From the Floors Up

Should I Match My Kitchen Cabinets to the Floors?

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You may be pondering the question, “is it best to match the kitchen floors with your cabinetry?” This is truly the million-dollar question. The answer all depends on personal preference and what type of style you desire your kitchen to reflect. By installing flooring that does not match your cabinetry, you create contrast. When used appropriately, contrast helps make things more visually interesting. For instance, if you already have hardwood flooring, you can create a visual contrast by having white cabinetry. To further explain, we are going to dive deeper into the topic. Let’s get started!

Expert Suggestions

While the decision is ultimately up to the homeowner, some design experts feel that using colors that are similar in nature on the cabinetry and flooring will result in material confusion. Going at least three shades lighter or darker than your flooring will prevent your kitchen from becoming aesthetically-confusing. That being said, if you are set on using a wood material on both your cabinetry and flooring, you might want to consider using different grains to contrast the tones. For example, if you have dark, rich cabinetry, you would use a light grain on your floors such as maple or hickory.

Matchmaking Flooring to Cabinetry

Matching your floors to your cabinets can create a unified look. On the other hand, achieving an exact match is nearly impossible. If you were to select oak flooring to match your oak cabinetry, the chances are high that the grains will not be identical. A single wood type can have small variations in color and grain. The finishes used also gives the material a different personality.

If you are installing new would cabinetry to match your existing hardwood floors, you have to take into consideration the quality of the existing floors. Do they show visible or excessive signs of wear and tear? If so, having already aged floors can further complicate things.

In conclusion, before purchasing anything, you should get samples of your floors and cabinetry. This will let you see how it all looks in the light and determine what looks good for your kitchen. All in all, it is the homeowner’s decision, and oftentimes, homeowners change their minds once they see the samples in their actual space. Therefore, the answer to the beginning question is it depends on your space, your design preferences, and your style flexibility.

Floor Advice! A Reader Asks for Help.

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Calling all designers!! A loyal From the Floors Up reader is in need of some advice and I thought it would be fun to give her different perspectives and opinions. Please read below to learn more about her project.

Some information about the house and style of the kitchen:

House is from the 1870s, more a farmhouse style than ornate Victorian. Floors throughout 1st floor are all original heart pine, except the sunroom off the kitchen which is a marmoleum click checkerboard. There is an unfinished basement below most of the kitchen, the rest (by the sink) used to be an outdoor porch (therefore we can not reuse the original wood). We would like some form of radiant in-floor heat as currently the room is unheated, but are unsure whether to go with staple-up hydronic or electric mats as sometime in the next few years we want to update the whole home heating system (either to electric heat pump/AC or geothermal). We have three growing boys and a dog and need a  kitchen floor that will hold up to them and last a LONG time. I believe the square footage of the kitchen/laundry is approximately 350.

The kitchen will have sort of an unfitted look, with a separate hutch, separate pantry cupboard, and only two upper cabinets on either side of the sink window. As mentioned previously, the lower cabinets will be off-white; the double oven cabinet, two uppers, and hutch will be blue; and the hood, refrigerator panels, and pantry will be green. So all 3 colors have to look good next to the floor. There is also an antique exposed brick chimney that runs floor to ceiling.

As you can see, our backsplash is kind of a statement piece, and while the soapstone sample is quiet, we are hoping the slab we ultimately choose will have a more dramatic veining. All of this makes us think we need a “quiet” floor but maybe we are wrong?

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Our reader has gotten a couple of opinions from other designers with blogs, but I am curious to see what other opinions we can offer her! Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated as this is just a fun exercise in opinions and perspectives! She has already shared with me that she is considering cork as well as ceramic hexagon mosaics, but don’t let that sway your answers! If you would like to see photos of the samples of other items she has chosen, please email me at shannon@dcspg.com and I will forward them to you.

Thanks!

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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