When making any updates to any home there is generally a question of “Do I want to be trendy or traditional?” So today we will examine Flooring Friday Trendy Versus Traditional.
A few follow up questions can help you easily obtain an answer.
Flooring Friday Trendy Versus Traditional
A good place to start is by asking yourself “Is what I am considering temporary or fairly permanent?”
A good example of something temporary is a throw pillow. It’s an easy update that is inexpensive. So, by all means, jump on board the trend train.
As most of us are aware of virtually any element in a home can be changed. Where it crosses the line into a fairly permanent decision is generally based on budget.
Projects that fall under the fairly permanent category tend to be high dollar. Kitchen and bath remodel as well flooring is fairly permanent. Most individuals would rather not want to redo a $5,000 – $50,000 remodeling mistake or change an element they simply have grown tired of after a short amount of time.
As much as I adore the kitchen pictured below I personally would probably grow weary of the busy floor tiles rather quickly. So it is best that I not install trendy encaustic cement tiles in my own home because it would not be cheap to change.
Consider the Architecture of your Home
It is also a good idea to consider the architecture of your home.
If you have a contemporary style home…
You are probably not going to choose an old world style floor for your kitchen.
In knowing that our home, Storybook Cottage, is reminiscent of a traditional English cottage I would personally steer clear of a modern terrazzo floor.
What elements of the current space are staying?
Also, consider “What elements of the current space are staying?”
In our case, the brick built in that houses a few cabinets and our range is staying.
It is a special focal point that adds warmth to the room.
With that, I personally would not install brick flooring. Because…
That would be A LOT of brick.
and
It would take away from the brick built in being a special feature.
With that, I looked at various kitchens with a similar feel and what flooring was paired with it.
Wood flooring is a popular choice to pair with the brick.
As is travertine…
…and ceramic.
Other Elements in the Space
So from there, I would look closely at those three selections.
Let’s consider the wood flooring option.
I like wood flooring in kitchens. If you look at my Pinterest kitchen board it is FULL of kitchens that feature wood floors.
But in going back to considering other elements in the space the kitchen is right next to the formal dining and living room, both of which have wood flooring.
If I were to choose wood flooring for the kitchen I would want to match it to our existing wood floors for a cohesive look.
The problem with this particular flooring is that we have already had issues with water damaging our wood floor. There was a small leak on a back door and the wood flooring right in front of the door was severely damaged.
So this type of wood flooring is probably not the best choice for a kitchen, laundry room and powder room as water is involved in all three areas. I don’t want to be in a position where I have to be super vigilant that every last drop of water must be immediately wiped up.
With brick and wood flooring options OFF of the table, it has now left us to consider travertine and ceramic tile.
Is trendy tile an option for us?
Perhaps. It all will boil down to what particular trend we consider.
This question will be answered in the next flooring post which will be on February 10th as a special event will be celebrated next Friday.
Are you trendy or traditional?
Laura
I don't know that I have a specific style. Our house is an eclectic mix of styles, consisting of a lot of hand-me-down furniture and items gifted to us. I like both traditional and trendy and tend to combine them both. As for the flooring, I'm not sure that I understand the water concerns with wood as we have wood (sealed) in our small kitchen/dining/living space and the laundry room is right off the kitchen and remains with old stained linoleum (it's the cat space and mud room between the garage and the kitchen so it is what it is). But we've gotten water spills on our kitchen floor (and cat spills) many times and it just wipes up and no issues. Of course, there's never been a big major water issue and if it were to occur to the water heater in the adjoining laundry room, it's doubtful it would reach the kitchen because of the hole in the floor next to the water heater (with a grid over it to the crawl space below), so the water would go there. I guess it just depends on the setting. 🙂
I'm sure whatever you end up choosing will look beautiful. That I know. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Linda
Oh I can't wait to see what you choose because I know it will be something fabulous.
We have engineered hardwood in our kitchen, which has held up pretty well so far. I love your brick built-in! A friend of mine had brick floors in her kitchen and loved them. I agree that brick wouldn't be an option for your kitchen, but I'd love to try that someday. Can't wait to see what you've decided 🙂
This is such a good series and somewhat timely for me, Laura, so thanks for the indepth look.
Sending heart hugs your way as you walk this journey with your beloved sweet boy.
I am transitional – in permanent efforts I am traditional and put my spin on decor elements leaning a little contemporary, a little olde world, a bit cottage and a taste of farmhouse – working cohesively with woodland hues and neutrals and always natural elements.
BUT if I had to chose one it would be classic traditional investments.
I dream of a little cottage in the woods.
I dream of a nautical tiny lake house.
I triple dream of a 200 year old French farmhouse…..
But the fact remains I live in an American suburb near a modern capital city, and so must fit in with our re-sale in mind. : – )
Laura, we put in hand scraped wood floors, which they did on site. We absolutely love them and they are so easy to maintain. We put travertine in all the bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room and the adjoining hall to the garage. Travertine was a major mistake for us as I like to use a steam cleaning mop on my tile floors. Travertine has to be sealed and the steamer takes the sealing off. We are thinking of selling so not going to replace the travertine, but our next house will not have travertine. I'm looking forward to your part 2 of this post. I love the kitchen in the first picture!