Stone or wood floors for LR/Dining/Kitchen

14 years ago

I have an open concept living/dining/kitchen and I would like to replace the existing standard grade beige ceramic tiles with something much nicer. I would guess the total square feet of the area to be covered at about 600 sq feet.

I absolutely love the look and warmth of wood, but I am concerned about scratching. I have BR-111 engineered Tigerwood in my bedroom, and after only 5 years or so, it is scratched and nicked up horribly. I don't know if that type of wood is inherently soft or if I got a low grade. I don't want a repeat of what happened in that room. Especially since I live alone and am not really hard on the floors.

Is there a type of wood that is not going to get all these scratches and gouges with normal everyday living? Or should I go with some type of natural stone? I love those marble floors Sarah Richardson uses in her kitchens and bathrooms but I'm not sure if that is appropriate for a living room. I really feel upgrading the floor will really elevate the look of my house. No matter how nice the furniture, the fact it sits on builder grade ceramic with impossible to clean grout lines really cheapens everything.

If I were to go with wood, it would probably have to be engineered since I have a concrete slab. One thing I hate about the Tigerwood in the bedroom is how red-orange it turned in the light. I want something that is a true brown without orange tones that isn't too dark and without crazy graining. I want something classic like a light walnut. I don't want a dark floor as I understand it shows every speck of dirt and accentuates every nick or scratch. I also understand that a shiny finish should be avoided for the same reasons.

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Comments (6)

chickadee2_gw
14 years ago
Personally, I prefer wood because it's warmer and softer underfoot, and in my part of the country ( Mid-Atlantic ) it would be very unusual to have tile in the living room. I was looking at engineered wood for my outdoor studio, and there are lots of colors to choose from so you should be able to find what you like. I can't use regular hardwood flooring because my studio won't always be heated, and after reading about the engineered floors over in the flooring forum, I don't think they will work for me there either. I'm only going to use the heat and air conditioning when I'm out there, so the humidity wouldn't be controlled and the floor companies won't honor the warranties under my conditions. From what I've read over at the flooring forum, if you do decide to go with engineered floors be sure the floors are installed properly. There's a certain amount of time the boards should be in your house to get acclimatized and the installer should do a special test for moisture or humidity before they're installed. I'm not familiar with Tigerwood so I don't know if it's a hard or soft wood. The hardness level of the wood might have something to do with the gouges you're seeing. Maybe the thickness of the veneer plays a part too. With wooden floors it's best to have carpets and to use carpet runners on throw rugs in high traffic areas.
forhgtv
14 years ago
One of my favorite products is wood-look ceramic tile. It really does look like wood until you touch it, but it wears and cleans like tile without grout lines. If you Google "wood-look tile," you will see many sites where you can read about it. A friend installed it throughout the main floor of her house and I was amazed at how good it looks.
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mjsee
14 years ago
Wood. Particularly in the kitchen. Standing on a stone (or concrete) floor is hard on one's back and knees. Plus--if one drops something ceramic/glass on a wood floor it has a fighting chance. Stone? CRASH.
User
14 years ago
I would say it may have been the grade or type of wood you had installed. Engineered wood is basically a veneer and is quite thin where as 3/4 inch planks may hold up better. We have prefinished oak in our living room, hallways and pantry and Brazilian walnut in our dining room and kitchen. After five years there is hardly a scratch anywhere.

The walnut is solid dark wood completely through the plank so even if it does get scratched, you can't see it.

Even though you've had a bad experience with the tiger wood, I wouldn't let that scare you from trying any of it again. Just try a different product. The beauty with 3/4 inch planks is if or when it's ever needed, they can be resanded and stained 3-4 times before having to be replaced.
jockewing
Original Author
14 years ago
Lukk, is the 3/4 inch an engineered product or solid wood? From what I understand you can't put solid wood directly on a concrete subfloor. I don't know how much is involved in putting in a substrate floor if that is necessary.

Does anyone have recommendations for a really nice looking stone if that is the route I go? Don't like slate, so I know that's out.
User
14 years ago
No it's not an engineered wood, most people I know who have put 3/4 inch wood over concrete have lifted the floor by framing it in and laying down a sub floor down. It's not for everyone or labor intensive, but the results are beautiful floors.

Some nice stone tile options are Travertine or Limestone. Another option that I feel would look beautiful with the room you've posted pics of is stained concrete.