laminate flooring

[wiggles]

Would someone like to give me some tips on picking out laminate flooring? I have golden oak kitchen cabnets. I picked out some flooring that I like at home depot, brought home a sample and it matches my cabnets almost exact. So that is kinda of my question. Do I want it to match or do I need contrast? I am very . If someone would like to post pics of their floors/cabnets that would be great! Also does the brand matter. What I looked at online was Dupont but Pergo is what I happend to like in the store Pergo handscraped oak is what I had picked out. Thanks so much!!!

 

[JoiseyMom]

DH just put in Harvest Oak by Harmonics from Costco. http://www.harmonics-flooring.com/

We didn't put it in the kitchen (I do want to get rid of my tile in there) but in a living room. We put bamboo (stunning!!) in the dining room.

It was very easy to do!!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I think if you try and match your floors to your cabinets you're going to wind up with a big brown box of a room.

Having learned from bitter experience what happens when water meets laminate, I would hesitate to put laminate in the kitchen, no matter what manufacturers claim.

It's ok when water is on top of the laminate, but if the water seeps underneath the toe kick and gets under the laminate, then you, and your floor, are screwed. You need to replace the entire thing because it will swell and warp and look horrible.

If you really want to go with laminate, do a darker shade like jacobean; I went through a home tour last month and the kitchen floors were all jacobean colored hardwoods or coffee colored hardwoods or, um, some funny african name. But they were all dark floors. Very elegant.

Our kitchen has hardwoods, and you can't leave water standing on them, but big spills are not a problem because even if the water seeps up to the toe-kicks, there's no floating floor (like a laminate is) to have water seep into.

I also like tile floors in the kitchen, super easy to clean and indestructible.

 

[Lucky4me]

I've never seen a dark laminate that looked good after the first few days of installation. It shows every speck of dirt and dust and a lot of them, footprints and smudges. They look awesome in magazines, but if you want it to look like that plan on swiffering a few times a day.

 

[veraletta]

My brother talked me into getting Laminate flooring which I now hate.
I thought at first I was going to love it, but that was before the grandkids started to spill water, pop or anything wet on my floors, as the water will go down into the cracks and will cause the floor to swell, there are a lot of places on my floor that have swelled up, or warp by the cracks.
I'm just so happy that I didn't put it in my bedroom too.
I think back now it would have been better in the bedroom than the living or kitchen.
I will be redoing the kitchen in tile and the living room we have real wood not laminate.

 

[veraletta]

Lucky4me :I've never seen a dark laminate that looked good after the first few days of installation. It shows every speck of dirt and dust and a lot of them, footprints and smudges. They look awesome in magazines, but if you want it to look like that plan on swiffering a few times a day.



You are so right, as my floor is dark, and its a fighting battle to try to keep it clean.

 

[corie161]

We've had laminate in our kitchen for probably at least 7-8 years. We haven't had a problem with water spillage or seapage. We also have oak cabinets with a floor that closely matches. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to do it all over again. I like the floor and am okay with the color, but might opt to change things up a bit if I did it over again. It was a cheap improvement at the time. Way better than the yellow carpet that was in there.

 

[xmlguy]

Textured porcelain tile with a golden stone pattern, 18" or larger, with thin matching grout spacing, set on a diagonal would be a very nice match in a kitchen. Porcelain is extremely durable, waterproof, hygienic, and adds more value to a home than laminate. You can underlay radiant heating in cold climates. Tile is a great choice for high traffic areas.

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

I have laminate a bit darker then my cabinets and while I like the look and I haven't had problems with water I have had problems with chipping.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I don't care for wood or faux wood floors in kitchens with wood tone cabinets (white cabinets would'nt be so bad ~ but I don't care for white cabinets either) too much wood! I prefer tile in kitchens. Have fun remodeling!

Adding ~

Lighter colored floors get just as dirty ~ you just don't notice it as much. My mom has dark floors and yes it takes a bit more time to keep them looking good but they don't get any dirtier because they're dark.