Knock On Wood: Should You Choose Laminate Wood Flooring For Your New Kitchen?

Whether you're moving in a new home or renovating your existing one, building and appointing a new kitchen can be a complicated affair, especially when it comes to choosing the materials you will use. Most of use will spend a great deal of time and effort deciding which material is best for our benchtops, cabinets, sinks and other heavily used kitchen components, while overlooking the importance of choosing the right materials for the most frequently used part of your kitchen -- the floor.

Laminate wood flooring is a particularly popular choice for kitchen floors, and once you examine the advantages of choosing this thoroughly modern flooring material it's easy to see why. Here are the chief advantages of laying down wood laminate flooring in your new or renewed kitchen:

Low prices

Few things are as important in life as the bottom line, and most kitchen builders will be drawn to wood laminate flooring primarily for how inexpensive it can be. Considerably cheaper than either tile or hardwood floors, and comparable in price to many linoleum options, laminate flooring is an extremely economical option if you want a cheap floor that doesn't compromise on quality or durability.

Durability

Speaking of durability, wood laminate flooring is one of the toughest kitchen flooring options around, and can weather heavy foot traffic, hot liquid spillages and heavy dropped pans without showing signs of damage. Unlike tiles, laminate flooring is not brittle and will not shatter under heavy impacts, and the plastic laminated coating that covers the visible surface of your floor is high scratch and scuff-resistant.

As a bonus, wood laminate flooring is especially good at resisting warping, the unusual distortion of wood commonly seen after floods and severe water leaks, and will warp significantly less than 'real' hardwood. Laminate flooring is there a wise choice if you live in an area prone to heavy rain or have a kitchen that leads directly outdoors.

Attractive looks

Wood laminate flooring is an excellent way to replicate the look of prized, solid hardwood flooring, without encountering the often crippling cost of laying down a wall-to-wall hardwood floor. High-end laminate options are indistinguishable from real hardwoods even under close inspection. They are also available in a wide variety of colours, shades, stains and grains, so wood laminate flooring can be used to replicate practically any hardwood you can think of.

Low maintenance

The smooth, waterproof surface of wood laminate flooring is exceptionally easy to clean, and does not hold stains or permanent marks. As such, the occasional vacuuming or run around with a dry mop is generally all that is required to keep your laminate floor looking clean and new. 

Easy to fit


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