How to style engineered wood floors in your kitchen

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Engineered wood floors in your kitchen are a fabulous option. Not only do they look sophisticated, but they’re also sturdy and hard-wearing, and their clever design means they won’t move or buckle, even if your kitchen gets steamed up from cooking. Engineered wood floors are also one of the best types of flooring for underfloor heating, so you won’t have cold feet if you’re downstairs making a baby’s bottle in the middle of the night, or preparing breakfast on a winter’s morning.

What is engineered wood?

Engineered wood planks are created from seven to 10 layers of real wood, stuck together. They’re glued with the grain of each piece running in a different direction to the layer below. This makes each plank strong and long-lasting. The thicker the top layer, also known as the wear layer, then the more durable the plank is, and the better it will absorb sound. Clever, isn’t it?

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Engineered wood floors in kitchens pros and cons

Before you decide which type of hardwearing kitchen flooring to opt for, here’s a list of advantages and disadvantages to help you decide.

There are plenty of reasons to choose engineered wood flooring for your kitchen. They include:

Stunning good looks. Wood has been the preferred material for flooring for hundreds of years, and there’s no sign of it going anywhere.
Natural warmth: both in look and feel. Tiles might be a traditional option but they’re cold on the toes. Engineered wood in kitchens is warm to the touch and also creates an organic, calming atmosphere.
Easy to fit, and a doddle to keep looking good. Engineered wood is usually glued down or stapled to a wood or concrete subfloor. Sometimes, its planks are fixed to each other, called a ‘floating’ system, over an underlay
Even better than the real thing: hardwood may bow or bend, but engineered wood, with its layers, is even more hard-wearing than solid wood.
It offers a hard-wearing guarantee because those multiple layers going in different directions create a strong, sandwich effect.
Resistant to heat and moisture: unlike solid wood, you can use engineered wood flooring in places that get hot and humid, like conservatories, kitchens and bathrooms.
A green choice: the carbon footprint of engineered wood flooring is relatively low because it’s lighter in weight than solid wood, so it’s cheaper to transport, and uses less timber in its manufacture, so this is an environmentally conscious purchase.
Versatile: engineered wood flooring will enhance any room in your home.

Cons

We can’t really find any, but there are a few things to consider:

Choose a matte surface if you’re concerned about dents or scratches showing.
Think about whether your kitchen is close to the outdoors. If your back door opens onto the garage or the garden, just be careful not to track dirt or moisture in from outside.
Engineered wood flooring for kitchens is not a cheap and cheerful option. Just because this is made from layers of wood, it can be the same price as solid wood. But in our opinion, it’s worth it.

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How to style engineered wood floors in your kitchen

Giving your kitchen a full makeover is a major DIY project, so it’s best to spend a little time thinking about what you’d like to achieve and how much money you want to spend before you start measuring up. While you may not have the budget to completely remodel your kitchen with the latest smart oven or halogen hob, there’s plenty you can do to create a new look and feel. You could start by refreshing all the paintwork or improving the lighting.

For a quick change, how about replacing the handles on the cabinet unit doors, or buying a new work surface and taps? The biggest transformation, apart from buying brand-new furniture or appliances, will be creating attractive, hard-wearing kitchen flooring.

Go dark and dramatic

If you want to create an eye-catching kitchen, then style your floor in a bold and intense colour and keep your kitchen units in a similarly deep tone. Style this moody look with focused lighting, making sure that there aren’t any shady spots in the kitchen while you’re preparing food.

Or why not choose a striking contrast, with a dark floor and black work surfaces, and choose a lighter shade for the cabinets?

Classic herringbone

The style that never goes out of fashion and always looks fresh, herringbone engineered wood floors are arranged in a zig-zag pattern that’ll draw your eye to your gorgeous floor and give you that timeless V-shaped design. Tapi’s collection, which includes a warm hazel tone, is helpfully labelled for either ‘left’ or ‘right’ side fitting in a tongue-and-groove system.

Pale and interesting

Soft and golden shades add elegance and a peaceful atmosphere and also have the advantage of making the floor look larger. Style pale engineered wood flooring with cabinets and work surfaces in a warm shade, for a Japandi-inspired decor. Tapi’s collection of engineered wood is made with a top layer of oak, the hardest-wearing native wood there is.

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Maintaining engineered wood floors in your kitchen

Here are our top tips to keep the engineered wood flooring in your kitchen looking lovely for longer:

Give your engineered wood floor a brush with a broom every day to keep it in tip-top Tapi condition
If you have a spill, mop it up immediately with a damp cloth
If you buy engineered wood that needs to be oiled or lacquered, then make sure you schedule a time to do this regularly to protect your floor now and in the future
You can refinish engineered wood flooring. You sand down the top veneer, then stain it to a different colour. This works best if you go from pale to dark. It’ll give your kitchen a new lease of life without too much expense and inconvenience, and as it can be done a few times, it makes your initial investment in the floor even better value for money.

If you need any more information, we’ve compiled a useful guide on how to care for engineered wood flooring as well as a step-by-step guide on how to fit engineered wood flooring.

Post author

Jeremy Garrish Buyer Jeremy has 35 years of carpet industry knowledge

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Published: 01-12-2022

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