<p>Bromfield2, That kitchen looks lovely, the floor, too. In the picture, the slate floor doesn’t look too different from travertine floor. Do they feel different in real life?</p>
<p>mythreesons, I love wood floors and have them throughout the house including the bathrooms. Not in this kitchen. Even linoleum floors wear out here. I don’t mind hard floors. I wear slippers with good padding. The heat mat will be installed with the tiles. It will be warmer than wood floors.</p>
<p>BB - I used have a tile counter top. That’s how I was familiar with epoxy glue. The heat mat, definitely!</p>
<p>I think slate would look fantastic and be more resistant to the traffic and mud-room wetness. I am picturing a floor I saw at a restaurant in the Ozarks–it was randomly shaped pieces of slate fitted together, not uniformly sized tiles. Slate is historically accurate in colonial homes as well.</p>
<p>Trying to find a suitable picture. Will post again if I do.</p>
<p>Yes, VH, that would be my choice as well. We have a slate-paver covered walkway in the front yard, and that’s what the kitchen in the picture reminded me. I would also look into bluish-greenish slate to go with brown cabinets… too much brown in that picture!</p>
<p>I really like this multi-colored slate - this is the material we used for the back deck replacing the wood: [Stone</a> Deck.](<a href=“http://www.stonedeckwest.com/]Stone”>http://www.stonedeckwest.com/) Speaking of decks… Washing this beauty is a piece of cake: just brush with soapy water and hose off the dirt. Wood decks that need annual staining and bleaching are such a pain!!!</p>
<p>^Maybe not that random. It is a small kitchen, thin and long. I think I would go with brick pattern whatever I use. So many different slate colors. Is only the blue-gray slate be accurate to the period? The cabinet is pale blue, more like white with blue hint. Blue-gray slate may just kill it.</p>
<p>BB - That is a lovely looking deck. One could do checker board with two colors :)</p>
<p>Igloooo…your subject asks about brick vs wood floors…but then in post 15 you say “no wood”. If that is the case, and those were your only two choices, you’ve answered your own question. Go with the brick.</p>
<p>I will say…we had a friend with a brick floor in her house many years ago. She absolutely hated it. It was cold, always looked dirty, and anything dropped on it shattered into bits. It was also very hard to stand on for any length of time. Even after she got it sealed, it still sucked up things like oil (or butter…from dropped toast, for example). She eventually had it taken out (not cheap) and put hardwood tongue and groove floors with a fabulous and hard multi-coat finish. She had a golden retriever. The key was to make sure the dog’s nails were kept trimmed. She had the kitchen floor refinished every five years or so…but really it probably could have gone longer than that.</p>
<p>^True. I guess I was looking for validation for brick tile for the period. My title should have been,“Should you put a wood floor if in a colonial home?” The picture I looked up all showed wood floors. Here’s the brick tile floor I am looking,</p>
<p>iglooo, the slate in that photo is gorgeous. I had never thought of it either for my house but doing research on it today makes me think it is wonderful. </p>
<p>Here’s a pretty traditional-looking kitchen with a slate floor:</p>
<p>I have laid brick floors in my kitchen, dining and family room. My house is 65 years old and, yes, there are stains but I would no more deep clean them than I would power wash the lichens off my brick patio. I realize this is really a question of taste and how authentic you want your home to look. (I have slate on my roof.)</p>
<p>We have brick floors in our family room and breakfast room. The house was built in 1960, so not exactly historical, but I love them. We don’t do anything to them other than damp mopping with plain water. I like the rustic look.</p>
<p>I have wood throughout my main floor everywhere except my living room. I have a Georgian-style home. I think the wood is classic and gorgeous. The slate is pretty, but seems a little colder to me, but that’s just personal taste.</p>
<p>We built a new house three years ago…small waterfront bungalow/craftsman.<br>
It’s an open floor plan w/ kitchen,dining,living room…all in one big space. We did solid oak flooring (not laminate). We love it. It’s so warm and homey. It softens the rest of the kitchen with all the stainless steel and granite. I have heard of people (as we age) having back problems from standing a lot on hard tile floors, not to mention the cold factor. Also think hardwood is better for resale if that need should every occur.I would go with wood.</p>
<p>You are not alone to think slate/tile feels cold. It is. In floor heating will take the cold off physically but emotionally, it would still look cold. </p>
<p>I did a little digging into this matter. Some historians claim clay/mud floor is most authentic. I am not going there, either. Just trying to put something more practical that wouldn’t look totally out of place.</p>
<p>The countertop is wood, I got an antique stove. Painted wood cabinets. The microwave will be the only thing that has a touch of stainless steel. I am hoping tile/slate floor won’t look too cold.</p>