With so many different choices of flooring on the market, choosing the correct product for your client can be difficult. However getting to know a little more about the client and their home life can definitely help avoid costly mistakes.
During the home measure, it is vital for the designer to understand or learn the dynamics of the family home and the lifestyle of the customer. The choice of flooring should be determined by a number of factors.
Where is the location of the back door? If the back door is in the kitchen, a quick check of the garden will help you understand how much dirt is likely to be brought in through this entrance.
Is the kitchen open-plan to other rooms in the home? The client may want the same flooring to be continued throughout the open-plan area. What would work for your kitchen design may not be the best choice if carried throughout the various different rooms or vice-versa.
Is the kitchen on the ground floor? If the kitchen is in an apartment, or in a house with the kitchen on the first floor, the noise level created by walking on the floor will be a factor in the room below. Careful consideration of this should be taken into account.
Are there children or pets in the home? If there are children or pets in the home, the dirt level will be certainly be greater and spillages will be more common. General traffic on the floor is also likely to be far greater.
What will be the method of heating in the kitchen? If there is a lack of heating in the kitchen at the moment, underfloor heating may be a good idea and your choice of flooring may be determined by this.
Lastly, what is the sub-floor made of and what condition is it in? The sub-floor can have a huge impact on your choice of flooring. With a quick bounce, look for movement and spring in the floor. Further works may be required before certain types of flooring can be laid.
There are some great products to choose from for kitchen flooring. All come with their own pros and cons. A factor to consider above design, is safety, so nothing that can become slippery when wet. How easily the floor can be kept clean, will be a reason of choice for the customer. Direction of wood grain or grout lines may also need to be considered in the overall design of the room.
Talking from experience, in my last home, I had a tumbled marble floor throughout the main level which included the living-room, hallway, dining-room and kitchen. While the flooring was beautiful and seemed like a great choice for all the rooms, it was in the kitchen that it let us down. With the grooves and rough, tumbled surface, it wasn’t the easiest to clean and required a lot of effort to maintain.
Though my wife does like to point out, “how would YOU know”.
This article was first published in Kitchens & Bathrooms New in October 2019 (pg 49) https://www.kandbnews.co.uk/magazines/october-2019/
On The Mark 