Thanks out to contributor Lisa M. Smith aka the Decor Girl for sharing a key part of her Blah to Spa Bathroom Makeover. Looking for a new, maybe better, quieter, warmer, bathroom floor? Cork floors can be an excellent option in the bathroom.  Recently we remodeled our daily use bathroom and used cork plank flooring. I’ll share some installation photos as well as why cork should be on your radar as a bathroom flooring option.  BTW, it works great in the kitchen and other rooms too. First of all, let’s eliminate the most common myth: “How can cork flooring work in a bathroom? Look no further than the nearest wine bottle.  Wine producers have been using cork for thousands of years as their bottle stops because of durability and cork’s ability to hold up to moisture.  Ever heard of Dom Pérignon, grandfather of all champagnes?  By using cork as the stopper instead of wood (which warps, molds, cracks, etc.) he was able to keep the bubbles in the bottle.  

Starting to make one wonder why we think wood is so great as a flooring option. Today’s popular cork floors come as tiles or tongue & groove planks, like a wood floor. Plastic Containers Wholesale Los AngelesNotice the planks stacked in the background and how easy the contractor can make cuts before he installs the piece.Teacup English Bulldog Puppies For Sale In Pa A thin layer of cork veneer applied to a rigid substrate material.Prom Dress Store In Richmond Va The big differences (other than look or pattern) between tile, often called parquet, and plank? Tiles are typically a glue down installation while plank is often installed as a floating floor.  Click, cut … install baseboard trim and you’ve got a beautiful new floor.  

Many plank versions are approved for below grade installation as well. And cork is certainly DIY-worthy. Cork is the best when it comes to avoiding mold and mildew, one or even both of those items often present in a bathroom. But put simply – cork resists mold and mildew. What doesn’t resist mold and mildew?  The typical bathroom floor options we normally use: ceramic tile, vinyl, wood and laminate.  Look at it, even dirt is hard to spot which, of course, is always a good thing. On the cleaning front, cork is super simple. In the old days, cork had a waxed coating, which over time would have to be stripped and reapplied. Advances in technology brought new finishes with increased performance characteristics. Basically, a light sweep and once-a-week swish with a damp mop are all most homeowner will ever have to do. A bit of warm water with a splash of vinegar (not too much) in the bucket will do the trick. Bathrooms by design are full of hard surfaces, itself creating a den of echoes.

This is partially why people love to sing in the shower … the amplified acoustics.  All those sounds: running water, closing and opening doors, moving objects on a countertop, footsteps, voices, and even the bathroom fan – are magnified when hard surfaces a present. Cork, even though it is slightly compressed for flooring, is full of tiny honeycombs filled with air which allow cork to dampen environmental sounds.  Consider cork floor kinda like your bathroom’s muzzle. Once replacing our tiled bathroom floor with cork, I never hear my husband in the shower, which used to wake me up in the morning.  I barely hear the now gentle hum of the fan. The thing with cork in a bathroom is it works great provided spills are wiped up and puddles of water do not sit on it for extended periods. Use bathmats, but don’t leave super wet ones on the floor.  We use a teak bath mat in front of the tub with a cotton rug on top of it to both absorb water and allow for aeration. My flooring distributor has four children, a dog and they share one bathroom.

They have had cork down for over two years and it looks like new. When I told him I was writing this post, he relayed a story of his young son, who recently decided to shower without a shower curtain … water was everywhere. But they just wiped up the floor and it still looks primo. Like anything, when kept clean and maintained, it will last. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the pioneer of organic architecture, used cork floors in many of his homes including one of his most famous homes, Falling Water.  There still there – I’ve seen it. Cork flooring has been down for over 100 years in these well used commercial environments: Hmmm, if it is good enough for these buildings… it will likely perform just as well in yours. For more on this designer’s “Blah to Spa” bathroom makeover, here.Wood, concrete and even glass look beautiful underfoot and with a few, simple protective measures can really step up your bathroom's style, so don't limit yourself to traditional vinyl & ceramic tile.

Sandhill Industries makes recycled glass tiles for the bath. "Glass tile is exploding in the marketplace," says Bruce Curtis, who runs a remodeling company, Washtenaw Woodwrights, in Ann Arbor, Mich. And as interest in glass tile has grown, so have the available decorator options, including tiles by Moving Color that actually change color as the temperature of the room changes — sort of like mood rings for the bathroom. With their endless color variations, textures, sizes and shapes, glass tiles have become one of today's most popular home decorating materials. Glass tiles are versatile as well, working well on walls, countertops, backsplashes and, yes, bathroom floors. Many of the glass tiles available to homeowners are made from recycled bottles, jars and other discarded materials, making them a "green" choice, as well as a beautiful one. Kelly Bakewell, Interior Designer for Washtenaw Woodwrights, says there are some special considerations for using glass tile flooring.

"Most manufacturers recommend using smaller tiles to distribute weight more evenly." This is one reason glass mosaics have become popular flooring options for bathrooms, particularly showers. Glass tile can be installed just about anywhere ceramic tile would work, and it's resistant to damage from moisture and temperature changes. Glass tile flooring is easy to keep beautiful with a mop and the same glass cleaner you use on your windows. While tiles aren't prone to break, they can be slippery, and smooth surfaces are prone to scratching. To avoid these risks, Bakewell recommends tiles with a sandblasted surface, from companies like Walker Zanger, Hakatai and Waterworks. Hardwood floors — whether restored, recycled or installed new — have become one of the most popular choices in every area of the home, and the bathroom is no exception. With a few extra precautions, wood floors can perform as well in bathrooms as they do everywhere else. And unlike most other bathroom flooring choices, wood floors can be periodically refinished and resealed, increasing their practicality.

John Ahlen decided to go with wood flooring in the bathrooms as part of the extensive renovation of his 1890 Queen Anne Victorian just outside Atkins, Ark. (Ahlen has detailed his experiences on his blog, The Devil Queen.) "The house originally had wood flooring throughout," says Ahlen. "Using wood in the bathroom fit the look and feel of the house." Ahlen saved money by salvaging wood floors from a nearby, 60-year-old farmhouse and by installing the bathroom floor himself. After installation, he took some extra precautions to protect the floor from bathroom moisture. "We applied a couple more layers of oil-based polyurethane than we normally would have," says Ahlen. "We also made it a point to fill cracks between the boards with wood putty to prevent water from seeping in between or under the boards." Nicole Sassaman, an interior designer in southern California, says she loves the warm, inviting look of wood floors in bathrooms, and agrees with Ahlen that taking a few extra steps will pay off.

"Wood is fine in bathrooms. You just have to dry water off of it rather than letting it sit, but you should do that anyway," explains Sassaman. "Putting extra coats of varnish on it will also help make it more durable." Other experts recommend installing a highly efficient vent/fan in bathrooms with wood flooring to help keep humidity to a minimum. Sheila Harris of Bowling Green, Ky., longed to sink her feet into soft carpet in her new bathroom, but others were skeptical of her plan. She did her research, though, and found a modern carpet product that works well in bathrooms. It's called FLOR, and it comes in a wide variety of modular carpet tiles that can be easily installed by homeowners directly onto virtually any flooring surface. "The FLOR tiles are great because any individual piece can be removed, cleaned, dried and then put right back into place with no trouble," says Sheila. "Obviously, this is exactly what you want in a bathroom, where there's a lot of moisture.

Not just any wall-to-wall carpet would work as well as this does in my bathroom." FLOR tiles are designed with a low-toxicity, antimicrobial backing designed to inhibit growth of mold and bacteria, and come in dozens of colors, patterns and textures. It takes 15 FLOR tiles to cover a 5' x 7' space, and at only $10-$14 per tile, they offer an economical, durable and fun alternative to standard bathroom flooring options. Zen Paradise's pebble bath tiles come in a variety of colors For environmentally conscious homeowners looking for a "green" bathroom flooring option, you can't do much better than cork or bamboo. These two hip materials are made from tree-like tropical grasses that replenish themselves in the wild every few years. Bamboo and cork each offer unique properties that can make them good choices for bathrooms. Bamboo floors look similar to traditional wood floors, but are naturally harder and more durable. Cork offers a soft, warm feel on bare feet. Both cork and bamboo are naturally resistant to mold, mildew and bacteria, and both naturally repel moisture, excellent qualities in bathroom floors.

Nick Hodapp and his wife Trissa chose bamboo for two of the bathrooms in their 1907 Craftsman home in Seattle, Wash. (You can track their renovation projects on their blog, Pigeon Point Project.) "We chose bamboo for its warmth and durability," says Nick. "We installed all the flooring ourselves. The bamboo in the upstairs bath is nailed down; it took me about two hours with a rented floor nailer. The bamboo in the powder room is a floating floor where each piece is glued to the next. That took a while but the results are very nice." For homeowners who want the look of posh stone at a fraction of the cost and with easier upkeep, concrete may be the way to go. Many bathrooms already have a layer of concrete under existing tile or linoleum floors that can be restored through acid staining into a gorgeous, new stone-look floor. Concrete also works exceptionally well over underfloor radiant heating systems. Maintaining acid-stained concrete floors is easy, requiring only a mop and periodic polishing.