The 10 Best Flooring Options For Your Kitchen

What’s the best flooring for kitchens? 

Tile and vinyl can’t be the only options, right? What about hardwood or laminate? Does the best kitchen flooring really have to be waterproof? Are there workarounds? 

If you’re here, you have questions. And we have answers! Below, we’ve put together a full breakdown of 10 of our favorite kitchen flooring choices.

Let’s get started!

The Best Flooring for Kitchens: 10 Great Options

As you can imagine, there are many types of flooring that can be installed in a kitchen! Here’s a quick breakdown of our favorites. 

Oh, and to be clear, we’re not necessarily ranking the options below, as each offers features that will appeal to different buyers.

#1. Luxury Vinyl Plank/Tile (LVP/LVT)

Luxury vinyl is a multilayered form of PVC flooring that’s incredibly durable, fully waterproof, and generally inexpensive to buy and install—especially compared to classic options like solid hardwood. It comes in both plank (LVP) and tile (LVT) forms, which offer convincing wood or stone looks, respectively. 

Upgraded versions of LVP that use an enhanced core layer, usually called EVP or rigid core luxury vinyl flooring, are especially durable and should have no trouble standing up to daily wear and tear in a busy kitchen. 

Note: for this article, it’s safe to assume that anytime we mention LVP we’re also talking about LVT

Pros of Using Luxury Vinyl as Kitchen Flooring

LVP is an early contender for the best flooring for kitchen crown because it’s just so darn hardy. 

It’s completely waterproof and mimics hardwood very well. 

Plus, options like WPC flooring are incredibly comfortable too! 

Cons of Using Luxury Vinyl as Kitchen Flooring

The only big disadvantage of vinyl plank flooring is that it’s not very eco-friendly (it’s plastic) and not all brands are created equal. There’s a lot of junk on the market, unfortunately. 

#2. Tile

Like LVP, tile is versatile, durable, and fully waterproof. It’s been a staple of kitchen flooring for millennia, and for good reason.

Types of Tile Flooring

Most types of tile are made from ceramic, porcelain, or stone.

• Porcelain tile is made of refined clay which is fired in a kiln at an extremely high temperature—resulting in enhanced durability, minimal water absorption, and high stain resistance. It’s a great all-around choice for kitchen flooring that shouldn’t break your budget.

• Ceramic tile is made of less-refined clay than porcelain, which means it’s not as resistant to water and staining (which isn’t necessarily a problem)—but it also tends to be cheaper, more rustic, and more slip-proof.
• Natural stone tile can be made from a variety of materials like granite or limestone (on the cheaper side) and onyx or marble towards the higher end of the spectrum. The type of stone used to create the tile will determine its characteristics so there’s a lot of variation in terms of performance.

Pros of Using Tile as Kitchen Flooring 

Porcelain, ceramic, and most types of stone tile are absolutely fantastic choices if you need scratch-resistant flooring. Beyond that, most tile flooring is hardy and resistant to everyday wear and tear—and best of all, it’s waterproof.

Tile flooring also tends to be eco-friendly, at least in the sense that it’s usually naturally sourced. 

And if you want the easiest tile to install, you can’t go wrong with snap-together tile flooring!

Cons of Using Tile as Kitchen Flooring

On the downside, tile flooring repels water, which can make it slippery (especially slicker types like porcelain and polished stone)

It’s also pretty unforgiving on your joints and back, so if you’re one to run around your kitchen all day, you might want something a little softer.

#3. Engineered Hardwood

You might be surprised to see hardwood on this list because it’s not generally supposed to get wet—a quality that isn’t ideal for kitchen flooring, obviously. But as it turns out, engineered hardwood is a great kitchen flooring choice!

So what is engineered hardwood? Instead of using a solid plank of wood, engineered hardwood attaches a veneer of real hardwood to a slab of oriented strand board or plywood. This makes the product more dimensionally stable. 

Or in other words, it’s less prone to warping and cracking with environmental changes or spills. In fact, most types of waterproof hardwood flooring are engineered. 

All that’s to say, engineered wood can absolutely be installed in kitchens.

Pros of Using Engineered Hardwood as Kitchen Flooring

The best engineered wood flooring brands make products that resist water damage and environmental changes quite well. And since they’re made of real wood, these products aren’t lacking in authenticity.

Cons of Using Engineered Hardwood as Kitchen Flooring

There are only two major engineered wood disadvantages: 

• The cost of wood flooring is steep
• Even waterproof options can only survive liquid spills for so long. 

If your kitchen flooring is going to take a messy beating, you’re going to have to subscribe to a rigorous maintenance schedule to preserve engineered wood floors.

#4. Laminate

Though it can technically be made to look like anything, laminate flooring is mostly sold as a less expensive substitute for hardwood flooring.

For kitchen flooring, it’s absolutely critical that you choose water-resistant or waterproof laminate flooring because standard laminate products will literally disintegrate with exposure to liquids. 

Pros of Using Laminate as Kitchen Flooring

The cost to install laminate flooring is often a fraction of what it costs to install real hardwood. 

Plus, there are non-toxic laminate flooring options for those who are sensitive to harsh chemicals!

Cons of Using Laminate as Kitchen Flooring

There are also reasons to avoid installing laminate for kitchen flooring. 

If a section gets damaged, it is often difficult to repair without replacing the entire plank, and matching the color and pattern can be challenging if the style is discontinued.

Laminate floors can also be quite slippery when wet, posing a safety hazard. Additionally, laminate flooring is sensitive to heat and may warp or discolor if exposed to high temperatures near ovens or other heat sources.

#5. Sheet Vinyl

If you’re on a budget, sheet vinyl is one of the best kitchen flooring options that won’t break the bank. 

As the original PVC flooring choice, single-layer sheet vinyl had its heyday back in the 1960s and ‘70s, but has survived through the invention of modern LVP to floor homes everywhere. 

Like all waterproof vinyl flooring, sheet vinyl has no problems with liquids or (most) stains. And while it’s not nearly as durable as LVP, it’s significantly cheaper.

Pros of Using Sheet Vinyl as Kitchen Flooring

The best things going for sheet vinyl are its cost and its waterproofing. This flooring isn’t really intended to be flashy. 

There are some wood looks (we wouldn’t speak for their authenticity) but for the most part, sheet vinyl sticks to tile or geometric patterns. In other words, sheet vinyl is a great option for budget buyers who want decent kitchen flooring.

Cons of Using Sheet Vinyl as Kitchen Flooring

Even the best sheet vinyl flooring will probably only last a few decades or so. It’s durable enough to handle light traffic without issue but anything more will probably tear it up over time.

Sheet vinyl is also kind of hard to install without proper training. You have to cut it to size and carefully lay it down on your subflooring so as to avoid any bubbles or wrinkles. Have you ever put a screen protector on a phone? It’s like that, but for your entire floor. Not fun.

#6. Concrete

Concrete is a dark horse contender for the best flooring for kitchens because it’s cheap, easy to clean, extremely durable, and waterproof.

Pros of Using Concrete as Kitchen Flooring

With some exceptions, concrete is fairly inexpensive to buy and install as kitchen flooring. More than that, it’s supremely durable and waterproof. 

Barring a shift in your foundation or some other disaster, concrete flooring can last indefinitely.

Cons of Using Concrete as Kitchen Flooring

Concrete flooring offers absolutely no comfort. So, it’s going to be tough on your feet, joints, and back. 

Also, you can’t really go out and buy concrete flooring; you have to DIY it. Now, it doesn’t require that much skill, but if you’ve never worked with concrete before or don’t necessarily trust your creative skills, the trouble may not make up for the low cost.

Oh, and if it didn’t go without saying, you can’t really install concrete over a non-concrete subfloor.

#7. Cork

Cork—yes, the very same material capping your wine bottles—is a natural, wood-like substance extracted from cork trees that’s commonly used for insulation and, ironically, underlayments for flooring. 

When used for flooring, cork is ground up, boiled, and combined with natural resins before being shaped into tiles, sheets, or even planks that mimic the style of hardwood. 

Pros of Using Cork as Kitchen Flooring

Cork flooring is sustainably sourced and produced, which generally makes it eco-friendly flooring.

Cork also has a nice springy feeling to it that’ll benefit anyone who runs marathons in their kitchen. It can be styled many different ways and so long as it’s properly sealed, remains water-resistant and durable.

Cons of Using Cork as Kitchen Flooring

Cork has to be maintained regularly. A little bit of moisture won’t destroy it, but if the protective seal isn’t reapplied regularly, it’ll completely disintegrate with exposure to liquids. 

This protective coating also shields cork kitchen flooring from everyday wear and tear, so if you fail to apply the sealant, the floor will start falling apart.

Lastly, cork’s—let’s say unorthodox—appearance doesn’t appeal to all buyers either, which may hurt resale value.

#8. Solid Hardwood

You read that right. You can install solid hardwood in your kitchen. 

Is it the easiest or most convenient option? Ehh. 

But: if you’re very careful and maintain it regularly, it could absolutely be done.  Plus, there are plenty of coatings that can turn ordinary solid hardwood floors into (relatively) water-resistant wood flooring.

Pros of Using Solid Hardwood as Kitchen Flooring

There’s so much you can do with hardwood. From wide-plank wood flooring to parquet flooring, solid hardwood offers no shortage of beautiful design options. 

Many hardwood species used for flooring, like hickory or oak, also have some degree of natural water resistance (meaning a spill isn’t lethal so long as you clean it quickly).

Cons of Using Solid Hardwood as Kitchen Flooring

And here’s where things get dicey. If you like to cook, your kitchen flooring needs to be able to handle the daily rigors that come with it. Spills, heavy foot traffic, temperature swings, and more all have an effect on your flooring. 

To counter this, you need to maintain solid hardwood kitchen flooring very well—and you’ll probably need to refinish and/or repair it more frequently than if it were in your living room. 

#9. Bamboo

Bamboo flooring is definitely in the same category as solid hardwood. You can install it in your kitchen, but you still need to be careful with liquids and environmental changes.

Otherwise, bamboo is a great alternative to hardwood because it can achieve many of the same looks with a softer hit on the environment.

Pros of Using Bamboo as Kitchen Flooring

The main reason buyers choose bamboo flooring over hardwood is because it’s the more environmentally friendly flooring choice (at least on paper). 

Bamboo flooring behaves very similarly to hardwood, but it can be harvested every few years versus every few decades—which also means it’s mostly, if not completely, natural.

Cons of Using Bamboo as Kitchen Flooring

Like hardwood, you need to clean, maintain, and even refinish bamboo flooring regularly. Unlike hardwood, bamboo flooring isn’t abundant. So it’s not exactly cheap.

Beyond that, bamboo is a solid choice for kitchen flooring.

#10. Linoleum

And finally, we arrive at our last candidate for the best kitchen flooring crown: linoleum. 

Made from (mostly) natural materials, linoleum is sometimes compared to laminate as a sort of nemesis, and is often confused with sheet vinyl because they look and feel relatively similar.

Pros of Using Linoleum as Kitchen Flooring

Linoleum’s best features sound a lot like vinyl’s: it can mimic other floors, it’s durable, and it’s affordable. Unlike synthetic flooring though, linoleum is biodegradable and can be produced sustainably. Plus, you can seal it (much like cork) to improve its water resistance.

Cons of Using Linoleum as Kitchen Flooring

The fact that linoleum isn’t water-resistant without being sealed means that whatever money you’re saving on its cost is going towards extra installation steps. And installing linoleum without that protection may result in ruined kitchen flooring.

More than that, linoleum is getting harder to find (currently, at least). The popularity of other types of floors has forced linoleum to the backburner, and in doing so, has limited the number of styles available.