Q.. I am planning on installing a new kitchen floor and I am thinking about using cork. What are the benefits of doing this?
A.. There are many good reasons to consider cork flooring tiles as a kitchen floor, with one of them being comfort. The material is a soft one and therefore it is easy on the feet, making it a pleasant surface to walk on.
And of course, as it is quite soft then it is less likely a plate or cup will break if you drop it.
Cork also has a number of general attributes that could come in handy. For one thing, it is waterproof (which is why corks float instead of sinking), so that's good news when things get spilt.
In addition, the material has some fire resistance, which may be handy if you end up with something burning in the kitchen.
And cork floor - be it in the kitchen or anywhere else - has the advantage of being sustainable. Some cork floors are even made from recycled old wine corks.
But even if they are not, the material comes from the bark of the tree and harvesting it does not harm the plant, unlike timber where the tree is killed by being chopped down.
Instead, it gradually grows back and can be harvested again in a few years.
