How to Match Kitchen Floors, Cabinets, and Countertops

Should your floors match your kitchen cabinets and countertops? Not necessarily, but a lot of homeowners lately seem to prefer it that way.

Matching your kitchen flooring, countertops, and cabinets, believe it or not, is like an art form. It’s not the easiest thing to do either.

With that being said, we interviewed a few of our friends who excel in this kind of work to make it easier for you.

Before We Begin…

We’d like to let you know a little bit about our friends before we get into the q&a.

These are the local professionals that will be bringing you the best of the best information:

1. Paul Johnson of Room2Improve – One of Detroit’s leading interior designers. He’ll come to your home, listen to all your needs and requests, and give you the best advice on what you can do to make your dream design a reality.
2. Lauren Bockin of E.W. Kitchens – E.W. Kitchens is a luxury custom kitchen design company that has been designing beautiful kitchens for 70 years. They have two showrooms to service all areas of Metro-Detroit, with one in the Michigan Design Center in Troy and one in Wixom. Lauren is one of their designers, so she knows what she’s talking about.
3. Nick Vanderhovel of Dream Kitchens – With a growing team of professionals, Dream Kitchens and their experienced design talents have great insight on this topic.
4. Marnie Weidman of Mrs. Dub Designs – Marnie is a talented interior designer providing real-life designs for real-life people. Her design knowledge is sure to give you the extra insight you’ll need.

Kitchen Cabinet, Countertop, and Floor Combinations

We asked our friends four questions that homeowners often send our way:

1. What is the most common flooring type for kitchens?
2. Should you match the flooring with the cabinets or appliances?
3. Have the current trends changed over time? What have you noticed?
4. What materials are popular for countertops and tabletops?

Take a look at their answers below:

 

Paul Johnson – Room2Improve

1. While hardwood (in a kitchen) is a great option, especially a good engineered product (one that can be sanded and refinished), there are other considerations to take into account like the age and number of children and how you like to maintain your floors.  Good options for easier maintenance can be porcelain or one of my favorites, LVT or Luxury Vinyl Tile, you get the look of wood with the ease of maintenance of vinyl.  Trust me, the good ones have even fooled us designers.
2. Match is a word we don’t like to use in the design world.  Things need to “go together”. This helps create a designed and curated look. Now onto how you should coordinate your counters, cabinets, and floors.  This depends a lot on the look you’re going for; Sleek and contemporary, it may require something very monochromatic with very little contrast.  Mid-Century Modern, there is going to be some deeper color and definite contrast.
3. Trends come and go so make sure you make selections that can tend towards classic and timeless. If you want something that is trendier think paint colors or keep in mind that it might need to be changed out in a few years.  Select timeless cabinet styles but use a backsplash to create drama.  Wood species and whether it should be painted change, but a good design with classic lines will help keep things looking fresh longer.
4. We are really trying to help clients find man-made quartz products for countertops.  Not only do we get a lot of choices in color and movement, but the client gets a product that doesn’t need to be sealed yearly and doesn’t easily stain.  So, we would suggest man-made quartz.

 

Lauren Bockin – E.W. Kitchens

1. We see it all and it truly depends on your lifestyle and the needs of your family.  Wood is always a popular choice but it doesn’t quite withstand the impact resistant drops that kitchens often face (think dropping a pan of boiling water – oh no!). If budgets are a constraint, we’re noticing an uptick in people selecting laminate, engineered woods or even vinyl flooring options too.  These choices often come at a fraction of the price but can provide a very similar look.
2. No, no, no!  To avoid a look that is flat and too much material in one space, we recommend homeowners try to maintain a contrast between cabinetry and flooring.  If going with a wood or laminate floor, you’ll also want to consider both materials in the same wood tone.  If your flooring will be a tile or stone material, considering a color in the same color family as your countertop material.
3. Trends come and go, but we are seeing a few exciting design aspects now that we believe will stand the test of time!  First up, single-level islands.  A flat extended countertop provides significantly more workspace than a raised tier and provides a better sight-line into the rest of the kitchen.  Which brings us next to open concept kitchens.  We don’t see this trend going anywhere in the near future as these open concepts make the kitchen more than just a space for cooking and dining.  Another would be transitional kitchen designs.  Transitional designs are more clean-lined than their traditional kitchen counterparts but offer more function than contemporary or modern designs.
4. Most cabinetry we’re designing and installing these days are being topped with 3 main materials for countertops.  First up, engineered stone.  Engineered stone typically uses about 90 percent quartz in its manufacturing process which yields a tough, durable product.  It’s strong, it’s beautiful, and unlike granite, it doesn’t need to be sealed.  Marble would be another popular option that many of our clients consider.  A softer and more porous material than the nearly indestructible granite, this stone can scratch and stain fairly easily – which is a small price to pay for the classic, timeless look of a beautiful bright slab of marble.  The last contender in the countertop debate would be granite.  Things like hot pots, serrated knives, and most stains are no match for this hard standing material, which is why many families decide this is the best option for their space.

 

Nick Vanderhovel – Dream Kitchens

Whether it’s cabinetry, flooring, or countertops, they all have their benefits and their shortcomings which a professional can help you make an educated decision on which product is ideal for your space.

When building a palette, we start with the most expensive product first. Why you may ask? Because you better love it the most because it’s going to dictate many of your subsequent decisions. Let’s look at cabinets since that’s our specialty.

You’ve been barraged by shaker white kitchens with their clean lines and adaptable styles, but did you know that they are terribly difficult to keep pristine? That painted finishes require more upkeep than the honey oak or thermofoil white you ripped out.

Don’t get me wrong, the majority of what we sell are white kitchens, but stained cabinets will last longer over time. Now you have a decision to make whether style or longevity is your most important purchasing factor.

Let’s choose style this time around since most of us do (coming from someone with painted cabinets in his own home). We need to pair our cabinets with the perfect flooring material.

Older homes with vast changes in humidity or the kids tracking in water from the lake can cause negative effects on natural wood flooring. But lucky us, we hypothetically live in a subdivision where those factors don’t affect us as much (we still need to maintain proper humidity in every home!) so we can have the solid wood hardwood of our dreams.

WE LOVE CONTRAST! Nothing will draw out the individual features of a room like contrast. Medium and dark hardwoods pair exceptionally well with white cabinets, but how do you choose between the two? The right granite or quartz countertop or your plumbing, hardware, lighting and other finishing touches can help you determine the direction you want to go.

 

Marnie Weidman – Mrs. Dub Designs

1. Stone or tile (porcelain) works well as it makes cabinet wood/color selection much easier as it can be more challenging to work with different woods, depending on the scenario. I like to use large format (20×20) porcelain tiles in kitchen areas but am also seeing more great plank product options.
2. I like to contrast floors and cabinets/counters. If I use a darker grey/brown on the floor, I’ll often go to a lighter painted cabinet and counter with some kind of pattern movement.
3. Trends change all the time! Everyone is looking to make a good investment when they replace flooring for kitchens/bathrooms so selecting clean, classic finishes that will remain timeless is usually the goal.
4. Solid surfaces have been popular for countertops, islands, coordinating tables for years. There are many great natural options (granite) and man-made options (various quartz products) giving consumers the ability to create every aesthetic from traditional to contemporary. Each product has its own traits, so make sure to understand the pros/cons of each before deciding what your counter will be made from. I stay away from using marble in kitchens as it can stain or etch and that can be heartbreaking but there are excellent marble patterns in quartz products.

Kitchen Flooring Advice from Our Pros!

For the best kitchen flooring, we have always recommended luxury vinyl plank or tile products, and we continue to do so.

It works the best for areas that deal with moisture and water on a routine basis. Plus, it provides the wood or tile look people demand without all the drawbacks.

To get a kitchen flooring estimate set up, give The Carpet Guys a call today.

Flooring is what we do, and we guarantee you’ll the way your kitchen floors look when we’re done.

We look forward to seeing you.