Manufacturer Reviews

Leafing through designer magazines of the day, you can't help but seeing hardwood flooring being installed in kitchens. Times have changed with kitchens and wood floors becoming more of an everyday design item.

Hardwood species offering tighter grain patterns are often used in kitchens as they will hide everyday damage that may occur. Other more open grained and lighter colored hardwoods such as Maple and Birch should be avoided unless you live in a careful household. In recent years designers have been taking the flooring business by storm utilizing hand scraped, reclaimed, or distressed hardwoods.

If you're set on lighter colored hardwoods for the kitchen, Anderson Virginia Vintage offers a line called Olde Paint (picture right). They are not as distressed as other hand scraped floors but do offer some appealing damage hiding characteristics.

Distressed. Hand Scraped

Distressed hardwoods are the ideal choice for kitchens as their characteristics are almost like a pre-planned solution to the inevitable heavy traffic kitchens get. A few pots and pans are dropped. Normally the one that bought the light colored smooth floor will be shrieking at the sight. You on the other hand may shrug it off as any damage actually adds to the character of many hand scraped floors.

Prefinished Or Unfinished?

Are there any advantages? With most prefinished floors you'll be dealing with micro bevels that can catch dirt opposed to a smooth sanded and finished floor.

Floor Finish Durability?

Newer aluminum oxide type finishes applied in factory controlled settings with prefinished hardwoods will be more durable in regards to actual wear ability. On site finishes in terms of impact resistance are basically similar with the exception of a moisture cured urethane.

Moisture

Moisture is always a concern when using hardwoods in these areas. As mentioned numerous times on our site, prevention is the key. For kitchens utilize area rugs near all water sources. If you should live in an older home it may be wise to call in a plumber to check or update any older plumbing connections.

Easiest Floor To Fix?

Some folks think ahead of time. What kind of floor would be easier to get repaired should we have any water damages? Any prefinished floor that is stapled or nailed to the wood subfloor underneath.