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Flooring Kitchens Design Dilemma

Need help with tile to hardwood transition around kitchen island

3 years ago

There’s not a clear cut place to end the hardwood and begin the tile in our kitchen renovation. (Would love to continue original hardwood throughout kitchen as it runs through the rest of the house but we don’t have enough.) We wanted to keep the chairs around the island on the same floor. Unsure if we should line up the tile with the edge of the cabinet (option 1 in picture) or line it up with edge of island (option 2 in picture).

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Comments (7)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
Not sure what you mean by not enogh flooring. If you need to match what you have get unfinished wood and have it site finished to match the rest IMO the only way to handle this properly
Justine Dupes
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you so much. We extended the exterior of the house which is why we don’t have enough original hardwood for the area. We considered matching it but we were told it would never match perfectly.
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We did the exact same thing as you are about to do. The wall behind the fridge came down, kitchen extended about 12" into dining room, small 5' penninsula to connect the 2 rooms. The plan was to lay pergo floor and I switched to tile in the middle of the reno because matching the old wood floors in the house was too difficult. I will tell you this, 5' penninsula is very small, but I like the larger opening. The GC did a good job with the threshold,and the same threshold is at the back door now too. As you can see, my island also overlaps both rooms, and I tied the 2 rooms together with the glass cabinet above the penninsula. I have to be honest, in my "heart of hearts" is the desire for wood flooring like the rest of my house. I am getting used to the tile (it's pretty, but really too light), but I do wish I had taken the time early on to budget for the wood. Oh well, maybe someday....!! You are gonna LOVE seeing that wall come down, and the space open up -- You will be Thrilled!! Wall behind this refridgerator came down - AMAZING!!!! ="http://s781.photobucket.com/albums/yy95/tracy02360/Sears%20and%20Roebuck%201925%20Bungalow%20Home/?action=viewÃÂ¤t=kitchenreno006.jpg" target="_blank"> See the glass cabinet and the 2 floors connect? Used to be a wall right there!!!! GC just measured and cut!!!
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You are SO SO SWEET! I am totally obsessing about this stuff (especially with this home confinement!). We are getting our contract for building on Monday. I know I don’t need to have the decisions made by then, but it’s all occupying space in my head! I love the white hex above with the little bit of blue that forms a triangle. If I could find a porcelain of it, that would be ideal! That’s extraordinary! There’s a doorway, so feathering won’t work, but that’s cool! Thank you SO much for your help!
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SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
If you have site finished hardwood, this is easy enough to do. If you have FACTORY FINISHED hardwood (already looks pretty...just need to nail/glue in place) you are going to have issues.

Which type of floor do you have? Site finished (just sand it down and start with a fresh colour) or do you have factory finished?

Can you post a photo of what you currently have?
Justine Dupes
Original Author
3 years ago
I’m not sure. I would guess site finished. The floor is over 30 years old.
ptreckel
3 years ago
You have REAL hardwood floors. I would continue the REAL hardwood floors throughout your entire kitchen. A good, reputable wood flooring person will be able to match your wood very closely and stain it to match nearly perfectly with your existing flooring. I have white oak floors in my nearly century (1930s) home. I wanted to continue them in my remodeled kitchen, replacing 1950s linoleum. It is impossible to tell that they are NOT original. Don’t accept NO for your answer. Keep asking. You will find the skilled people who can feather in and match your new floors to your original floors.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
If the wood is 30 years old, it is READY for a full sand/refinish. I can see that these may be premanufactured wide planks that are made up of smaller planks. You can look to see how thick these are by looking at the cross section: you have a LOVELY little hole in the floor (air vent) which I see in the photo. This is PERFECT to look at the cut section. Go ahead and take a measuring tape to measure the total thickness of the wood. If it is made up of multiple layers (like plywood) then simply measure the TOP layer. To achieve a full sand/refinish you need 3mm or more.

I would bet my first born that a WELL TRAINED flooring professional (ahem...NOT a General Contractor...someone who ONLY works with hardwood) to come in and get a sense of what this wood is. The 'make up' of the wide plank isn't important (which is why the GC is saying you don't have enough wood). All you need is the same SPECIES, narrow plank width, cut and grade. Don't worry. A professional wood flooring person will know exactly what those 4 requirements mean.

An order can be put in for more of the same. Then the new wood is installed...and then the WHOLE thing gets sanded/refinished = same colour throughout.

Please believe me when I say a hardwood floor that is 30 years old NEEDS a sand/refinish. This is the PERFECT time to do this.
Justine Dupes
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you so much for all of the great information! There’s definitely enough to achieve a refinish. Wish I would have come on here for suggestions before we ordered our tile.

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