At one time I was considering a limestone floor for my kitchen (and laundry room and a bathroom). I asked about limestone flooring in this thread. I received some excellent feedback. I ended up going with honed slate due to my significant other's preference and my concern over etching. As I understand, "any natural stone" doesn't necessarily etch. But calcite based stones such as limestone and marble will etch if they come in contact with acids. I would recommend picking up a sample and testing it to see if it etches, scratches, stains etc. I would probably apply some sealer first. That way you can see if the material suits your needs.

I have a limestone tile floor in my vacation house kitchen. Mine is Jerusalem stone which is, as I recall, one of the harder varieties of limestone. I love it. No maintenance issues--though it being a vacation house, it is lightly used. Spills just wipe up (we have it well sealed). Ours is a rustic finish, and have noticed no etching. I have polished marble flooring in a bathroom, which does show some etches, but even on a polished surface, they are hard to see on a floor, just because of the viewing angle.

Softer limestones scratch and chip very easily. I would be careful to determine how hard the particular stone is, especially if you will be sliding chairs or stools on it.

Worst case, limestone can be refinished in place, which I learned while during construction the people who installed our cabinets decided (unfortunately) to remove the covering we put down to protect the floor with a box-cutter. We had scoring all over the floor from this and had to refinish the whole thing! If that could be fixed, you should have no worries repairing any damage, should it some to that--so nice to know you have a safety net if the worst happens!

One other thing to consider, unless you live in a warm climate: stone is cold. We put a heat mat under our limestone floor, and in the wintertime, I am so glad we did that.

I have a limestone kitchen floor and for the most part I'm happy. Mine is leathered...sort of half-way between honed and polished. Couple of points: Keep it sealed. LImestone is very porous and it will stain . IN the first six months, it got several stains from blueberries...but I will say that after 4 months of cleaning it with Bona stone floor cleaner they have more or less disappeared. And it will scratch more easily than a porcelain or ceramic tile look alike. Not tons of scratches from everyday use, but take good care dragging anything across the floor. I've got a couple of big deep scratches from someone doing something foolish like that.

Finally, if you are buying anything discontinued buy a lot extra to deal with anything that might happen...twice as much as you think you might ever need. I bought Egyptian tile that had been discontinued and was being sold at an auction. Through a series of unfortunate events, I've spent most of the last 6 Saturdays hunting something that would come close to matching my tile (the extra I bought was used up in the first screw-up...none left for the second screw up a year later.) I (fingers crossed) have finally been able to locate some at the warehouse in Cairo and it's being sent. But....until I see it, I won't rest easy.

Here's a pic of mine, by the way. I do love how it looks.

Limestone in general makes fine floors. It is porous and does etch, so it depends on what you want your kitchen floor to look like. I have polished marble tile in my entry. I was bringing in groceries, and dropped a large bottle of blueberry juice. By the time I got all of the glass up, the floor had been etched in a spatter pattern, which drives me crazy. None of the incidental mars did, but the spatter pattern looks to much like a cartoon character bit it right there.

Because of the high traffic in a kitchen and likelihood of this kind of accidents, your best bet is to get some samples and torture them, and make sure that you really like what you'd be getting.

There is no such thing as bulletproof limestone. About the only natural stone that I'd term "bulletproof" would be the darker granites like Uba Tuba, Blue Pearl, Cambrian Black, Dakota Red, etc. They're too slippery for a floor, and being dark, they show footprints and dust pretty badly.

Marble is metamorphic limestone and is a harder and more durable stone. If you couldn't live with marble floors, you can't live with limestone. Limestone IS pretty----IF you don't mind the patina of scratches, etches, and stains that will occur. Sealing it well will help to keep it from being stained, but that won't help a thing with the scratches and etches.

I have limestone in my kitchen and laundry room and love it. It's really soft and smooth on bare feet, hides dirt well and easy to clean. I haven't had any stains yet, but did have a lot of turkey grease leak under the range undetected for weeks, and it cleaned right up with soap and water. Mine was sealed twice before we walked on it.

Just in case it hasn't been made clear, your tile store people are ignorant. Make your own choice based on your own research. When they speak to you, just smile without listening.

I don't know why my post always seem to show up twice!
Get a few sample tiles to beat up before you decide. But really, limestone is so beautiful, and every flooring requires a certain amount of care. I only mop once a week, and you can avoid stains if you wipe up spills right away. I also have marble counters and just discovered, tonight, a rusty ring from the cast iron pan I washed this morning. A little scrub with a green pad, and no lasting damage. If you end up using it, post some photos.

There are a few kitchens on FKB with limestone floors. Search for elizpiz finished kitchen. I think she has heated limestone floors.

We inherited an unfinished, very rustic limestone with our 10 year old beautiful European style home. The tile edges are purposely chipped for looks and the grout line is about 3/4 inches wide. Tiles have a rough surface with lots of indentions and holes. This is a terrible floor for the kitchen. Dirt and gunk from normal use and food prep get in the indentions and are impossible to remove. Grease that get on the floor soaks in and I can't get it off. Because of the rough surface it must be vacuumed. Web sites recommend steam cleaning to kill germs, but it doesn't remove much grime. I think it was probably sealed when installed, but never redone. I'll probably have to have it professionally cleaned and resealed. I'm told by some of my neighbors who have had to do this, it is a costly and messy job. I also have it on my bathroom floor and in the shower. Oils from soaps and shampoos soak right in and can't be removed WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? I love my house, but if I had known of the maintenance problems that came with the floor, I would have never purchased it. And I am definitely not a clean freak. Please take into consideration the ongoing upkeep of cleaning and resealing and whether or not you're ready to make that commitment just so it will look pretty. Another thought, if you have young ones, try to imagine how the floor would feel to their knees to crawl around on. They look pretty, but to me, limestone floors are definitely not worth the trouble. I'd never do it again.

Are your floors sealed, quzy? Sounds like what I have, but ours is travertine. It is sealed and almost 9yo. I don't steam often, don't have problems with gunk and no stains. We have honed limestone counters in 4 bathrooms, also sealed, and haven't had issues with staining.

We had a rumbled travertine out in our kitchen remodel. It is a pain. Within a year I had to have it professionally cleaned. Was told to NEVER mop as that just gets the dirt stuck in the holes. Instead, vacuum very well and spot clean. That is what I do now. Then every 2 or 3 months, I vacuum real well, then taking a yard by yard section at a time, scrub with a stiff brush in a circular motion using nothing but water, and then use a very powerful hand vac to suck up the water—this keeps the dirt from staying in the holes. This has worked very well. However, I will never ever choose travertine again.