Kitchen floors experience a ton of traffic. They also face the brunt of hot food spills and sticky splashed drinks. It helps if the surface can safely handle moisture and quickly dissipate heat. It’s why tile is such a popular option for kitchen floors. It has all the advantages we’ve listed.
Plus, tile is so easy to clean. But what if you don’t have the time or budget to install kitchen tiles? Or maybe you just don’t want the fuss of installing ceramics. Vinyl kitchen flooring is a viable option, so let’s look at a few ideas you could try as you renovate your culinary space.
You might be worried that vinyl kitchen flooring looks fake compared to ceramic tiles. That’s why we’re starting with a close-up. As you can see, these vinyl tiles can authentically pass for ceramics. But because they’re plastic instead of clay, they won’t crack or chip and are way cheaper. Plus vinyl is ridiculously easy to clean – even easier than glossy ceramic surfaces!
Over time, hardwood floors acquire a tasteful patina. Some owners love that distressed look while others rush to sand it off. But those wooden floors are so high maintenance. And you can achieve the same effect with vinyl kitchen flooring. The panels used here simulate aged hardwood planks with none of the polishing or re-sealing. And it’s a noise muffler as well!
When you’re shopping for wood imitation materials, your focus is on realism. And this vinyl kitchen flooring definitely passes the test. You know it’s faux wood because the flooring is continuous. No seams or joints. And you know organic wood doesn’t come in such large sheets, so it has to be a synthetic substitute. But try telling your brain that floor is fake wood!
Vinyl kitchen flooring comes in different densities and grades. Sometimes the plastic is packaged into self-adhesive sheets and rolls that you can press by hand. Other ties, the vinyl is sliced into square tiles that take a little longer to set. Also, while wood-look vinyl is common in kitchens, stone-style vinyl kitchen flooring (like these slate tiles) can work too.
In the 60s and 70s. chevron motifs were popular. Especially in bold colors and strong shades. But a slight shift in hue can completely change the ambiance of a room. This vinyl kitchen flooring does have a chevron print, but this vinyl is a subtle, sand-colored selection that brightens the room and gives it a warm, open feel enhanced by the natural sunlight.
Oak floors are for the rich and famous. They can afford the extreme care, sealing, sanding, and polishing that keeps those floors pristine. Besides rich people have multiple homes so each one gets minimal traffic, meaning the floors last longer. For a pocket-friendly version, try this faux-oak vinyl kitchen flooring. It’s TLC’s Grizedale Oak from its True Forest series.
If you tell someone you want grey vinyl kitchen tiles, they might roll their eyes. It sounds dull and uninspiring. But this close-up of vinyl kitchen flooring proves otherwise. The grey has stone-styled gradients and striations that are aesthetically appealing. The vinyl sheets are cut into square and rectangular tiles, but the grids come in different sizes for visual variation.
Here’s the home of a practical person. They love organic designs but hate the maintenance headache. So they found stylish compromises all over the house. Instead of fussy brick backsplashes, they used glossy brick-pattern tiles in grey. These tiles are textured to mimic quarry stones. As for the vinyl kitchen floor, those linear grains subtly camouflage the seams.
Wood-imitation floors and stone-imitation ones often overlap. Especially in the vinyl kitchen flooring space. This kitchen has vinyl flooring printed with wood grain, but the color selection is closer to stone. With faux wood, you might want to mimic the effect of long 2x4s, but shorter sheets cost less. Here, the oblong vinyl sheets are aligned to simulate continuity.
When you’re working with wood-look vinyl, you want a linear effect. So even if you can’t see the seams between planks, you want the graining and knots to form distinguishable rows. But with stone-look vinyl, the focus is on grouting since this creates a mortar-like effect between the faux-stones. This vinyl kitchen flooring has faux-stone vinyl with white seams.
We’ve looked at several ways you can enhance the authenticity of your vinyl kitchen flooring. Here’s another sneaky trick – accessorize! Yes, that kitchen floor looks delightfully real, minus the fuss and splinters. But you can give the floor more street cred by piling wooden furniture on it. The painted wooden chairs and the nude tabletop aid your timber aesthetic.
A lot of us are drawn to gloss when it comes to flooring. Rich people from ‘old money’ might prefer a matte appearance, but the average person likes things that shine. So if you’re worried your vinyl kitchen flooring lacks that shimmer, check out this example. It’s just as shimmery as a true tile floor and if not for the blade, you wouldn’t know it’s not porcelain!
The more linear your vinyl kitchen flooring is, the more organic it looks. After all, those long oblong planks are designed to substitute floorboards, so you want some resemblance. But if authenticity isn’t a priority, you can try this type of styling. The printed grains follow a linear pattern that guides your eye, and you can barely spot the seams between individual planks.
Whether it’s a tap that was left running or a leak that sprung while the family was away, flooding is a homeowner’s nightmare. And while rubber boots may keep your feet comfy, the stress from redoing those wood floors could be lethal. Luckily, that’s vinyl kitchen flooring so the repair work is minimal. And don’t they look like floorboards? It’s an idea worth trying!
Marble surfaces can vastly increase your property value. But they also need a lot more care. So imagine combining marble and wood – the look is lovely … but can your budget take it? Consider a compromise – marble countertops and vinyl kitchen flooring. After all, it costs less to tile the floors than the countertops, and these wood-look floors are quite convincing.
Vinyl kitchen flooring can range from dirt cheap to mad expensive. And while you can’t always tell the price by looking, some vinyl tiles do look distinctly low-end. But even if your budget leaves you in the nosebleeds, you can make the floor look more luxurious by mixing the tiles into a cute hexagonal mosaic. The variety in color and visual texture adds style.
Marble is one of the most expensive versions of natural stone. And the bigger the slabs, the more they cost – meaning a wall or floor carved from a single block of stone could cost you a kidney. Smaller marble slabs and tiles are more affordable but need careful installation to keep the grain continuous. With vinyl kitchen flooring, you can get a similar marble effect.
Concrete floors have a rough, unfinished, industrial effect. They look Spartan and suggest someone with no interest in being fashionable. But if you want to merge practicality and affordability with a bare minimum of style, consider getting a semi-glossy faux-concrete sheet. It makes attractive vinyl kitchen flooring but lay it extra carefully to avoid air bubbles.
Vinyl floor mats are sold in rolls. So you can buy a small 4 by 6 section or you can get enough to cover an entire staircase. These mats are waterproof, but if moisture does slip under them, they can quickly get smelly and moldy, so wipe the underside regularly. In this kitchen, the mat maintains the black-and-white accents in the kitchen linens, crockery, and overall décor.
Earlier, we looked at a semi-glossy concrete print vinyl sheet. While the effect is seamless, installing a single sheet is more labor-intensive than mounting separate tiles, grids, or blanks because there’s more room for error. You’d have to press the sheets down inch by inch to avoid air pockets. Here’s a similar vinyl kitchen flooring treatment, but the sheet is matte.
Unlike vinyl siding, vinyl kitchen floors are prone to scratching and denting. But if you choose textured vinyl like the one used here, any scrapes or damage will look like wood grain. So it’ll make the flooring material seem more authentic. In addition to grains and knots, these vinyl sheets have saw-marks and machine-etchings printed onto them. Nice!
One of the most common ways to style any floor is to use square tiles in alternating colors. This floor has white, grey, and black tiles. But rather than individual tiles, this vinyl kitchen flooring using a single continuous sheet of pre-printed vinyl. You can tell by the loose folds gathered at the edges of the kitchen. Be careful to maintain the pattern at overlapping spots.
Unless you’re an expert, it can be hard to differentiate linoleum (wood composite sheets) from vinyl (plastic composite sheets). And you can easily interchange them, so old linoleum floors are often updated by replacing them with vinyl sheets. In this old house, the rest of the house has linoleum floors, but the kitchen extension uses mint green vinyl kitchen flooring.
We all have styling preferences. You might like plain blocks of color. Or maybe you enjoy busy mixed prints. This homeowner is clearly the latter. The kitchen has at least three hectic textures – the kitchen counter has vibrant wood grain, the backsplash is a mottled tile mosaic, and while the vinyl kitchen flooring is symmetrical, it’s a bustling mix of shapes.
Dark décor doesn’t have to be creepy or gloomy. It can actually look quite elegant, as you can see here. This kitchen has massive amounts of storage, with semi-glossy black cabinets filling up every surface. The fraction of the wall that is visible has faded black paint coating its concrete blocks. And the vinyl kitchen flooring has gorgeously ‘washed out’ black vinyl tiles.
The exterior surfaces of a house are often tactile while the interior ones are smooth. But even on flat walls and floors, you might want to introduce visual texture. Check out the tiles in this vinyl kitchen flooring. They persuasively copy the effect of chisel-chipped quarry stones. But because the floors are flat and non-porous, you can effortlessly keep the vinyl dust-free.
Square grid floors are defined by the size of the tiles. Bigger squares create an elegant, spacious look while small squares can look cheap and rushed. If you don’t mind the effect (or if you have small kids that might be distracted by playing checkers on the floor), consider low-cost grid-patterned vinyl kitchen flooring. You can change colors to match your theme.
When you look at finished vinyl kitchen flooring, you may be unclear about what goes into it. Here’s a work-in-progress to show you exactly what you’re getting. On the surface, it looks just like genuine floorboards. And if it’s laid as carefully as this floor, you can’t even see the seams. The vinyl sheet is ultra-thin so it can be installed and ready for use in a day or two.
Open-plan kitchens are a standard part of modern homes. But even if your living room flows into your cooking area, a bit of visual separation can be useful. It psychologically makes your house feel bigger. In this home, the vinyl kitchen flooring using the same material as the living room. But the kitchen is gray faux-concrete and the couch is on nude faux-wood vinyl.
For those who like that seamless look in their vinyl kitchen flooring, bold colors could be the solution. They don’t pretend to be wood, stone, or concrete – they just focus on being gorgeous and grand. This floor is finished with a single vinyl sheet in a vivid shade of purple. The floating kitchen cabinets make it easier to install (and clean) the flooring underneath.
At the other extreme, you may want vinyl kitchen flooring that has complex motifs and patterns. This one has a gradient of grays with geometric patterns that create a 3D effect. It might be disorienting after a loud night out, but it can be meditative if you zone out while staring at the floor. But that fractal effect makes the kitchen look a lot bigger than it is.
You can see bits of raw wood everywhere. It’s in the half-a** high stools, the countertop and open shelf ledges, the floating garden, and the displayed collection of cutting boards. But while dark-colored hardwood floors are shorthand for old-world elegance, lighter woods suggest a modern aesthetic. And those accents complement the nude vinyl kitchen flooring.
When your vinyl kitchen flooring is designed to represent wood, stone, or brick, the textural details are focused on realism. But when you’re more interested in visual décor, the print can be more intricate and abstract. These vinyl flooring sheets have minuscule motifs in different shapes and patterns. It’s grey ink on an understated white background, but it’s quite ornate.
What’s your favorite vinyl kitchen flooring idea? Show us photos in the comments section!
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