I’m officially doing the traditional Bank Holiday Monday ‘thing’ of planning a DIY project! I’ve decided that I’m going to give my kitchen a proper makeover. I’ve been saving up funds for a while and, although I don’t want to spend a small fortune on a complete refit, I definitely DO want to improve the space. The cabinets we painted have become rather tatty after years of use and the flooring is definitely in need of an upgrade. So, today I’m sharing my kitchen plans from the ground up…
You may remember that I wrote about ways to spruce up old flooring earlier this year, but I only went as far as thinking about getting vinyl rugs to cover my existing flooring. However, since then some of the existing floor tiles have cracked – and I even sucked some parts of them up while vacuuming, so I haven’t even been able to repair them properly.
Seeing as I’m hoping to get new cabinets this year, we’ve decided to bring our kitchen renovation plans forward a little and maybe makeover the room a little sooner than planned. So, not only am I browsing for new units (blimey, there’s a lot of options out there!), but I’m also researching flooring.
I want something that’ll be hardwearing, durable and scuff resistant. You see, our kitchen comes straight off our garden, so we’re forever wandering in with wellies on after digging the veggie patch. Plus we have pets to think about and it’s a high-traffic area; the kitchen is basically a walk-through to the rest of the house.
Here’s how the kitchen looked when we first got the keys – pretty icky, right? And that’s the flooring we still have today. Perfectly flat but definitely not in great condition. So I have a few ideas for flooring on my mind – vinyl, rubber and hybrid flooring. But which is best for me?
RUBBER
Having struggled with my vinyl floor tiles for years, I now really like the idea of having sheet flooring in the kitchen. I was previously researching how EPDM rubber is made and quite like the idea of using rubber as a floor. It’s the kind of material you would use in balcony flooring construction so it’s heat- and cold-resistant and, because it’s has no joins, it’s completely waterproof too. That’s a definite must for my kitchen because I spill things A LOT. Another bonus is that it’s environmentally friendly and 100% recyclable. You’ve probably seen rubber flooring used in commercial settings like cafes and even gyms, but I like the domestic rubber flooring I’ve seen, which come in a rainbow of colours.
HYBRID FLOORING
We have laminate flooring throughout the adjoining living room and I would quite like a seamless wood effect floor running into the kitchen to bring a warmth to the room. I’ve looked for waterproof laminate flooring and it seems that the solution for a durable yet realistic floor is hybrid flooring. This combines the waterproof properties of vinyl plank flooring with the convenience of interlocking laminate flooring that doesn’t require adhesives. It can go straight on top of my existing kitchen floor because the tiles are level, which is a time-saving bonus, plus I already know how to lay this type of flooring because we’ve already used it in the bedroom, office and hallway too.
VINYL
My final option is vinyl flooring. I definitely don’t want to use those stick-on vinyl tiles because we already have those in the kitchen. Although they’re perfectly flat and have probably been there since the kitchen was last refitted (I’m guessing in the 80s) they don’t come in the colours and designs I like. However, sheet vinyl flooring can be found in a huge variety of patterns so I’ll be sure to find something to coordinate with my new cabinets. I’ve even found a company that can custom-print vinyl flooring so I might consider designing something colourful myself!
Now that I’ve narrowed down the options, it’ll probably depend on what colour or style of flooring will coordinate with the new kitchen cabinets best – and seeing as I have no idea what I’m going to go for yet, I had better get on with browsing the DIY websites today and ordering some kitchen brochures!
What type of flooring would you recommend? Did you choose one of these options for your own kitchen? I’d love to hear how well your flooring has performed, which will help me take the plunge and make a decision! Please leave me a comment below if you have any other flooring suggestions – and I’d love to hear about your kitchen too. If you’ve installed an Ikea, Wickes or B&Q kitchen yourself I’d love to hear how easy (or difficult!) it was and whether you would recommend it! 🙂
This article is sponsored collaboration with Rubber Roof UK. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
