Advice Needed for Kitchen Countertop and Floor

[Paula]

Soooo, I'm doing a kitchen face-lift since the kitchen in this old house was last done in 1992. I'm keeping the same floor plan, had the cabinet oak wood polished up and I'll put handles on the cabinets (looks great), got new appliances (yes, I did stainless because they weren't that much more than the other and I thought it was a small price to pay to at least have shiny appliances), and I'll just get new lighting fixtures, and fresh paint.

So, I need to think now about the countertops and floor. I won't be going with the granite because it really would be too much of an upgrade for this kitchen face-lift (it would look out of place) and it would be too expensive. Does anyone have any recommendations? I've heard that formica has many good choices now and even the edgings can be pretty nice. Any opinions on formica brands/styles that you like a lot (and why)? Anything I shouldn't do? Any other countertop products/style you love and are not too expensive and are very easy care and hardy?

And I'm also looking into a new kitchen floor (it's old linoleum now and I don't think the flooring underneath it is the original wood). For the floor I'd even consider hardwood because the rest of the house has oak floors so it would be consistent with the old wood look. But I'm open to other options, including linoleum, tile, or even cork. Any opinions on what's good, not good about these options. I'm trying to do this all quickly and inexpensively for the most part.

I've always found good idea on SoWal.com so this is the first place I turn to for advice!

Thanks.

 

[Beach Runner]

We have antique heart pine, stained a mahogany color to match the other mahogany in the house. Except for floors and kitchen/bathroom cabinets, all of the wood (doors, windows, moulding, mantels, exterior louvers, hurricane shutters) are mahogany. The floors look great with the patina they've acquired over the years. We also have unstained oak on the main floor of the beach house, and it looks very nice, having withstood renters' abuse. When we build our next house, I will go with wood floors in the kitchen and main floor again.

I love that bamboo stuff, too. The salon where I have my hair done has bamboo floors, and they look great, even though they're in a high-traffic application.

However, because your other floors are oak, I'd go oak in the kitchen for consistency's sake. Linoleum scratches up with no nice patina, and tile is cold and hard on your feet IMO.

As far as countertops go, I like marble for your application because to me it looks old fashioned. I haven't warmed up to Formica yet.

 

[Paula]

We have antique heart pine, stained a mahogany color to match the other mahogany in the house. Except for floors and kitchen/bathroom cabinets, all of the wood (doors, windows, moulding, mantels, exterior louvers, hurricane shutters) are mahogany. The floors look great with the patina they've acquired over the years. We also have unstained oak on the main floor of the beach house, and it looks very nice, having withstood renters' abuse. When we build our next house, I will go with wood floors in the kitchen and main floor again.

I love that bamboo stuff, too. The salon where I have my hair done has bamboo floors, and they look great, even though they're in a high-traffic application.

However, because your other floors are oak, I'd go oak in the kitchen for consistency's sake. Linoleum scratches up with no nice patina, and tile is cold and hard on your feet IMO.

As far as countertops go, I like marble for your application because to me it looks old fashioned. I haven't warmed up to Formica yet.

Thanks, BR. I think you're right about the wood floors. I keep going back to that and they're not that much more expensive over other types of flooring. And it's a 1912 "prairie" bungalow style house, so wood floors would fit (though bungalows also traditionally used linoleum, but, like you, I prefer the wood). For the counters, marble seems a bit too high end for the cabinets I have now and the rest of the kitchen. Could look out of place. I figure in about 7-10 years I'll either redo the kitchen or, if I sell the house, someone else will tear out the kitchen and redo it. So, I don't want to do much with the countertops because it may be temporary anyway. I'm focusing on saving money for the kids' college while at the same time getting the house in shape so it will look good enough for a while. So, I'm making some careful calls on cost. Even a decorator I spoke with said there are some nice creative looks with formica now. (but I don't know what they are yet because I haven't started looking into it seriously now).

 

[DD]

Paula, I know we've talked about this...here's what I finally put on my countertops for the same reasons you listed...

Radiance™ Collection -- Finish Collection -- Formica? Laminate by Formica Group -- Hom#

I used the Smoke Quarstone. LOVE it. It sparkles a little. I think that's it in the photo at the top too.

 

[Matt J]

My two favorite counter tops are Dunelakers and BB's.

 

[Mango]

Paula, I know we've talked about this...here's what I finally put on my countertops for the same reasons you listed...

Radiance™ Collection -- Finish Collection -- Formica? Laminate by Formica Group -- Hom#

I used the Smoke Quarstone. LOVE it. It sparkles a little. I think that's it in the photo at the top too.

Love it.

Paula, do you know the condition of the floor underneath the linoleum? If it can be sanded down and it looks good, I say go for it. You can rent one of those sander machines. BR, you'd be surprised what they are doing with linoleum these days.
I just put down Konecto vinyl plank flooring in my rental that was 12 mm thick. If you reconsider linoleum again Paula, take a glimpse at the konecto on their site. They have a large selection of patinas for all style homes. I also purchased mine on the internet and got a fantastic deal.

http://www.konecto.com

 

[Matt J]

Welcome to Konecto.

 

[Mark Partington]

I'd go to a boat grave yard & cut the decking out for the countertop & urethane it--or spar varnish it. You could also commision an artist to do a design that fits your color scheme on mdo instead of mdf/w/formica.
I'd check that floor.--can ya get under the house to see how the underlayment is?
I have two ideas that'll get lifted on that floor-pm me.
m

 

[scooterbug44]

I vote for a wood floor and a laminate countertop (if you don't want to do stone).

Both have been thoroughly product tested for decades by yours truly! The white laminate kitchen counters at Grandmas are older than me!

Tile can be hard on the legs.

 

[Bob]

multi colored slate tiles for the countertop...6 inch tiles, charcoal sanded grout, triple seal the finished tiles