What do you have on your kitchen floor?

[MrsCurly]

We're moving house and putting in a new kitchen but are very puzzled about what kind of floor to put down.

Need something durable and easily cleaned -as well as the usual muck from the kids at mealtimes, the kitchen leads straight on to the garden so will get extra dirty.

We've looked at lots of tiles and even slate but worry it's too hard. Hard on your feet if you're standing a long time. Hard for kids if they fall. Hard if you drop something.

Our current kitchen floor is laminate but has aged really badly and looks cheap and shoddy. We've looked at some pricier laminate but it's very expensive. Twice as much as slate.

So, appologies for being so boring, but please, what do you have on your kitchen floor and what would you reccommend?!

Vinyl is the answer.

We have slate tiles and lots of bits of food thrown by DD. Must vacuum it tomorrow.

Get underfloor heated tiles, they are no harder than wood when you land on them, and it doesn't matter when you spill stuff.

My MIL has some sort of carpet tiles. Sounds awful, but actually looks nice (though bland), is fairly comfortable for feet - not chilly, for sure - and liquid spills just sit on top of the pile without soaking in. It never looks grubby, and FIL is always in and out of his garden and the allotment.

We have engineered oak flooring,has worn really well so far (3 yrs now)
It also leads straight out to garden.
We chose a very grainy/knotty one so you can't see the dirt.

we have ceramic tiles. v practical generally but they show the dirt. they are surprisingly bouncy though - kids all ok. tiles over floorboards (which I assume you have if you have laminate?) are even more bouncy.

nb if you go for slate remember to factor in the cost of getting the stuff sealed.

Ceramic tiles - inherited

Surprisingly they are not too bad

I always wear something on my feet, anyway, so not cold for me - DS has learnt not to run on them in socks, and he doesn;t seem to mind them in bare feet apart from in the real depths of winter

He often plays on the floor (he's 3.2)

They are unforgiving though if you drop something. I had to out cupboard locks on when when we first moved in otherwise DS would have pulled everything out and smashed it on the floor - luckily he's over htat stage now!

So easy to keep clean though.

We have Marmoleum. We put it down 10 years ago when dd1 was crawling and it still looks great!

oak floor across kitchen and dinning room.

slate, I loe them, perfect for that inside ut thing, can't even tell if you bring in mud. OK it is cool o your feet - wear socks in winter, BUT in summer it is cool on your feet

Oh but it is bumpy and not smopoth, If I had had a crawling baby it would be a nogo

What's Marmoleum?

Thank you for all your replies!

Solid Oak flooring - we have 2 sets of doors that lead from kitchen to the garden. Very hard wearing but no so bad if little ones fall onto it Easy to keep clean - sweep it and then wash with soapy wood cleaner stuff...not every day mind I would personally avoid laminate it scratches and looks scruffy quickly...after all it is only a photocopy!

Tiles, look lovely, don't show the dirt, easy to clean but freezing - can't stand on them in bare feet even in summer!

We have had under ground heating under our slate tiles. Very easy to keep clean and durable always looks clean they are a muted minky grey/lighbrown colour perhaps thats why? The heating is on a timer so you can have it on whenever you like...its lovely and cosy! I paid £32sq meter for tiles and £200 for under heataing.

Porcelain tiles which look like limestone but don't need sealing.
With underfloor heating which I turn up when I am feeling sorry for myself.
Easy to clean, but v. unforgiving of clumsy people (me) dropping things.

We got rid of our ceramic tiles, which we hated, and put down cushion-floor, which we love.

Warmer on little feet, softer for toddler to fall on, and more forgiving when you drop things.

On the tiles a glass would shatter into a million fragments which penetrated every cranny.

Ours were laid partly over floorboards and several had cracked.

a big pile of washing

Wooden floor boards, matt varnished. Easy to keep clean.

Lino.

Cheap and easy to clean.

Inherited wood-effect lino tiles.

They're going when we have enough money to do kitchen.

Oak, I love it and I want it in the rest of the downstairs instead of my rubbish carpet.

I do like cushiony lino though.

Not a fan of ceramic tiles - they get cracked if you drop something on them.

Quarry tiles.

Marmoleum is a brand of vinyl I think. We have wood effect vinyl - which sounds grim but I really like it. Really easy to keep clean and I hope looks 100 times nicer than laminate.

inherited ceramic tiles - i like them as they look good are durable and easy to clean, but I am always breaking things milk bottles glasses jars etc. and they do smash to smithereens... which is a bit of a nightmare with babies around