Practical flooring tips when redecorating your kitchen

Today, our kitchens are as much about entertaining guests as they are about preparing food. But if you’re redecorating your kitchen, you don’t need to splash out on new appliances to create a striking look — a few practical flooring options can be just as effective at transforming your culinary space.

Kitchen flooring has to be tough. You need the kind of flooring that can take a lot of footfall. Then you’ve got spills, stains and cooking mishaps, meaning carpet is out. Rugs are a bad idea, too — no one wants to trip carrying a pan of boiling veg!

You need a material that’s water resistant and easy to clean, but also beautiful. Enter vinyl and laminate to save the day. Both of these flooring types come in an array of gorgeous finishes, but what tips and tricks should you bear in mind when fitting them in your home?

Roll or tile?

Vinyl comes in traditional ‘lino’ rolls, or can be laid as separate tiles. It depends on the shape of your kitchen as to which one will work best for you.

Either choice gives you a full spectrum of classic designs and colours and most vinyl floors come with a five year warranty for added peace of mind.

How to lay vinyl tiles

• Measure the room to calculate how many tiles you need (always buy an extra pack or two to allow you to match up patterns)
• Remove old tiles and prepare the floor by making it dry and level
• Stack your tiles in the kitchen for a while before you fit them, so that they can get acclimatised to the room
• Locate the centre point of your kitchen and lay dry tiles out on the floor to get an idea of how they will fit and decide how you will line up patterns and what directions any lines will run in
• Begin laying the tiles systematically from the centre point — if you have self-adhesive vinyl tiles then simply remove the backing and place them securely on the ground, if you have non-adhesive tiles then you’ll need to apply tile adhesive to the floor with a notched spreader first

How to lay vinyl flooring from sheets

When fitting vinyl flooring from a roll, the process is largely the same. You’ll need to prepare the floor and measure the space in the same way but fitting the flooring will be slightly different.

• When measuring the room, add 50-100mm around the edge to make sure you have enough
• Place the roll in the room it will be laid in for at least 48 hours before fitting to allow it to acclimatise
• Unroll the vinyl slowly with the longer side of the sheet kept parallel to the longest wall and starting around 25mm from the skirting board and decide how you will line up patterns and what directions any lines will run in
• Cut a triangular shape into the corner of the vinyl to make it lie flat in corners
• Lay and cut the vinyl to shape before fixing it in place with adhesive
• Use spray adhesive to fix the flooring into place, working your way systemically through the room

For more tips, click on the link to learn more about how to fit vinyl flooring.

Laminate flooring can also be used in your kitchen. And if you’ve used laminate elsewhere, you’ll end up with a harmonious look throughout your home.

Of course there’s the warm and gorgeous tones of the traditional wood-effect options. But did you know that you can use stone-effect laminate to create the kind of sturdy and luxurious look that’s perfect for kitchens?

Tips and tricks for laying laminate

• Ensure your choice of laminate matches the room and other styles of laminate in the home
• If you have laminate flooring in an adjoining room then make sure the boards or pattern go in the same direction otherwise, lay boards in the same direction as the longest wall (in large rooms) or in the direction of incoming light (in square rooms)
• Using specialist borders to provide a frame round the edge of the room and at doorways or entrance points
• Slot planks or boards into place securely and ensure you start from a corner of the room, laying the first row of planks along the longest wall

For more tips, click on the link to learn more about how to fit laminate flooring.

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