Floor Plan Optimization | Semi-Detached House on a Slope with 192m² Living Area

What is wrong with your parquet in the kitchen?

The statement was that it was too high-maintenance. If something falls down -> immediately scratches and dents appear - vinyl would be more durable here. Liquids -> if you don’t notice and wipe them up immediately, the floor swells and leads to discoloration. And especially with acidic juices or dark stains, it's rather difficult. - vinyl wouldn’t have a problem here. Fats -> could only be removed with difficulty without damaging the surface.

In our current apartment, we have strip parquet (or whatever it’s called) in the living room, and I have to say, you really have to be careful. If something drips and you don’t wipe it up soon, it seeps between the strips and causes dark lines (“joints”) between them.

I also don’t mind if wear and tear occurs over time somewhere, that’s normal and wood also lives. But I wonder if it’s practical. Especially when cooking and washing dishes, something often splashes. Or when cutting tomatoes, maybe some juice runs onto the floor. I don’t want to panic and wipe it up immediately every time because otherwise the parquet will get damaged. And the kitchen is also the area where you’re more likely to break or drop something while loading or unloading.

Vinyl is simply a plastic product. I find the texture more pleasant than conventional laminate, but I just wouldn't want a "plastic floor" in my own house. I'd rather have tiles.

What did you choose for the rest of the house? Especially the children's rooms and the master bedroom?

What are you planning to do around the stove, assuming it is still current? I could imagine running a tile from there in a nice curve to the kitchen and then equipping the dining and living rooms with parquet. This can be done well in terms of design, also with a nice transition without the really often not nice metal strips between parquet and tile.

The statement was too time-consuming to maintain. If something falls down -> immediately scratches and dents – vinyl would be more durable here. Liquids -> if you don’t notice and wipe them up immediately, the floor swells and leads to discoloration. And especially with acidic juices or dark stains, it’s rather difficult – vinyl wouldn’t have a problem here. Fats -> would be hard to remove without damaging the surface. We have a strip parquet (or whatever it’s called) in the living room of our current apartment, and I have to say, you really have to be careful with it. If something drips down and you don’t wipe it up soon, it seeps between the strips and causes dark lines (“joints”) between the strips. I also don’t mind if wear and tear occurs somewhere over time, that’s normal and wood lives. But I wonder if it’s practical. Especially when cooking and washing dishes, something splashes sometimes. Or when cutting tomatoes, maybe some juice runs onto the floor. I don’t want to panic and wipe immediately every time because otherwise the parquet will get damaged. And the kitchen is also the area where you’re more likely to break or drop something while loading or unloading.

We have oiled country floorboards in both the current and future kitchen – absolutely no problems. With lacquered parquet, the risk is definitely higher, no question, but I consider the rest exaggerated.

We have tiles in the kitchen area and parquet in the dining and living area. In terms of feel, parquet is simply beautiful. Since we have no door towards the entrance, we also have a parquet-tile transition there.

We have tiles in the entrance area and in the bathrooms, otherwise parquet everywhere. Like Saralilna oiled country house planks in oak. And we are heavy users of the kitchen. Our parquet was installed naturally and treated with a very good oil. We have absolutely no problems with the parquet in the kitchen. Not even in front of the stove. Even grease stains disappear when I mop with the Bisell. If I spill something, I wipe it away. I did the same when I still had a kitchen with tiles. I always wonder who assumes that everything in the kitchen is allowed to spill and not be wiped up? As I said: pay attention to good oil (and that is really not cheap, but worth every cent) and then there is nothing against a wooden floor in the kitchen. The only exception: you have an old-fashioned wood stove in the kitchen – then it gets tricky with the parquet. But otherwise? I can’t think of anything against it. Especially in the now common combined eating/cooking/living area, I simply find a uniform floor more beautiful and you are much freer in kitchen design.

Lacquered parquet is a different story. I wouldn’t want that, every scratch is annoying.