Also, it's pouring outside and I love the rain in early autumn. It makes the streets a little cleaner and the breeze is so nice and cool. We have the back doors and windows all open, and coloring books and puzzles all over the floors. It's been a lovely, lazy morning. And now I'm putzing around on Pinterest looking into kitchen floors, trying to figure out which direction I want to go there. I really need to decide soon.
So far, I'm most drawn to these these marble floors. Wouldn't they be perfect in my small kitchen? At this point, I'm open to most anything though and would love to hear what you used in your kitchens. Also, what would you never use again?
I must admit to loving my large "broadway" squares of porcelain tile from walker zanger. It looks mod, easy to clean - I would never want wood unless it was a country farm house....linoleum is also very easy to clean.
ReplyDeleteThat marble is lovely. It would look great in your kitchen~
pve
I actually had someone come out a couple weeks ago to give a bid for a checkerboard kitchen floor...so classic!
ReplyDeleteWe just bought a house that had redone the kitchen about 1 yr ago...that's the only thing in the house I HATE! So we're saving up to redo it, but in the meantime it has slate floors...NEVER EVER do Slate floors in a kitchen. You will regret it every day you look at it, or trip over the slightly uneven tiles, or when a drop of water falls on the floor and you don't wipe it up, it leaves a white water spot. It never looks clean and it's even harder to sweep due to the uneven surface. Sorry for my rant. Just don't do slate! :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Love your blog!
YES!!! I am a huge fan of the black & white floors, especially in small kitchens.
ReplyDeleteI really love Marmoleum - it is softer to stand on than tile, it's natural (linseed oil and clay), and when I drop a plate it bounces rather than shatters. It's great for a kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI love this picture - especially since the grey and white is a bit softer than black and white. Could be delicious in your kitchen!
ReplyDeleteI am currently (DYING) to put black and white marble floors in my kitchen. They are so lovely. I don't think it's possible to get tired of them. I'd say it's a good investment and a timeless look that no matter how many times you change other things you'd love...notice I'm still trying to sell myself on this again.
ReplyDeleteI currently have slate floors and quite seriously they're the devil! I agree with what Tatiana said in her post.
Looking forward to your decision, I always like what you choose!
And....I'm an early childhood teacher, rest easy...their teachers will be excited to have them at school too!
Love the look of the marble, but I was told to NEVER use black marble (Nero Marquina)on a floor because when it gets etched (by simple acids - juice, vinegar, just about anything you cook with!) it etches white and is permanent. We have wood floor w/ a wool rug in our kitchen and the wool rug is very easy to keep clean - even w/ a house full of kids!
ReplyDeleteI love the look of marble floors but I do have a word of warning. We just put white marble in the guest bath this summer and it is lovely. BUT it is so, so slippery!! I had no idea it could be that bad! Even a slight drop of water will make your feet go right up from under you. We've had a couple of nasty head cracking incidents with the kids slipping on droplets, literally. I would never use it again in any room with water. I had to create a "path of safety" with rugs which frankly ruins the look of the marble. Best of luck,
ReplyDeleteRebecca
i also re-did mine with slate. i hate it! i have to vacuum it so that all the dirt comes up from the weird, uneven grout spaces, and that ruined my vacuum wheels. also, tile is so out! the grout is just a real problem for me. i LOVE the idea of marble.
ReplyDeleteDitto what previous posters have said about the slippery-ness...it's awful! We have marble in our foyer, bathrooms and kitchen and it is an absolute nightmare. It figures that the thing I loved most when we bought the house would be the thing I like least now. Without kids it would have been terrible but doubly so with them. I love the new linoleum and Marmoleum is gorgeous too.
ReplyDeleteI love those floors! I have marble in my bathroom (I don't have a great picture of the floor yet, but you can see a little bit of it here: http://spaghettiarms.blogspot.com/2012/09/marthas-marble-mar-shelves.html), and I loooove it. I have hardwood in the kitchen, and it's held up really well.
ReplyDeleteWe have put hardwood in our kitchen and really love it. but than we have high gloss white cabinet doors, so it works. I would put down marble + a really pretty runner :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat-starting to research options to replace the shiny, white tile floor I inherited in my kitchen. Marble is stunning but having it in my foyer and a bathroom, I can tell you it is cold, hard on the back if you spend much time standing on it, and dangerously slippery. Mt husband cracked his elbow slipping on a wet spot on the foyer floor. Rugs became a safety must.
ReplyDeleteI really dislike tile. I would pick linoleum over tile any day after living in a house with a tiled kitchen now. I have lost so many dishes due to drops. That marmoleum sounds really interesting - I'm not familiar with it.
ReplyDeleteMy friend has a grey and white floor that is gorgeous. Her grey isn't as dark as the picture you posted and she has rectangular tiles in a pretty pattern.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of black & white checker floors; it's classic and you'll never tire of it.
ReplyDeleteAs a commercial interior designer (read: constantly looking for the classic marble look on a lesser budget/higher slip-resistance), here are a couple of other options you might want to think about (both will give you the look at less cost and more durability):
1.) Marmoleum's "Striato" series has less of a "marbelized" look to it than the piano and dual lines do and has some really gorgeous neutrals that look gorgeous in a checkerboard pattern. It's part of their commercial line but I'm sure you can get samples: http://www.forboflooringna.com/Commercial-Flooring/Products/Marmoleum/Marmoleum-Global-3/Marmoleum-Striato/
2.) Provenza's QStone (Sold through Stone Source) "Minimal" color-through porcelain tile series is absolutely gorgeous...and should price out between $5-7/SF. It's to die for...feels so luxurious, has a great grip (but mop cleans) and is utterly Euro-classic. If I were to do my kitchen right now, I'd be using this product: http://www.stonesource.com/porcelain-selector?location=Search&series=Q-Stone+Minimal&manufacturer=All&application=All&trafficwear=All&color=All&finish=All&size=All&sustainability=All&Submit=Search
Actually, I just lief. If I re-did my kitchen right now (can you say 5 year plan?), I'd use this line from Qstone. This is the most gorgeous, warm, clean porcelain I've ever seen..and price out in the same ballpark as the ones above: http://www.stonesource.com/?porcelain-tile=gray-6
Good luck with your floor; can't wait to see what you go with!
I just laid a checkerboard floor (at a 45 degree angle like your picture shows) in my kitchen, and it is even better than I could have imagined!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would do it in marmoleum rather than marble. Easier on your feet and glasses/plates dropping! There are a lot of lovely options that could match that lovely grey and white combination.
I have hardwood and love it. It is easy to clean; looks clean even when it is not so clean; isn't hard and cold like stone or tile; no grout; and, most importantly to me, it flows with the rest of the house.
ReplyDeleteI love the checkerboard pattern (that's what we're rocking in our rental kitchen!) but I love the idea of it in gray and white rather than black. Softer and I feel like less contrast will make the space feel bigger (as would placing on the diagonal).
ReplyDeletehardwood all the way. it is soft, quiet and easy to clean. if i didn't have kids it would be another story... but i have 2 monsters who tear through the kitchen all day. they can grip the wood with bare feet and i can wipe up spills with ease. like the one i am ignoring while reading this blog... water EVERYWHERE!!! "doing the dishes" has somehow become a new favorite game. sigh.
ReplyDeleteWe put in black and white Marmoleum on the angle and really like it. It is pretty easy and not messy to install. It does need a dry mop every couple of days, but my boys are messy and run in and out of the backdoor through the kitchen.
ReplyDeletenothing more classic than a black and white marble floor! Maybe smaller tiles of it would help with the slippery factor (more grout lines)? Or what about a white hex or 1x1 floor with black grout? I definitely like any kind of patterned floor. Can't wait to see what you do!
ReplyDeleteI've seen beautiful gray-tones in cork, which would be soft for kids and the cook's knees, and you could install them in a herringbone, brick, or checkerboard pattern. They can be sealed to be very low maintenance plus they'll be more sound absorbent and not slippery like marble (not to mention more eco-friendly and less expensive than marble). xo
ReplyDeleteI had beautiful antique honed pink marble floors in my a previous home LOVED the look, but they were so cold! If the space beneath your kitchen is unheated you'll want to consider the temperature. I had a baby in that house and he just couldn't crawl or toddle across the floor in winter. Poor icy little feet!
ReplyDeletei have cork and love love love it. It's durable, easily maintained, and looks lovely ( like a cork from a wine bottle or board), and is great to stand on and cook. (Form & Function, right?) It's natural too; what's not to love?
ReplyDelete~Rebekah
i second the nomination for cork - inexpensive, durable, sound absorbing, water-resistant, and my kids have never broken a dish or glass on it - it stays warm in winter and cool in summer and my back does not hurt after a marathon cooking/cleaning session - i have seen some neat checkerboard and striped configurations, but i like my flooring that is laid out in strips of a similar width to my nearby hardwood floors - a couple of folks told me they thought it was stone until they stepped on it!
ReplyDeleteI would love it for an entry way, but I must say, I wouldn't want marble for my kitchen floors. I cook a lot and the whole family is running around in the kitchen, so I like having wood. It's warmer, softer. What about some nice reclaimed wood in a pattern? It's more expensive, but if you have a smaller space it wouldn't be that much. It would add so much depth to the space.
ReplyDeleteOr what about cork, with heaters beneath, a wonderful surface to play upon.
I would love it for an entry way, but I must say, I wouldn't want marble for my kitchen floors. I cook a lot and the whole family is running around in the kitchen, so I like having wood. It's warmer, softer. What about some nice reclaimed wood in a pattern? It's more expensive, but if you have a smaller space it wouldn't be that much. It would add so much depth to the space.
ReplyDeleteOr what about cork, with heaters beneath, a wonderful surface to play upon.
I love your inspiration pic! But I want to echo some of the previous posters. We have marble in the bathroom and it is very cold and slippery - especially in socks! I have hickory hardwoods in my kitchen and they are so hard that I get back pain while cooking or doing dishes! A softer wood would have been a better choice. I would say to make sure you get something comfortable to stand on that is also beautiful to look at - I think there are better choices out there! Good luck - your home will be beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've had hardwood in two kitchens and love it. Hate tile and hate slate even more - we've had it in an entry and it never looks clean.
ReplyDeleteLay glue down wood grained looking plank vinyl over the existing and be done. Congoleum and mannington make some great ones. Especially in your rental.
ReplyDeleteI think both cork or linoleum would be very cool. I'd love to redo my kitchen floors in a lovely patterned linoleum. In design school we learned that cultured marble is better for floors because it does not get slippery when wet!
ReplyDeleteI put down a checkerboard floor in my old kitchen, using light and dark cork tiles. It was ah-mazing. And it was great to stand on - soft and didn't get cold in the Colorado winter. I would recommend cork for a kitchen anytime!
ReplyDeletelook into peacock pavers. they are cement tiles made to look like natural stone. you can use them outside for a patio as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the practicality/functionality of these, but the two most beautiful floors I've ever seen were a brick floor laid in herringbone pattern in really muted gray-browns and also a home with a poured concrete floor, Frank Lloyd Wright-style like this http://nymag.com/images/2/realestate/07/09/week3/greatroom_070917_8.jpg
ReplyDeleteCheckerboard matte finish marble looks amazing. Le sigh.
ReplyDeleteGlossy black granite tiles and matching counters are in our current apartment. They're pretty, but never again! It might be the only thing I don't love about our place. Every single spot shows up on it, even finger prints, and it streaks like crazy after cleaning. I always end up buff drying my floors and counters beacuse nothing is worse than a streaky surface.
Marble or tile of any kind is a nightmare in the kitchen. They are just too hard. It's not for nothing that most chefs have antifatigue mats on the floors in commercial kitchens. I did an extensive renovation in an historic house that involved reconfiguring a warren of small rooms into a new kitchen. We had to go with new flooring and chose a softer hardwood. The smartest decision I've ever made was to tell them to leave off the final coat of finish. Within a short time the floors were worn and a little beat up in all the right places. Everyone thought they were original to the house.
ReplyDeleteI think your choice is great! Putting the tile on the diagonal will open the kitchen. We built a house last year and I am happy with my choices. One thing that wasn't great is our refrigerator. We did a counter depth and it's right next to a wall. When you open the one door you can not get the crisper drawers open all the way. The choice I love the most is the sliding barn door used for the pantry, found it a surplus store it's actually a table top made from distressed wood. This is the first thing people notice when they come into the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteLoved It!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe had Pergo for a while and it was fine. We remodeled and did real hardwoods and we love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I've always wanted a black/white checker board floor. You should totally do it!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted a spatter-painted wood floor in the kitchen - black background with white, tan, red, blue an yellow specks and dribbles. Kind of Jackson Pollock, but more domestic. If you wanted to save money, you could even spatter sub-flooring. Dirt would never show!
ReplyDeleteWe installed a ceramic tile from Porcelansoa, we chose the large tile size in a brick pattern. It turned out stunning. It's so easy to keep clean with a steam mop, and not too slippery for our dogs. Once I read the same tikes were installed in an airport, I was sold. I figured if it could hold up to airport traffic then it could handle my family!
ReplyDeleteThis is what we chose:
http://www.porcelanosa-usa.com/home/products/tile/floor.aspx/d=14208/title=Ferro_Laton
The large tile might look weird in a small space, but they have smaller sizes and such a great selection of other materials. Good luck choosing!
Love those. It's a great take on the classic black/white checked floors, but they seem much more grown up, which I love! DO it!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar marble floor in an old apartment -- if you enjoy cooking you will hate this floor after a while as it becomes torture on your back and knees. There is no give in stone floors.
ReplyDeleteAlso just dropped a bottle of balsamic vinegar in my kitchen the other day. Luckily I have wood floors so it did no damage but on a marble floor you would be in big trouble.
I agree with what the others said about cork. We have cork in our kitchen and I would totally recomend it. Its easy to maintain and really lovely to walk/stand on.
ReplyDeleteAs beautiful as it looks I wouldn't do real marble in the kitchen because it stains so easily. We have marble countertops and floor and they are already stained, especially from lemon or orange juice spills but also olive oil etc....
ReplyDeleteWe used large 24X48" ceramic tiles that look like stone.it is called Ecotech. They are made up of recycled material,and are very easy to clean. Modern and Fresh, love it, we got ours through Stone Source here in Boston. We had hard wood in our last house and I hated it. The wood got totally water damaged.
ReplyDeleteI love the dramatic effect of the checkerboard....definitely the stand-out feature in the kitchen so personally I would want to keep everything else in the kitchen toned down. Marble, while beautiful and extravagant is EXTREMELY SLIPPERY when wet. We have done our kitchens in porcelain tile. The tiles have a hardness rating of 4....a little more durable than ceramic. They are easy to clean and I use anti-fatigue mats for the cooking/prep areas. Will you be doing the floor yourself or hiring out? Also, white grout will get dirty in a kitchen and it's hard to keep it white, even with a sealer. My suggestion would be to pick tile colors that go well with darker grout. Can't wait to see what you decide!
ReplyDeleteWe had ceramic in our first house. Didn't love it. Hard on the feet while washing dishes and very cold first thing in the morning. We have hardwood now which is better but I'm always a little panicked when I find something spilled on the floor, wondering how long it's been there and if the wood has had enough time to absorb the liquid and therefore bubble. It's always a gamble I guess...
ReplyDeleteIt would look stunning! Wonderful idea.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you choose! I need a new kitchen floor too, and I have no idea what to pick.
ReplyDeleteI hate our current kitchen floor- wilsonart snap together laminate tiles which came with the house. I never loved them, but they were fine for a while when we moved in. Now after a few years there are spaces between the tiles in the higher traffic areas of the kitchen. Crumbs gather in the spaces and then the gaps look really obvious.
A friend of mine did a gorgeous remodel in her amazing huge 1920's tudor home. The kitchen is so gorgeous and she used lanoleum for the floor. When she first told me about it I was envisioning the ugly sheet flooring we all grew up with in the 80s, but it's totally different. It's actually a natural product (made from linseed oil). My friend's custom linoleum floor has a border around the perimeter of the kitchen. It comes in tons of colors, so the possibilities are endless, it's comfortable to stand on and it's really easy to clean if you put it down in a solid sheet (although if you laid it in tiles you'd eventually have the same mess I'm currently dealing with).
I would love to this in my kitchen, terrible white vinyl flooring that is in need of some love! Thank you for sharing this lovely space :)
ReplyDeletexoxo, Tanya
I think the floors are beautiful, but would definitely not do marble on a kitchen floor, in a family with kids (and particularly if you cook). Love pve's suggestion of the WZ porcelain tile for the look, but the ease of porcelain. There are also some new lines of floor tile that look like wood, maybe at Ann Sacks?
ReplyDeleteI have limestone floors in my front entry and back mud room, which are holding up beautifully and look a bit better with use, but they are not subjected to acids and such that are used in kitchens on a regular basis.
Interestingly, I have heard good things about cork in kitchens, but it is definitely a certain look. The marmoleum suggestion is also a great one - it is an indestructible surface, very reasonable, and you can definitely create the look of this picture with it.
I have black and white ceramic tile floors in my kitchen. I thought they were wonderful when we bought our house, but they are literally impossible to keep clean.
ReplyDeleteI have black and white ceramic tile floors in my kitchen. I thought they were wonderful when we bought our house, but they are literally impossible to keep clean.
ReplyDeleteIsn't marble harder to seal? It's a porous stone, which is why it can stain so easily.
ReplyDeleteWhen my parents re-did their kitchen, I believe one of the recommendations they got was that marble is better for bathrooms (counters mostly) than for kitchens.
I have black and white checkered tiles in my laundry room. If you go with porcelain tiles, I highly recommend going with black grout. This elimates all of the grout cleaning problems and it looks great!
ReplyDeleteI did granite floors in a kitchen once. Never again. So hard, so cold. The one good thing, I chose a red, black and gray speckled type of granite (not sure of the specific name of the type). Anyways, that floor never looked dirty, even when it was filthy. Seriously, I'd sweep and then I'd be like OMG! How did I have so much crap on my floor and not see it at all.
ReplyDeleteWarning: My (ultra cool) Mom had checkerboard put onto her kitchen floors, ignoring warnings from her best friend about it's ability to get dirty quickly. End of the story: she should have listened to her friend. The floors are so hard to keep clean. I was visiting last week and mentioned how she should have done terracotta throughout, as she did on other parts of the house. So easy to clean! In addition, I have dark walnut wood floors in my kitchen. So elegant, and dirt and dust do not show!
ReplyDeleteWe put linoleum checker board tiles in our kitchen 14 years ago, periwinkle blue and a light grey white. They have held up so well with three kids, a dog and cat. They are comfortable to stand on and as everyone mentions, warmer in the winter than tile or marble. And no slippery issues. When we redo our kitchen, I will choose linoleum again or cork.
ReplyDeleteWe put in a black and white checkered floor in our kitchen, using marble and granite tiles. I love the look, it looks fabulous next to our subway tile and stainless steel countertop. BUT - I don't think I would do it again, because it's a hard floor to stand on for too long (and in the kitchen you tend to stand up for quite a while!), it gets dirty super quickly and it's cold in the winter. He's an in depth post of us installing it: http://www.christonium.com/HomeProject/installing-black-and-white-checkerboard-marble-granite-tile-floor
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to add my agreement about slate flooring - goodness, I wish I had read these before we spent a lot of money putting in underfloor heating and laying the slate ourselves! It's my biggest regret in the work we've done in our home. It was a job and a half putting it down but it looked beautiful when it was first laid. Not even a year later and I hate it. It never looks clean and every spot, drip and bit of dirt is visible. We are now looking at stripping it again and re-sealing it because I don't want to have to rip it all up! I wish I had put hardwood in now. The checkerboard pattern is a classic and will never look out of style! Good luck in your search :) x
ReplyDeleteMy BFF just bought a gorgeous house (it's basically my dream house) and her kitchen pretty much has this exact flooring... I haven't noticed a slipperiness to it, but it is honed instead of polished!
ReplyDeleteThe marble floors are absolutely amazing.
ReplyDeleteSure! A black and white checkered floor is always a classic. Just make sure that the tiles would be non-slip to avoid accidents in the kitchen. After all, with all the foot traffic the place gets on a regular basis, that would be very plausible.
ReplyDeleteAlana Geikie