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Parquet flooring for kitchen


Wood Parquet Flooring Review: Pros and Cons

Wood parquet flooring—tiles created by arranging small pieces of hardwood in repeating patterns—was once common in homes across the U.S. During the 1960s, it seemed that almost every home had a kitchen, dining room, den, or rec room with this type of geometric hardwood floor. From its heyday during the 1960s, this hardwood flooring style gradually fell from favor as other low-cost options appeared, such as laminates and luxury vinyl. Where hardwood was still desired, it was more often installed as solid hardwood or engineered hardwood planks.

Parquet Wood Flooring

Gradually, wood flooring retailers stopped carrying a wide selection of parquet tiles, and today there are only a few major sources for wood parquet floor tiles. Some of the major manufacturers of wood parquet, such as Bruce, sell limited stock of parquet or have discontinued their product lines, although you may be able to find some inventory offered for sale at some outlets. You can, however, find more offerings for vinyl flooring with a wood parquet design than you can actual wood parquet tiles.

Wood parquet is still manufactured, though you may need to hunt a little to find the style you want. Choosing it for your floor will mean that you are creating a floor that is somewhat unique by today's standards, though this choice is great for period-correct restorations and remodels. Make your choice carefully; some viewers will see parquet as an adventurous choice, while others will see it as dated.

Pros

Cons

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The History of Parquet Flooring

The earliest true parquet hardwood floors date to the 16th century when wealthy aristocrats began having it installed over marble flooring by craftsmen who created the effect by painstakingly arranging tiny pieces of hardwood in geometric patterns. Hardwood floors of various types, including parquet in upper-end houses, were the staple for centuries, but in the post-war era when carpet reigned, American homes began to cover them over.

It changed when flooring manufacturers began to mass-produce thin parquet tiles in the 1960s and 1970s. By creating engineered wood tiles with pieces of hardwood veneer arranged in geometric patterns, manufacturers reinvigorated the look of expensive parquet floors at a reasonable cost. Homeowners began to remove carpet to install parquet floors. But shortly thereafter laminates, vinyl planks, and porcelain tiles came into vogue as preferred flooring materials.

Parquet Flooring Cost

Real wood parquet flooring generally costs $20 to $45 per square foot. The more common type of parquet flooring comes in a premade wooden tile, which can cost $7 to $10 per square foot.

Maintenance and Repair

Caring for a wood parquet floor is similar to caring for any hardwood floor. Daily care should include sweeping and dry mopping with a microfiber mop. Wet spills and stains should be sopped up with paper towels, followed by wiping with a damp washcloth. Once a month or so, the floor should be cleaned with a product designed for wood floors. Avoid waxes, which can make floors slippery and can damage the factory finish. Never use a steam mop on parquet floors (or any wood floor), as this can drive moisture down into the wood.

Newer types of parquet flooring are often made of solid hardwood rather than veneers, and while sanding and refinishing may be possible, it is complicated by the fact that the direction of the wood grain alternates. Major refinishing of these floors should be done by experienced professionals. Light renewal can be done by homeowners, lightly abrading the finish with a sanding screen, then applying a fresh top-coat of varnish.

Design

The multi-piece construction of parquet tiles lends a deep, 3D appearance that makes for a bold design statement in the home. But be aware that not everyone likes the busy, patterned look of a parquet floor. Future owners of your home may not have the same fondness for your taste, and some prospective buyers will think of it as dated and old. If the future sale or your home is critical, this is probably not the flooring to install. Parquet floors are a good stylistic fit for midcentury modern home styles but may look out of place in other styles. If you're working on a historically accurate restoration or remodel, though, parquet floors may be the best option, depending on the era you're hoping to reflect.

Parquet Flooring Installation

Parquet flooring tiles are considerably easier to install than hardwood plank flooring, since they are simply glued down to the subfloor rather than nailed. Urethane-based adhesives have a leisurely 60-minute working time, which means you have plenty of time to install the tiles. The tiles are relatively thin—about 5/16 inch—so they are easy to cut with a jigsaw. Most parquet flooring tiles are prefinished, which means you will not need to stain or varnish the finished floor.

But the thinness of the tiles means that it is critical for the subfloor to be perfectly flat and sturdy. If there is any flex to the subfloor, the surface flooring will visibly flex underfoot. The dramatic geometry of parquet designs also means you will need to take care to get the layout correct so that the patterns are straight and symmetrical along the edges.

As a real wood flooring material, parquet generally functions best when installed at or above grade—it's not recommended for installation in basements or on slab foundations, unless an intermediate subfloor, such as DRIcore, is installed. And because parquet flooring has many cracks between pieces, it is not a good choice for installation in wet or humid locations, such as bathrooms.

Comfort and Convenience

Parquet floors perform much like hardwood floors. Any wood floor will be somewhat more soft and warm underfoot than hard flooring materials, such as ceramic or stone tile, but it will feel colder and harder than carpet, cork, or luxury vinyl. Like other wood floors, parquet floors can also be noisy. Many people will want to add area rugs to improve the comfort of parquet floors.

Parquet vs. Hardwood

Some style experts have suggested that parquet flooring is poised to make a comeback, thanks to the renewed popularity of midcentury modern styles—the homes where parquet was once so popular. And improved products are helping to renew interest in parquet. Rather than veneer construction, most of today's parquet tiles use solid wood, which means refinishing is plausible. But sources for hardwood parquet tiles are limited, and you may need to search for the style you want.

If you are considering a wood parquet floor, it's likely you are weighing its virtues against a traditional hardwood floor. Parquet's advantages over hardwood lie in its dramatic appearance, its easy installation, and its suitability for midcentury modern home designs. Hardwood planks will be a better choice if you are looking for flooring with more decor flexibility, or where the future sale of your home is important. Parquet can seem dated to some people, while hardwood flooring is more universal.

Wood Parquet Flooring Review: Pros and Cons

Parquet and natural wood floors in the kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of almost every home and plenty takes place there every day. Whether it's a leisurely breakfast with the family, a cup of coffee with friends, or getting together to cook a meal, most of us spend a lot of time in the kitchen every day. That's precisely why it needs to be furnished to create an inviting and pleasant atmosphere.

And what better way to do that than with real wooden floors? Robust, natural, and healthy, wood floors from mafi can readily cope with all the challenges of everyday life.

Resistant and easy to clean

In a kitchen that is used frequently, the floor is exposed to boiling water, splashing grease, and food and drink stains every day. Resilience is the top priority here. When choosing flooring for their kitchens, many people automatically turn to tiles or something synthetic, in the hope of having chosen a surface that is easy to care for. In terms of everyday suitability, however, wood floors are in no way inferior to other materials.
On the contrary: they even offer advantages and opens up previously unimagined possibilities.   

Care and cleaning in a single step

Whether jam, grease, juice, or wine, stains are part and parcel of everyday kitchen use. Regular maintenance with warm water and mafi wood floor soap cleans the open-pored surface of the planks and prevents stains. Due to its relatively high fat content, the soap even removes deep stains with a single wipe. You get double the bang with mafi wood floor soap because it strengthens the floor's antibacterial effect and thus provides additional protection against germs.

Open-plan kitchen/living spaces: holistic design with consistent flooring

A natural wood floor is a real feast for the senses. No other material looks so elegant while being so cozy and comfortable as wood. Large spaces especially benefit from this. In the case of open-plan kitchens where the kitchen and dining area flow into the living area, plank floors also create a consistent style where invisible walls disappear and the various zones harmoniously and seamlessly connected to one another.

Unlike older styles, this kind of interior design uses the same planks throughout the space to open it up and create a visual expanse. In open space concepts, a mafi natural wood floor is state of the art, no doubt. Whether oak or larch, light or dark, the company from Upper Austria can manufacture solid wood elements such as tables and furniture fronts to match the respective floor design on request and round off the ambience harmoniously.

Tiles vs. real wooden floors: pleasant to stand on and warm

Wood not only impresses with its elegant look, but also feels incomparably pleasant. Instead of sealing lacquers or waxes, mafi only uses natural oils for its wood products. This maintains direct contact with the wood and creates a unique barefoot experience that mafi accurately expresses as “walking on art.” In addition to the pleasant walking experience, standing on a wooden floor also feels particularly positive.
Compared to tiles, wood floors are less hard and cushion body movements better. This makes them easy on the back and joints, making hours of fun in the kitchen possible.

Hygiene and indoor climate

Because they are finished with natural oils, the planks also retain their healthy living, indoor climate-improving properties. The natural wood floor thus filters pollutants from the air and regulates the humidity in the room. Natural wood also has an antibacterial and antiseptic effect. So if the PB&J does fall on the floor, the three-second rule can be extended a little. Odors are also broken down and neutralized more quickly thanks to the open pores of the wood. 

Tried and tested internationally: let yourself be inspired by real kitchen projects

mafi's international references prove how well natural wood floors work in the kitchen. Around the world from Austria to Italy to Australia and the USA, the natural wood floorboards adorn the floors of city apartments, country houses, and luxury villas. If you want to cook and dine in style while staying healthy and carefree, choose mafi natural wood floors for your kitchen.

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Parquet in the kitchen? Why not!

Which parquet board to choose for the kitchen? Contrary to popular belief that a parquet board in the kitchen is undesirable due to the high humidity of the room, frequent temperature changes and aggressive external influences, it is quite possible to lay parquet in the kitchen. The main thing is to choose the right material.

When choosing a parquet board for the kitchen, be sure to pay attention to the type of wood from which the parquet is made. Non-capricious wood species with high density and natural moisture resistance are suitable for this room. An excellent choice would be exotic breeds such as merbau, teak, iroko. They have a fairly high price, but due to their physical properties and chemical composition, they are ideal for wet rooms. From the species of our region, oak, ash or acacia are best suited for the role of flooring for the kitchen. Maple and beech parquet boards, which have a too soft structure, are categorically not suitable. Heat-treated wood - thermo-pine or thermo-ash - is also perfect for the kitchen. It is successfully used even on open-air sites and is not afraid of moisture, heat or cold. nine0003

When choosing a finish for kitchen parquet, give preference to oil. An oil-coated board can be additionally treated with a protective oil and wax composition, paying special attention to the joints between the planks. Meanwhile, it is worth remembering that no matter what moisture-resistant parquet board you choose for the kitchen, you should not intentionally pour water on the floor or for a long time leave unwashed puddles. Such treatment is detrimental to any natural material. Even parquet should be washed with a damp (not wet!) rag and only with special detergents for parquet. nine0003

You might like the combined floor option. Part of the kitchen floor, where the likelihood of adverse effects is especially high (working area near the sink, stove, cutting table), is tiled, and the rest of the room (dining area) is covered with parquet boards. This technique visually divides the room into zones, which provides additional opportunities for creating an interesting design. The main thing to remember: each material will need its own cleaning products. Consider also using a special silicone or polyurethane mat in the work area: it will protect the wood from water and dirt. nine0003

If the kitchen is poorly lit and its windows face north, it is advisable to choose light shades of parquet. Reddish ones will make the kitchen cozy and warm, and dark ones will make it solid, besides, they are perfect for light furniture. Modern kitchens with bright glossy fronts and sparkling appliances often require a smooth glossy floor. The interior of the kitchen in a trendy rustic style (Provence, chalet, country) is perfectly complemented by a brushed (aged) parquet board. Laying the parquet board in the kitchen lengthwise (along the long wall), you will visually lengthen the room. Perpendicular or diagonal arrangement will expand the kitchen. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the direction of laying parquet boards in order to achieve the desired visual effect. nine0003

When choosing parquet boards for the kitchen, remember that not only quality characteristics are important. The color scheme, texture and options for laying parquet in the kitchen affect the aesthetic perception of the room. After all, the kitchen is the place where the whole family gathers for a delicious dinner after a working day, fun gatherings with friends or just a cup of aromatic coffee or tea. The interior of the kitchen should create a special cozy atmosphere, conducive to long pleasant conversations and bringing positive emotions. nine0003

Parquet in the kitchen pros and cons. Should I put parquet in the kitchen

What kind of flooring does everyone associate a kitchen with? Ceramic tiles, laminate, linoleum. Few people will say solid wood parquet as the first option. This attitude to the parquet board is not accidental. The kitchen is a room with increased loads and impacts on any material that is used in the interior. Temperature changes, exposure to moisture, the spread of odors that can be absorbed - all this negatively affects wood products. And initially, parquet was just a wooden plank that could be varnished. Therefore, there was such an opinion about the use of wood as a floor covering for the kitchen. Is it possible to use modern parquet for the kitchen? Consider all the pros and cons and try to answer this question. nine0003

Advantages and disadvantages of

Naturally, we will consider parquet made using modern production technologies. Technology does not stand still, so the parquet board is now able to withstand all influences to a certain extent.

Pros:

Of course, the floor made of parquet or parquet board looks natural and beautiful, it is a pleasure to walk on it, even barefoot. Wood does not exude harmful substances, unless you use some kind of varnish or other coating that is not suitable for the kitchen. A variety of shapes and colors allow parquet to be combined with different styles of rooms, such as country, provence, hi-tech, modern, etc. nine0003


Modern production technologies, multi-layer, multiple varnishing layers allow modern parquet products to easily compete with other materials in terms of protection from various influences and durability.

Looking at the advantages, I would like to say that this material is a worthy floor covering for the kitchen. But the full picture is not yet clear. Not enough data on deficiencies. Let's consider them. nine0003

Minuses:

The price of solid wood products is an order of magnitude higher than that of laminate, ceramic tiles or linoleum. Despite certain protective functions that protect the material, proper and careful care of the parquet or board is necessary. Wash with special detergents. If wine or other liquid gets on the surface, it is necessary to immediately wipe the stains, otherwise the parquet may be painted. Furniture legs must be equipped with plugs so as not to damage the parquet board. Staying in water for a long time can lead to swelling, so if you are flooded and no one was home, you will most likely need to change the coating. For a parquet board, changing one detail is quite difficult. you have to change the whole lane. nine0003

What conclusion can be drawn from all of the above? Wood parquet has a large set of positive qualities, and some disadvantages. But with proper care, they can be minimized. Therefore, it is possible and necessary to use a parquet board as a floor covering. The main question is which wood to choose.

How to choose the type of wood

There are many types of wood used as the basis for parquet. Consider the most suitable for operating conditions in the kitchen. nine0003

The most popular and proven material for parquet is oak. The main features are durability and water-repellent properties. A variety of shades makes it possible to choose a floor covering for any style and color scheme. the only thing that can keep you from buying such material is the cost. The price of such products is noticeably higher than analogues from other wood.

Another great option for the kitchen is teak. Due to the increased content of rubber and tektol, the material has water-repellent properties, a strong structure and is not susceptible to insect attacks. nine0003


Ash would be an excellent option. It is easy to process and impregnate. Strength indicators are higher than those of oak. And beautiful shades and texture will make a unique and pleasant interior in the kitchen.

Walnut has a good set of characteristics for use in the production of parquet. But it has a dark shade with a slight variegation. This color is not suitable for every interior.

nine0002 Exotic woods are perfect for their characteristics and colors: jatoba, merbau, sucupira, sapele.

Maple and beech have a soft texture, so their use in the kitchen is not recommended.

It is worth mentioning the bamboo parquet separately. Due to the peculiarities of production, it has the best performance in terms of protection against the harmful effects of various environments.

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