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dianahb I put cork flooring in my studio and love it. However, I would not put it in a kitchen. (Too much water/moisture in a kitchen, and too many dropped items.) A dropped knife will scuff or do minor chipping to a cork floor. I'd go with the oak or even bamboo. I do love my cork flooring, but where I have it, it doesn't get the wear and tear that a kitchen floor would.

nootsiebrooks Thanks. Was concerned about that type thing. Manufacturers assure me that they are as durable as oak but i am afraid of drops and spills.

beverlyalbers In a startup company in Silicon Valley the young CEO I worked for opted for cork in the kitchen where we provided lunch for everyone (thanks for all the work resulting from your model Google!). We went from 10 to 50 people through there everyday. Lots of traffic, far more than a home. The floor was lovely, a nice soft warm brown. In three years a 5 gallon water bottle leaked on the tiles causing 16 of them to be replaced, staff spilled all kinds of food on it and some stained, the janitor researched a sealer to use, ineffectively, and the chairs created dents where they slid in and out. To top it off, the cork faded where light hit it, even though the window was tinted.

I LOVE the look of cork, and standing on it is wonderful, but just be aware that it might not wear as well as you might think. Ask lots of questions and see if they can show you a demo, like they do for vacuum cleaners at a department store. Make them spill water on it and leave it for 20 minutes - that's when I seem to catch where my dog drools on the floor. ; )

Personally, I'd consider cork in a bedroom or a den, but having seen what a lot of traffic can do in a kitchen, I'd shy away from it there.

Good luck!

nootsiebrooks Good to know. Thank you.

magcailains Manufacturers may assure you they are as durable as oak but I don't agree. When researching flooring options for my last house the one thing I discovered about cork is that no matter who the manufacturer was I could run my thumbnail across them and every time I could see the mark left on it. Your thumbnail won't be able to that on oak. If you have dogs there nails will mark up the cork. Take a look at cork samples in the store and you will see the indents from them being handled. If damage occurs to cork it can only be replaced not repaired unlike oak.

As the years pass and the flooring becomes worn your only option with cork is to replace it whereas the oak can be sanded and refinished. Two things to consider if you decide to go with oak is can you find prefinished to match existing and if not you may have to go with unfinished and have it done on site to match the rest of the flooring and secondly does the existing oak flooring run in the same direction in which case lining up the new flooring to the old from one side to the other to the other is unlikely. If this is an issue you can simply change the direction to run opposite to the existing flooring. Finished on site flooring, especially in the kitchen, completely seals the floor as opposed to prefinished where there is more of a chance of spills seeping through the joins in the pieces.

Hope this helps and good luck with your project.

dianahb About the cork we put down-- we did have it sealed, like you would seal tile, which works wonderfully. And any furniture that went in my studio was laid over felt (not directly on the cork). The thing about cork that's so great is its flexibility-- which makes it so wonderful to stand on, but also it does bounce back-- so if something indents it, the indent will reverse. I'm not sure about years-long indention (hence, putting felt between a piece of furniture and the floor). And, you know, dogs will will mark up wood for sure, too. But, again, as much as I love mine-- and I got the kind that is like plank flooring, and dark-- it looks like old wood flooring, really beautiful-- and perfect for me-- I would still not put it in my kitchen. As stated above, too many spills, water, dropped items. Of course, I probably wouldn't put wood in a kitchen either, as nice as that would look. I just think tile takes kitchen abuse so much better than anything else.