Durability doesn't have to sacrifice style in your restaurant. Consider these restaurant flooring ideas to get a stylish look but attain high performance.
The average American eats out 5.9 times a week. Depending on the size of your restaurant, you could potentially have hundreds of people coming through your establishment every week.
With that kind of traffic, you expect a lot out of your restaurant flooring. It needs to be durable, slip-resistant (you don't want anybody getting injured), easy to clean, and still look amazing. That's a tall order.
The good news is that modern flooring offers several options to do just that. So what kind of flooring fits the bill? Let's check them out here.
Luxury Vinyl
Vinyl has long been a popular option for floors. It's durable, easy to clean, and simple to maintain. The only major drawback is how it looks.
Well, set aside any preconceptions that you have about vinyl flooring and make room for the amazing luxury vinyl tile (LVT) or luxury vinyl plank flooring (LVP). This type of flooring has exploded in popularity over the past few years — and for good reason. It's durable, virtually maintenance-free, waterproof, and will hold up under heavy traffic for a number of years.
The best part is the seemingly endless array of style options. Choose from a huge range of colors to pick the perfect shade that matches your restaurant's branding. Alternatively, luxury vinyl can be made to mimic a number of other attractive materials. These include stone, hardwood, ceramic tile, terrazzo, and much more.
In many cases, luxury vinyl will be cheaper than the type of flooring you would like to mimic. But the biggest reason to choose it is for its qualities. Love the hardwood look for your restaurant but worried about water damage and keeping it clean? Choose luxury vinyl plank flooring instead, the hardwood look-alike version. What if the look of ceramic tile strikes your fancy but you're concerned about it breaking too easily or being slippery when wet? Choose an LVT that looks like it instead.
Hardwood Flooring
It's hard to beat hardwood flooring when it comes to giving your restaurant a classy, traditional look. It's warm and inviting and can make your restaurant feel more cozy.
Because of its expense, hardwood flooring is often associated with higher-end homes and businesses. As such, it can make the atmosphere in your restaurant feel a little more sophisticated. Hardwood floors that have been correctly installed and sealed are quite durable. You may want to put footies on any chairs that will be pushed in and out constantly to avoid scratches. But the floor itself is designed to last for years.
Plus, it's simple to sand and refinish a hardwood floor to remove blemishes or change the look of your restaurant — without the expense of installing a whole new floor. This is a great bonus if you like the idea of being able to refresh the look of your floors every few years.
While hardwood is a gorgeous option, it does have its drawbacks. Spills, even water, need to be cleaned up almost immediately to avoid stains. Also, as a whole, it is harder to keep clean and maintain than other types of floors.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is another type of flooring that you may already have preconceived notions about. Well, we're here to tell you that the faded yellow laminate peeling off your grandmother's kitchen floor is a far cry from what's available today.
The biggest draw for modern-day laminate flooring is the price. It's one of the cheapest (nice-looking) floors that you can buy. Laminate flooring is very easy to install. You can even install it over an existing floor. This makes changing up the look of your restaurant easy without having to tear out the floor. Unfortunately, it's difficult to replace only a damaged portion of laminate flooring. Many times you'll have to replace the entire floor just to smooth out one damaged spot.
The material is highly water-resistant, making it a good choice for areas that get wet often. It also comes in a huge range of colors and designs so you can match your restaurant branding effectively.
Carpet Tile
No other type of flooring can feel as cozy and warm as carpet. However, many restaurant owners shy away from it for obvious reasons. Cleaning carpet is difficult and debris and allergens trapped in the fibers can make an unpleasant dining experience for some people. However, for those who really want the carpet look and feel, go for carpet tile. This type of carpet is a little more expensive than the typical roll of carpet, but it's worth it.
Carpet tile can be waterproof, making spills less of a concern. On top of that, if you damage a portion of the carpet tile floor, you can simply replace the affected tiles, rather than tearing out the whole carpet. This is handy when you need to switch out high traffic areas by the door but the carpet at the back of the restaurant still looks new. Also, keeping it clean will take a bit of extra effort. Clean and vacuum regularly to keep the floor in its best condition.
Which Type of Restaurant Flooring Wins?
By now you're probably thinking that this all sounds nice, but what type of restaurant flooring should you buy?
Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all option. We hope this article has given you a bit of insight into which option will best serve your business. You can also feel free to contact us with any questions. We're happy to offer our expertise to help you choose the perfect flooring for your needs.
