Which Kitchens Go With What Flooring?
How to pick the best kitchen materials, styles and colours for polished concrete, timber and tiled floors
Before you pick the kitchen of your dreams and reach deep in your pocket to pay for it, it pays to think through how it will look once installed with your flooring as a backdrop. Some kitchens can look great in the showroom or in professionally shot photos, but it can be disappointing once you see the same kitchen come into being in your own home. The problem can be that the colours and materials that pair well with timber floorboards can pale into blandville when polished concrete or tiles come into play, or that the to-die-for timber kitchen you fell in love with clashes in a major way with the tones in your timber floors. These inspirational kitchens will guide you in the right direction.
This kitchen’s largely black and white colour palette is fabulous, but it’s even more fabulous thanks to the softening effect of plywood.
Tip: Natural timber works brilliantly with polished concrete, but black gives it depth and drama – add it with abandon.
Bonus tip: When it comes to appliances, stainless steel is a natural pairing for concrete floors. Concerned about the streaks? Consider black appliances instead.
Tip: Natural timber works brilliantly with polished concrete, but black gives it depth and drama – add it with abandon.
Bonus tip: When it comes to appliances, stainless steel is a natural pairing for concrete floors. Concerned about the streaks? Consider black appliances instead.
Timber isn’t the only way to bring warmth into a polished concrete zone. The warm tones in exposed brick can do the work for you, and bring a raw, industrial edge to the space. Black and timber still make an appearance in this Melbourne kitchen, but the brick steals the show.
If you’d prefer a sleek design without timber or brick dominating the scene, consider colour as a way to stop concrete from making the space feel cold. Yellow, red, and orange are fail-proof choices – concrete floors provide a great neutral backdrop for bright colours to shine. Introduce colour in the form of kitchen stools and accessories and you can easily transform the look when you need a change.
“The Biggest Kitchen Design Blunder You Could Make…”
“The Biggest Kitchen Design Blunder You Could Make…”
If you’re convinced a sleek, white kitchen is still for you, you’ll need to bring it down to earth for it to work well with concrete. Even small touches of natural timber can prevent it from feeling sterile – in this case, the stools, bread board and wooden spoons.
Tip: Displaying fruit, leafy herbs and flowers can breathe life into any kitchen, no matter how minimalist or industrial its design.
Tip: Displaying fruit, leafy herbs and flowers can breathe life into any kitchen, no matter how minimalist or industrial its design.
Timber flooring
The beauty of timber flooring is that pretty much anything goes. Go as sleek or traditional as you like with your kitchen design, and stick with one colour all the way if that’s what floats your boat.
How to Incorporate Timber Into Your Kitchen
The beauty of timber flooring is that pretty much anything goes. Go as sleek or traditional as you like with your kitchen design, and stick with one colour all the way if that’s what floats your boat.
How to Incorporate Timber Into Your Kitchen
Pairing timber in your kitchen with timber floors doesn’t have the same cringe factor as denim on denim. Blocks of white prevent timber overload in this kitchen, and the touches of timber in shelving, artwork frames, and stools tie the whole look together. Just be sure the tones of timber flooring and timber used in the kitchen don’t clash. Using grey-toned timber or plywood in the kitchen, for example, can make a warm-toned floor look too golden.
Tip: Bring a little depth to a white kitchen by painting the walls behind open-shelving black. Bring balance to the space by adding black elsewhere – in this case, with the black rug beneath the dining table and the dining chairs.
Tip: Bring a little depth to a white kitchen by painting the walls behind open-shelving black. Bring balance to the space by adding black elsewhere – in this case, with the black rug beneath the dining table and the dining chairs.
Timber flooring gives you just the excuse you need to introduce a little luxury into your life. Marble (or marble-look) benchtops and splashbacks take your kitchen upmarket.
Tip: Solid timber floors have many pros, including their ability to be retained and refinished during a renovation, adding warmth, beauty and value to a home. However, they do require regular maintenance to keep them looking their best, which can seem like a bit of a con to some homeowners.
Tip: Solid timber floors have many pros, including their ability to be retained and refinished during a renovation, adding warmth, beauty and value to a home. However, they do require regular maintenance to keep them looking their best, which can seem like a bit of a con to some homeowners.
Laminate flooring
While there is a fair amount of contention about whether or not laminate floors are suitable for the kitchen, they do seem to be a perennial favourite, particularly wood-look laminate, for those with budgetary concerns.
With the high-quality finishes now available in laminate, it’s generally quite difficult to tell the difference between wood-look and genuine wood. Because of this, the same colour- and material-pairing rules apply here as with real timber flooring: pretty much anything goes, as long as you’re not using clashing timber tones.
While there is a fair amount of contention about whether or not laminate floors are suitable for the kitchen, they do seem to be a perennial favourite, particularly wood-look laminate, for those with budgetary concerns.
With the high-quality finishes now available in laminate, it’s generally quite difficult to tell the difference between wood-look and genuine wood. Because of this, the same colour- and material-pairing rules apply here as with real timber flooring: pretty much anything goes, as long as you’re not using clashing timber tones.
Tiled flooring
Tiles give you the easy-clean benefit of a polished concrete floor without the hefty price tag, and can accommodate minimalist designs, glossy cabinet finishes and mirrored splashbacks with ease.
Tip: Dark brown timber or veneer can add depth to a kitchen that has tiled flooring without it being as harsh as black.
Tiles give you the easy-clean benefit of a polished concrete floor without the hefty price tag, and can accommodate minimalist designs, glossy cabinet finishes and mirrored splashbacks with ease.
Tip: Dark brown timber or veneer can add depth to a kitchen that has tiled flooring without it being as harsh as black.
Tiled floors present real freedom when it comes to kitchen materials, style and colour. Traditional kitchens, in particular, fit far better with a tiled floor or timber, but it’s a style that doesn’t easily fly with polished concrete floors. Classic black and white tiled floors never go out of style and work well with the charm of this Ikea kitchen.
More black and white kitchens
More black and white kitchens
There’s no need to be too plain when it comes to a tiled floor but if you go the busy route, scale back the colours and materials in your kitchen.
Tiled floors allow you to add colour freely on splashbacks or kitchen cabinets – the more contemporary the style of tiles, the more you can go wild with a little colour. Mosaic tiles, such as those used on this splashback, add a dash of sophistication as well as colour.
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What kind of flooring do you have in your kitchen and how well does it work with your kitchen? And if you found this story helpful, like it, bookmark it, save the photos and share your thoughts below. Join the conversation.
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Tell us
What kind of flooring do you have in your kitchen and how well does it work with your kitchen? And if you found this story helpful, like it, bookmark it, save the photos and share your thoughts below. Join the conversation.
More
Browse stylish white kitchens
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Polished concrete is the material of choice for many new homes and contemporary renovations, but if a kitchen is part of the equation, be sure to pick a design that makes the flooring sing and vice-versa.
The materials and colours you use in your kitchen provide an opportunity to warm up the coolness and functional feel of concrete. The rich tones of this timber kitchen balance out the grey floor.
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