cold flooring considering the cost to heat homes. My FIL spends unbelievable amounts on underfloor heating to be able to walk on his kitchen floor.

You drop any plates etc, you can say goodbye to them. 100% unforgiving.

You have family? See how much it hurts if, as kids do they trip and fall on it :-(

It can (depending on the finish) be an absolute pain to keep clean.

Its a nightmare to change your mind in the future to somethig else. Fashions change. Flooring tastes change. Imagine the cost of lifting it back up and putting another floor down

It looks great but it really is freezing cold.

ILs made the mistake of having it with two elderly cats who scratched it endlessly and it stank of urine and cat vomit in my opinion.

It was about 50 sq m. We took it right through the kitchen, utility and dining room. Yours won’t cost that much if it’s only 4 sq m!

@Tessasanderson All points I'm taking on board. I do have a young child.
What flooring do you have then?
At the moment we have laminate, inherited from the previous owner and I don't like it, I dislike laminate in general. Or lino. Other than tiles I can't think what would go well. The kitchen is wood and the open plan living room has a wooden floor, so it has to go well with that.

@Spodey Oh ok that makes sense!

We used to. It was uneven, cold and even the slightest thing broke when you dropped it. Not a great floor for a small child as it's solid when they fall...

Would not recommend.

Do you know what, all the other stuff you dont like, we are the same :-) If another floor salesman says laminate is water resistant i will cut his nuts off. It gets damp and buckles and looks horrible. Lino, looks good for a while but then either gets baggy, marked or damaged. At least its cheap enough.

We settled on Amtico type stuff for our latest house. It wasnt any cheaper than porcelain tiles. Its a tile of sorts so we figured we can repair if needed (We have a spare box or 2 in the loft). It has so far proven hard wearing and it definitely has an element of not being too cold or unforgiving. I dont go in for recommending what i have because everyones different but i would see if there is anything in this type of tile first.

Only thing it doesnt have is the instagram wow factor of white porcelain tiles which would wear off for me within a few weeks tbh.

We had flags , real eighteenth century flagstones in one house: cold, hard, prone to condensation and so to damp.
We had slate in a kitchen. Cold, hard and quite difficult to maintain.
We had polished marble in a kitchen dining room in France. Easy to clean, not as hard as the other stones,,light reflecting and visually intriguing ( but we were never there in winter, so I can’t comment on the warmth, they were nice and cool in the canicule!)
Currently we inherited have ceramic tiles which imitate (very successfully ) the parquet in the dining room and hall. I find them easy to clean, not as hard as stone, not very cold to walk on. I would not have installed them, but I would definitely now.

Ive had two different experiences. First was beautiful cream travertine floor (Topps Tiles) with matching grout. Grout very quickly went grey and whole floor needed frequent cleaning, and stained easily despite having an extra coat of sealant (red wine, tea, coffee, pasta sauce etc)>. Grout had to be cleaned with bleach on a toothbrush in the worst places. Showed the dirt badly but looked stunning and spacious when clean.

Second is my current floor which is riven sandstone and is fab. Quite dark and uneven so cant use an electric steam cleaner, but it doesn’t show the dirt at all. Wet underfloor heating too so we are usually barefoot or in socks

I have white hall flagstones old farmhouse green in my kitchen and other places and I adore it. It looks stunning and feels lovely underfoot. It compliments a shaker kitchen perfectly and an old house. I used beige grout rather than white and it softens it and gives an aged look and also doesn’t look grubby!

https://www.white-hall.co.uk/flagstones/interior/old-farmhouse-green

Yes, I have a real stone flooring in my kitchen, Limestone to be exact and I just love it. It gives a space that has a natural, warm look and feels cool underfoot. The installation was a bit expensive than regular tiles and needed professional help, especially for sealing. It is easy to clean with just a mop and pH-neutral cleaners. I would recommend going with only premium quality stone as they might cost in the beginning, but are worth every penny. It’s durable, stylish and gives a premium touch to the space. You can also go with Sandstone if you want more earthy and rustic colours. It's a great stone will be full of character and timeless beauty.