Plenty of homes have LVT throughout now. Most of the models I have looked at in the past year have had it. Usually can’t tell the diff from wood. Personally, I would not want a wood look LVT simply because I just don’t love the wood look in my kitchen and I would NEVER have hardwood in there anyway. And I insist on carpet in my bedrooms.

I'm having the same struggle, I love wood floors but I'm curious about the planks as people say that they are very quiet with cork backing. I worry about the LVP lowering the value of my home even though we are not planning to sell. Following...

A lot depends on the house and where it's located.

I live in SW FL in a HCOLA part of town but not on the water. I opted for wood floors (well engineered wood). I have a friend who lives right on the water (also HCOLA) and my friend opted to do LVP throughout their house. For them it was the right decision. For me, it was the right decision.

If your area demands wood floors, do not do LVP. What is standard in your area?

As for the water issue? I have wood floors in this kitchen's rental and my previous kitchen's rental, had wood floors in my condo's kitchen and have wood floors in my kitchen in my new build house. I wouldn't hesitate to put wood floors in a kitchen.

Wood is a beautiful & timeless choice. It also pays you back at resale. Run it throughout or change to most anything but a vinyl that looks like wood in the kitchen. I've never seen this done with much success because the real wood abutting the vinyl diminishes the look of both. An entire houseful of vinyl would be about the last choice I would ever make.

I would ask why you want to bring vinyl into the rest of the house.

Many people live with wood in the kitchen with no issues. I am remodeling and running the wood floor in the kitchen. My floors have an aluminum oxide finish which is supposed to be very durable which was important to me. Site finished floors were out of the question because of logistics.

I realize there are many people who are fans of vinyl flooring but I can't imagine opting for that instead of beautiful real wood especially in living areas - i.e. not in a finished basement.

It doesn't seem as though you have unusual maintenance issues that would preclude your going with wood. I have yet to see a real estate listing which gushed over vinyl flooring ha ha.

I'm in a humid climate, and I know that condensation settles on vinyl before wood due to its cooler surface. This is why exterior vinyl siding will get mold or algae but wood is less likely to do the same. Kitchens are humid places with boiling water, cooling, dishwashers, etc.

Also, I would want to make sure that it's a non-chloride vinyl (PVA, EVA), not PVC. About a decade ago, there was a push to replace PVC vinyl shower curtains and liners with non-chloride containing ones. Now, because of cost, PVC is showing up in the strangest places (fake wood picture frames, for example).

I would also say, aside from the offgassing of the vinyl, all it would take is a renewal of the anti-vinyl attention and any noticeably large areas of vinyl would lower your home's value.

I personally would prefer hardwood over LVP because my understanding is that you cannot disinfect LVP. We have one of those steam mops that my husband likes to use and it makes our floors look really nice; you can't use something like that on vinyl.

I agree that it also depends on what is expected for the area. Where I live, the homes are around 20 years old and hardwood is preferred (engineered is OK) and LVP would be looked down on. But my friend, who lives 15 minutes away and in a 50 year old home, LVP is fine (most of those homes in her area did not have wood hiding under carpet). She had LVP in her whole house and loves it.

We are planning on putting LVP in our basement.

I'm always amazed at the objection to wood flooring in the kitchen. In the Chicago market, we put wood in 95% of our kitchens. We only use LVT in basements.

" We have one of those steam mops that my husband likes to use and it makes our floors look really nice; you can't use something like that on vinyl."

Whoah. You use a STEAM mop on a wood floor??? That is really asking for trouble.

https://www.thespruce.com/steam-cleaning-hardwood-floors-1314829

https://www.coit.com/blog/just-say-no-to-steam-mops-on-wood-floors

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/effect-steam-wood-floors-103472.html

I agree, Chess, I would stop using the steam mop on the hardwoods.

For our new house, and our lifestyle, I opted for Karndean vinyl plank flooring in a wood look throughout the house, main floor, second floor, basement, in the open kitchen/dining room/living room, bathrooms, and laundry room. We have a number of Persian/Oriental rugs throughout the house as well.

We're in rural western Canada on a farm, so a low COL area, very particular needs and what we are able to source at a reasonable cost, and also resale is not a factor. I also know from our old house where we put in vinyl plank flooring for a kitchen/dining room remodel and addition (it replaced vinyl sheet flooring, and the rest of the house is wall to wall carpet, which I can't stand but which is very popular here) that I appreciate that any glasses or dishes dropped on the floor tend not to break : ) . We have three kids who have their friends over, everyone likes to cook and help in the kitchen and it's one less thing to deal with.

I grew up in a Manhattan prewar apartment with original hardwood flooring (old growth oak), and bought another about 30 years ago, also with original hardwood flooring. So I know what hardwood flooring is like, and I do like it, for certain situations. But for our new house, vinyl plank flooring is perfect.

I hope you find what works best for you.

Aside from the hardwood vs vinyl question, don't put a wood-look product adjacent to a natural wood product. Both floors will look worse.

If you're going to be swayed away from hardwood in the kitchen and toward two different floors go with tile that is not wood-look. It doesn't sound like you're heading toward two different floors but she already persuaded you to consider vinyl over hardwood so anything is possible I think.

"I never understand why people are so adamant against hardwoods in a kitchen. What do they do in there??!!

Standing water, or an unresolved leak - it's not what they do, it's that the kitchen is where most water damage can occur. Maintenance is much more time-consuming than I personally would want to deal with. There is a whole huge thread on it here in this forum somewhere.- if you really don't understand, read that thread.

https://www.woodfloordoctor.com/disadvantages-to-hardwood-floors-in-kitchens/

https://www.homestratosphere.com/pros-cons-kitchen-hardwood-floor/

I had the same experience yesterday and the day before - both the designer with the cabinet company and the GC said hardwood is a bad idea because of the damage that would occur if the dishwasher leaks. Both recommended LVP. I do think that LVP is very popular right now - especially in my area where we have had a lot of flooding and people looking for something that can handle water better. But I probably will choose it even though it is not nearly as nice as hardwood or help with resale. If I didn't have many kids and lots of company coming and going, it would be a different matter.

Nope. Wood will sustain far more damage and be far costlier to replace. Properly installed LVT will hold up MUCH longer to standing water. And sheet vinyl won’t allow water to penetrate at all. So no, not all other floors will sustain the kind of damage that wood will.

There will always be those that love wood in a kitchen, and those that won’t have it. To many, it’s worth the risk. It’s like getting marble countertops. If you love it and gotta have it, then go for it.

For those worried about leaks, there is a very simple fix - get a water alarm that shuts off dishwasher and refrigerator water line as soon as it detects a leak. Install a pan underneath the appliances which capture any water that escapes.

I have these water devices for my washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator and HVAC.

My dishwasher has never leaked but there's always a first time. My HVAC system has leaked but it's a peculiar system installed in the ceiling with a central water line servicing all HVAC units on my stack so any backup in the pipes can cause an overflow - that's not typical for most home HVAC installations.

thanks everyone! Lot of good input. I think I am leaning towards the hardwood floor, I guess I was surprised when the sales lady was steering me towards the vinyl for the entire house. I had never heard of that - I knew people that used it in the basement, but never for upstairs/entire house. The houses around here have hardwood typically so it also makes sense from a resale to keep it the same. For leaks and things, I guess I could purchase enough extra to replace it under the dishwasher if I ever needed it. Of course there would be additional cost to sand the entire kitchen, rip up floor etc., but I am not expecting leaks to happen, just in an emergency.

For those of you that have hardwood in the kitchen, how do you clean it though? just a swiffer/dry mop? Can you clean it with any water?

If you're worried about a leaking appliance, put tile in your kitchen and hardwood everywhere else. There's no need to put vinyl in an entire house just because of the kitchen. If you have an open-concept kitchen, then you have to choose one or the other if you want it to look cohesive.

Use the wood cleaner recommended by your installer or the manufacturer. Most people I know spray it on the mop so it's essentially a dampish mop but not water. A lot of people use Bona cleaning system.

Dust is the real scourge of wood as the grit is abrasive over time.

If you have a real spill then you can clean it up just as you might with a piece of wood furniture - a good finish is going to be resistant to short term water.

Chess and wiscokid - we have a Bissel steam mop that actually our flooring guy recommended. You can control the amount of steam used and we use the low setting. There is no standing water after going over the floors; in fact, they're nearly dry with only 1 pass. We don't use it all the time, maybe once a month.

We just use a broom and dustpan or vacuum for more regular cleaning.

"our flooring guy recommended".

I would check the floor manufacturer's website and see what THEY recommend. I've met plenty of "flooring guys" that don't know their you-know-what from a hole in the ground. :-)

Chocolatebunny, I also use a steam mop (on setting 1) on my prefinished solid wood floors. They are 15 years old and except for some damage around the kitchen table, other areas look shiny and great!

Chess - we didn't build the home and the builder is no longer in business. We took pictures and brought them to a flooring store (not a big box store) and based on the age and area of our home, their guess was we have red oak floors. We don't know what "brand" flooring it is, but based on what our neighbors have, we're guessing it was finished on site 20 years ago with a clear finish. So based on that, the "flooring guy" is who recommended the steamer and to use low steam. He also said we could use vinegar and water on them too.

Not trying to be argumentative, just saying we tried to do our homework. :)

I had a pretty huge leak last year. Seems to be common with these townhomes. I ended up doing wood look tile. I am on a concrete slab. The insurance people were willing to pay for replacent with wood. I didn't want to take that chance.

if I had the money and the choice I would love hardwood throughout. Since I don't and don't tile it is. And yes, it's a pain on my knees (pun quite intended).

I am putting in 2000 sq ft of engineered Cumaru! It is going everywhere except the bathrooms and laundry area. I am obviously a fan. I love the look and feel of natural products. You just can’t get that with LVP.

I dislike LVP for environmental reasons … but I think it is gof product for some people/situations. I don’t think you will love the product. I would never have LVP next to hardwood. I never considered tile since it is open concept and no way to transition from product to product.

Stick with hardwood. You’ll be glad you did!

As far as cleaning … I use Bona. They sell entire kits. Wonderful products.

Vinyl is NOT an alternative to hardwood. Stone is. Porcelain tile is.

For one thing, hardwoods adds to the value of a house and vinyl detracts. Have you ever seen a listing for a house that advertised its vinyl flooring?!?

Vinyl is serviceable, nothing more. And you can't refinish it, so when it gets damaged and you can't find any more to patch, you have to replace the whole floor.

LOL. The sheet vinyl in my kitchen is 24 years old. No patching, no repairs, ever. I'm fairly certain a wood floor would never have held up as well.

I'm in my late 60's and spent most of my married life in a large contemporary with beautiful hardwood floors throughout. Except the kitchen.

When we remodeled, I replaced the floor with tile. The kitchen was not fully open to the large open rooms so the floor difference didn't make a big impact.

My daughter and her family live in a large, open concept home with beautiful wood floors throughout including the kitchen. After 10 yrs and raising two kids and dogs, the kitchen floors need to be refinished.

A kitchen takes a toll on wood floors even without leaks. Kitchens get the most traffic, spills, cooking, etc. Hot water, grease splatters, dropped drinks, etc. Raising children and pets scratch the finish, they drop drinks, water bowls for pets, Kitchen floors need to be mopped and cleaned almost every day in a busy household.

I love wood floors but feel they are impractical in a kitchen. I wouldn't use vinyl but love tile for cleanliness and ease of cleaning.

Jane

I have had hardwood floors in a kitchen. They were fine. Honestly, we have had a harder time with hardwood floors in other parts of the house.