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.
What
Types Are Often Used?
Hardwood
species offering more 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 should live in the perfect household. In
recent years designers have been taking the flooring
business by storm utilizing hand scraped 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
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.
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. |