by Dr. Michael Smith

Created on: December 20, 2008

Today's discriminating customer has a wide selection of flooring choices to enhance the kitchen of her dreams. In choosing a new floor for your kitchen, careful consideration should be given to upkeep, look, and ease of installation. These are all important in not only meeting your budget, but may provide the opportunity to meet other objectives, like environmental consciousness.

The newest flooring option is cork, a green product, which not only looks great, but is great for those having feet and leg problems, allowing for a soft, low impact surface that lessens stress on ankles and knees. Most cork flooring is easy to install with a tongue-in-groove design, making installation as easy as snapping the pieces together. A great variety of colors are available. Cork is a durable and beautiful product, but may not be the best choice if pets live in the house, since their nails may mar the cork surface.

Hardwood flooring is increasing in appeal to many consumers. Wood is warmer than ceramic products, easier on the joints and ankles, and easy to keep clean. Clean up is simple, using a wet mop, and hardwoods give a natural feel to the kitchen. Many different wood types are available to make your kitchen floor a great addition to the most used room in the home.

With the increase in "green" design, bamboo flooring is increasingly popular. This renewable resource is not only a good way to help save the environment, but is a great looking means of incorporating the warm feel of wood in your kitchen area.

From a design perspective, one of the major hurdles in using wood in the kitchen is the issue of dealing with wooden cabinets and floors while not allowing the presence of too much wood to overwhelm the design. While a hunting lodge may demand that type of look, most people do not want that look in their kitchen.

Different woods have different graining patterns and too much can create problems. Oak and Hickory show the most graining, with Hickory being the most erratic. To reduce the effect of the grain, darker stains help to tone things down. Always work for contrast. If your floor is dark, the cabinets should be lighter, and the counter tops should be medium to dark. Remember that darker floor colors will be more apt to show dust, and a lighter floor tends to make the room appear larger.

With that said, the most sensible idea might be to use a light to medium stain on the wood flooring. Contrast the cabinetry with a darker stain and then use a light to medium color for

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