Is oak flooring in a kitchen a practical proposition? This is probably one of the most common questions we are asked by our customers. And rightly so. When you are investing in a new floor for your kitchen (often considered the most important room in your home) you want to make sure that you are making the right choice. We wanted to write this article to shed some light on the suitability of oak flooring in a kitchen, how to protect your oak flooring in a kitchen and alternative flooring choices for your kitchen.

What to expect: Kitchens and Oak Flooring

Whilst oak flooring is one of the stronger and more durable wood flooring options, it is still softer than a tiled floor and as such will be susceptible to scratches, dents and dings. Kitchen floors are faced with spills of all kinds and the occasional drop of a dish or utensil while cooking. So, if you prefer a pristine or highly polished look, we suggest veering away from choosing oak flooring for your kitchen. However, if your home celebrates a relaxed, casual environment, any dings and dents on your oak floor might take on over time can play up the charm of a well-loved and oft-used kitchen.

We often suggest opting for a natural toned oak for high traffic areas such as kitchen, for example our Dijon Gris Engineered Oak or Origin Engineered Oak. Both are natural toned oaks tend to hide the wear and tear better than a light or dark coloured floor.

How to Protect your Oak Floor in a Kitchen.

Following the recommended cleaning and maintenance guide provided from your flooring supplier is key to keeping your oak flooring looking beautiful for years to come. We have produced cleaning and maintenance guides for each of our oak flooring collections. These guides are full of useful information including an Equipment Checklist, a Step-by-Step guide on how to clean your floor and advice on repairing and refreshing your floor.  We also stock all the cleaning and maintenance products referenced in these guides, available for purchase from our Forteviot office.

For areas where there is direct access to the outdoors, the installation of an integrated Coir Mat is a great solution to mitigate dirt and grit tracked onto your oak floor.

You could also use rugs in the high traffic areas of the kitchen, such as in front of the hob or between the island and the working area of the kitchen. There are a couple of things to note about rugs and oak flooring however:

  • Rugs should be removed occasionally to let the wood underneath to equalize in colour with the rest of the floor.
  • If you have underfloor heating, opt for a thinner rug made with natural materials (i.e wool, jute or bamboo). Your floor could get damaged by placing thick rugs on top of your wood flooring, as the heat could build up and cause ‘hot spots’ causing delamination.

It is also important to use floor protectors underneath furniture and chairs (bar stools are often the prime culprit for scratching). You can use sticky felt pads, that simply stick to the chair or table leg.

Last but by no means least, it is important to wipe up any spill, food or puppy accident from the floor as quickly as possible. The longer these accidents sit on the floor the more likely there will be lasting damage.

It is important to know that marks, stains and scratches are all normally repairable. We always tell our customers to simply enjoy your floor, look after it as much as you can, and if you need advice about damage on your floor speak to us!

Alternatives to Oak Flooring

Whilst we all appreciate the beauty of oak flooring, sometimes opting for the ‘maintenance’ free choice is far more appealing. Wood effect porcelain tiles are a fantastic alternative to oak flooring and believe us when we say some of the products out would fool even us that they were the real thing!

We have a large collection of wood effect porcelain options, of which we have hand selected the best wood effect tiles on the market. Choose from ultra wide, ultra long planks, herringbone tiles and opulent cassettes. Browse our ‘Wood effect Porcelain tile’ collection for yourself here.

To summarise…

Like everything, to make a well considered choice you need to weigh up the suitability of oak for your kitchen floor. Oak flooring in a kitchen has its pros and its cons, and it will come down to how you live in your home and how invested you are in maintaining your oak floor correctly.

If you are still unsure about whether oak flooring in your kitchen is the right choice for you, speak to us! We have over two decades of experience working with clients and helping them choose the perfect floor for them.