Are you considering a kitchen remodeling project? If so, it is very important that you use the right materials for the job. The kitchen is one of the highest traffic rooms in the entire house and is often considered to be the heart of the home. Since the kitchen is a working room, you are going to want to make sure that its new upgrades can handle the job. There are a few factors to consider when choosing a material for a kitchen remodel. You need to think about everything from durability to ease of cleaning, and these will be the key aspects to consider.
One material you should definitely not use for your kitchen is laminate countertops. Although laminate is very inexpensive and might be appealing for that reason, you should not choose this for your kitchen renovation. They do come in a variety of colors, textures and patterns, but laminate countertops are not scratch-resistant, stain-resistant or heat-resistant. When you are cooking in the kitchen, you are going to be working with hot pots and pans and if you have laminate countertops, you can never put hot items onto it. Instead of laminate, you should choose granite or quartz. Both of those materials will hold up much better over time and they are both heat-resistant are not going to stain or scratch.
Vinyl flooring is another big no no to use in your kitchen. Yes, there are lots of different looks and textures and some of them can be visually appealing. Vinyl is inexpensive, but this is not a good flooring choice for a kitchen. Vinyl does not do well with moisture, so if there is a leak from your dishwasher or refrigerator, it can cause bubbling that cannot be fixed. It will also lose its color over time and it does not take very long for it to look dingy. Stone, wood or tile are much better choices for a kitchen floor since they are all much more durable and will be able to withstand water without getting ruined.
Using flat paint is appealing for some homeowners, but flat paint is not the finish that you want in your kitchen. When you are cooking and eating in your kitchen, the walls are likely to get splattered with different foods and liquids and you want to have walls that are stain-resistant and are easy to clean. Flat paint actually absorbs stains and is not stain-resistant at all. A better paint choice would be semi-gloss or high-gloss, since these finishes are much easier to clean.
One last material that you should stay away from are thermofoil cabinet fronts. Thermofoil is actually vinyl, and this material is not heat-resistant, it will warp and fade with age, and the wood that is underneath is low quality and will not last very long. You want to make sure that you are choosing high-quality cabinets. Not only will they look nicer, but they will hold up much better and will last a lot longer than thermofoil cabinets.
