Is it safe to install parquet in the kitchen or bathroom?

Parquet in the kitchen and bathroom - yes or no? This is the question of many people who love this type of flooring so much that they also want to install it in the kitchen and bathroom.

Opinions on whether parquet should be installed in the kitchen or bathroom are very controversial. The bathroom and kitchen are probably the most frequently used rooms in the house and are naturally prone to daily use, from which parquet flooring is not excluded.

However, it is important to point out that the development of new technologies now allows us to indulge in a number of pleasures that even only a decade ago were prohibitive: parquet flooring in the kitchen is just one of these pleasures. Thanks to new technologies, it is now possible to solve the problems of waterlogging and the formation of wood mould. Proper protection of parquet is always very important, especially in the bathroom and kitchen.

In the following paragraphs we will discover the pros and cons of installing parquet in the kitchen and bathroom.

Parquet in the kitchen and bathroom: everything you need to know

Just as in any other room in the house, whether it be the living room or the bedroom, it is always important to dry any possible accidents that may occur and affect the surface of the parquet floor immediately, and to avoid stagnant water as much as possible.

On the other hand, as in the living room, if you spill a glass of water on the parquet, you will not leave it on the floor for a long time.

Our advice is that, in the case of varnished parquet, before laying, the edges and heads of the strips in the most sensitive areas should be treated with a special product: your parquet specialist can advise you on the best product for this. Thanks to this treatment, your varnished parquet floor will be better sealed and protected against the penetration of liquids, even in case of prolonged distractions.

Another important tip we would like to give you is to avoid using acids or aggressive degreasing detergents (alkaline based) in order not to cause local blackening.

Best parquet floors for bathrooms and kitchens

Which parquet floors are most suitable for use in kitchens and bathrooms? To answer this question, we can generally say that, in terms of the wood species most commonly used in kitchens and bathrooms, harder woods such as oak or cabreuva parquet are certainly more suitable for use in these rooms of the house and in general for spaces with a lot of traffic. Harder woods are therefore preferable to softer woods such as maple or teak.

However, when choosing the most suitable parquet for your kitchen or bathroom, you should not only be influenced by the durability and strength of the floor covering, but also by its appearance and style, such as the colour of the covering and the different types of grain. In this regard, it is important to emphasise that parquet is a type of covering that can offer a great sense of well-being in any room in the home, thanks to its innate "warm embrace" properties. When choosing the perfect parquet floor for your kitchen or bathroom, you should look for the right harmony between the covering and the furniture.

How to choose parquet for your kitchen or bathroom

Once you have clarified which type of parquet flooring to choose for your kitchen or bathroom, here are a few factors that you should consider carefully when choosing the most suitable parquet for your needs and requirements:

• Choosing the wood species best suited to your needs and aesthetic tastes
• Choice of the thickness of the noble wood
• Choice of laying method
• Choice of finish
• Choice of parquet colour

Parquet in the kitchen with tiles

In order to further optimise the covering to be installed in the kitchen or bathroom, you can consider the idea of installing a sort of carpet of tiles in the areas of the kitchen that are subject to trampling and wear (for example, near the hob or sink, or around the dining table).

In order to realise this furnishing idea, it will be important to know how to dose and combine harmoniously the materials, for example combining cement and oak parquet: in this way you can obtain a greater resistance of your covering, also giving rise to a pleasant visual effect.

How to choose the thickness of the parquet?

Parquet in the kitchen or bathroom is best laid in solid or multilayer wood. As far as the thickness of the strips is concerned, our advice is to choose a model with a thickness of no less than 4 mm: with a thickness of this type it is possible to carry out the sanding treatment several times, thus eliminating the marks and scratches caused by wear.

Laminate parquet in the kitchen and bathroom should be avoided, i.e. coverings characterised by only a thin layer of noble wood: this type of parquet would be very easily damaged in the kitchen or bathroom, due to wear and continuous treading, as well as abrasion from chairs and objects accidentally dropped.

How to choose the colour of parquet?

Regarding the choice of the colour of the parquet floor to be installed in the kitchen and bathroom, the first piece of advice we would like to give you is to avoid particularly light colours in the kitchen: this choice could in fact turn into a real nightmare, since any small imperfection or scratch would be immediately visible; this would not be the case with a parquet floor characterised by a darker colour.

How to choose the parquet finish?

The choice of finish (oil or varnish) depends mainly on how often the parquet is maintained. The use of varnishes will allow you to create a protective layer on the surface of the parquet: this protective layer is particularly suitable in the kitchen area, where objects, tools and furniture can fall off more easily than in the living area. If there are scratches or stains, the surface must be sanded.

As far as the oil finish is concerned, it should be noted that this type of solution will allow the wood of the parquet to breathe: with this finish, in the event of water or other liquids falling, the surface must be dried immediately in order to avoid water stagnation that could damage the integrity of the wood. In the case of stains or scratches that are not too deep, in this case you only need to apply a simple coat of oil to obtain a perfect and intact parquet floor again.