In this snack-sized episode of Home: The Second Story, we dig into the world of flooring—what works, what doesn’t, and why context matters more than any single rule. We’ve all dealt with the pressure of making long-term, expensive flooring decisions, so we unpack real-life experiences to offer guidance that’s both practical and design-savvy.
We kick off with Marilyn’s bold stance: no tile in the kitchen. She argues it’s uncomfortable, impractical, and stylistically outdated. While Taylor pushes back slightly with visions of a Mediterranean-style saltillo-tiled kitchen, we all agree that wood floors are often overlooked but perfectly viable for kitchens—and even bathrooms—if properly protected and maintained.
From there, we get into the nuts and bolts of flooring choices. Subfloors matter. Whether you’re working on a new build or a renovation, structural stiffness and existing conditions (like a concrete slab) play a huge role in what flooring will perform best. Large format tiles, for example, require structural reinforcement or a crack isolation membrane. Mosaic tiles can offer a workaround in older homes where subfloors are uneven.
Engineered hardwood becomes a focal point as we explore how it helps bridge gaps between aesthetic goals and structural limitations. It's more dimensionally stable, especially over slabs, and available in exotic species and wide plank formats. But we caution listeners—check the wear layer. A cheap engineered floor won’t last, and refinishing may be impossible.
Accessibility and aging-in-place design also surface as important factors. Taylor shares promising innovations like cork underlayments and materials from senior living environments that reduce fall injuries—perfect for clients with mobility challenges.
We touch briefly on carpet—yes, it's still in the mix for stairs, slippery spots, or kid-friendly basements—and then dive into the controversial topic of LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank). Sheri talks about the “love-hate” relationship many of us have with it. It’s cost-effective, resilient, and water-resistant, but it’s plastic underfoot and not repairable like wood. Taylor shares her decade-plus of personal experience with LVP in a hard-use basement, while Marilyn champions polished concrete and linoleum as more sustainable alternatives. We all agree: it's situational, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer.
Finally, we discuss aesthetics and trends. While flooring choices don’t swing wildly year to year, finish colors certainly do—dark, gray, and now natural. We also highlight oil finishes as a stunning, underutilized option, with Marilyn emphasizing the beauty and ease of use—even if it's not for every household.
We wrap up with a reminder: flooring is not just about looks. Durability, health, sustainability, and how you live all matter. The more you know your needs, the better your flooring decisions will be.
[Music Playing]
Voiceover (00:02):
Everyone says how horrible it'll be to renovate or build your house. We're here to say, it doesn't have to be that way.
Join three seasoned architects as they interview homeowners who recently completed a large project, and ask them one simple question: what do you know now that you wish you knew before you started?
Welcome to Home: The Second Story Podcast.
Taylor Davis (00:27):
Hi, and welcome to a snack size episode of Home: The Second Story. I'm Taylor Davis from Birmingham, Alabama, and I'm joined by my co-hosts …
Sheri Scott (00:36):
Sheri Scott from Cincinnati.
Marilyn Moedinger (00:38):
And Marilyn Moedinger from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Boston, Massachusetts.
Taylor Davis (00:43):
The subject of today's episode is Floors and Flooring Selections, and all of the different fun things that you can do with flooring, and what makes some flooring choices more appropriate for some situations and other flooring choices more appropriate for others. Go!
[Laughter]
Marilyn Moedinger (01:10):
Well, I'm going to start off with my hot take on flooring. You shouldn't do tile in the kitchen (hot take) – tile flooring in a kitchen, just don't do it.
Sheri Scott (01:19):
That's a big opening there, Marilyn.
[Laughter]
Taylor Davis (01:22):
You’ve certainly taken a position.
Sheri Scott (01:25):
Shall we unpack that?
Marilyn Moedinger (01:27):
Well, tile in a kitchen is because it's hard surface. It's not comfy to stand on.
Sheri Scott (01:33):
How many choices do you have for a kitchen? What do you do? Wood always?
Marilyn Moedinger (01:38):
Just wood, yeah. I mean, I've done some tile.
Taylor Davis (01:41):
We don't always do wood, but we do wood most of the time, I'd say.
Sheri Scott (01:46):
And we haven't done tile in a long time just because of style.
Marilyn Moedinger (01:49):
Yeah, exactly, I think that's a big part of it. It used to be a big thing, so it's less of a hot take now than it used to be.
Taylor Davis (01:55):
Yeah, don't be afraid of wood in the kitchen. People are so worried about it.
Sheri Scott (01:58):
So afraid of it.
Marilyn Moedinger (01:59):
So afraid. And you know what I always say? First of all, I do wood in bathrooms all the time. And second of all, I always say, you know like what they used to build ships out of for millennia? Literal ships that sail in the ocean? Made of wood. You just have to protect the wood and take care of it, and it will literally be submerged for sailing around the world. So, yes, you can have where like two drops of water fall on it.
Taylor Davis (02:26):
Yeah, I'm going to push back a little on the tile from an aesthetic perspective though, because I've got this kind of dream of my own Mediterranean kitchen with like a pretty saltillo tile on the floor that would be just lovely.
I grant you, it's going to require me some, like, Hoka tennis shoes to work on it effectively for a significant period of time. You can't do that in heels. But from a practical perspective, yes. There are some aesthetic choices that one can make.
Marilyn Moedinger (02:55):
Oh yeah. I mean, look where I'm working. I'm in the Mid-Atlantic, in New England. It doesn't make sense to do tiled floors, but if someone commissions me to do a condo in Rome, it's going to have terrazzo floors. Context is important.
Sheri Scott (03:08):
The other thing with tile is grout. So, if you really cook (laughs), then yeah, having grout in your kitchen is probably a bad idea.
Taylor Davis (03:18):
So, we recently did a kitchen where we did do a terrazzo tile, and one of the reasons we did it was because A, the kitchen was already built on a slab, and that can present some hardwood choices that you have to make, it can limit your selections. But also, because our client, who I adore, was very clear about the fact that she uses a steam mop twice a day. Now, hardwood floors can take a steam mop – twice a day may require something a little more durable.
Sheri Scott (03:47):
Yeah, that's a bit much.
Taylor Davis (03:49):
We wanted to make sure that that tile stuck to it. And there are some large format tiles that you can reduce the amount of grout so that that makes a difference. And if you are a steamer, this is why it's important to know your own like habits.
If you're a steamer, you may want to consider tile or stone or something in your kitchen because that could impact your hardwoods to a certain extent, and your subfloor. So, that's something we ought to talk about too.
So, subfloor, especially if you're working in a renovation or an addition, you may have some existing conditions that you have to deal with that make different flooring choices more compatible than others. Uneven floors, concrete slabs, how far apart is the structure.
So, there's all sorts of things. So, let's talk a little bit about: what are some of the things that might dictate your choices other than wanting a pretty saltillo tile in your Mediterranean kitchen?
Sheri Scott (04:44):
We do ground up work. So, we design the structure, knowing what the flooring choice is going to be. Specifically, large format tile these days. We have to make the floor more “stiff.”
Marilyn Moedinger (05:00):
Yes.
Sheri Scott (05:01):
And I've kind of lost track. I'm not in all the detailing stage anymore, but we don't do a hard surface underlayment for tile on new builds. We just enhance the structure, and then put tile floors right on subfloor.
Marilyn Moedinger (05:19):
Yeah, we do that and obviously, renovations are different. But if the owner really wants to do a large format tile or tile of any kind, we will rebuild the floor. Like we'll rip out the old floor and rebuild it because that tile will crack so fast that it's just not even.
So, sometimes, we actually put like a separation layer that allows the tile to move separately from the structures-
Taylor Davis (05:42):
The crack isolation membrane.
Sheri Scott (05:44):
Yes, exactly. So, you have to separate it so that the movement is happening, and so it doesn't crack. But also, one of our tricks is to use mosaic tile because it's on a mat and it can like take some of that unevenness. It's a lot more forgiving than a big chunk that will rock a lot.
So, when we can't exactly plumb into everything and square everything up, which is often in these old weird houses, then that's one thing that we do. But yeah, absolutely. It's way better to build from a substrate that you know, than trying to put it over something you don't know what it is.
Taylor Davis (06:21):
And I'll add one more thing to that, which is if you are dealing with a slab and you are trying to match a floor level and you've got hardwoods in an adjacent level (this happens to us sometimes) and you have to put it on top of a slab, there are some ways to do that depending on where this lab is.
But generally, we want to do an engineered hardwood on top of a slab because it's much more moisture-resistant, and it's made to do that.
Marilyn Moedinger (06:52):
It's more stable.
Taylor Davis (06:54):
Yeah, it's much more dimensionally stable. And you can go on any website and see lots of different options for those, and some are pre-finished. We actually do a lot of site-finished engineered hardwoods on top of slabs. We do that a lot.
What exists in your house may have a significant impact on what your flooring choices are and what it's going to take, or what it's going to take to get what you want.
Marilyn Moedinger (07:18):
And I think engineered is one of the ways to help people get what they … if they're looking for more exotic species or wider boards, like engineered is going to be the way to go. You can get wider boards that aren't — imagine trying to get like 12-inch cherry boards. Like you can, but (laughs) the cost would be so crazy.
But one thing I'll say about engineered wood floors is that you need to make sure that it has enough of a wear layer. So, when you buy cheap engineered wood flooring, it has a very thin wear layer. You can basically sneeze on it, and it'll scratch, and you'll see the plywood below that. You also can't stand it and refinish it. So, I like to make sure that it's got … I mean, I'd like to see six millimeters if possible. They often do it in millimeters, I don't know.
So, I'd like to see at least be able to get two standings out of it. And that's something that people are like, “What's the difference between this $1.50 a foot wood and this that's $5? It looks the same.” And I'm like, “It is not the same.” And that's one of the differences.
Sheri Scott (08:19):
It's you get what you pay for in that instance. It really is.
Taylor Davis (08:23):
Always, always.
Marilyn Moedinger (08:24):
And how annoying is it to replace flooring? That is something you do not want to replace (laughs).
Sheri Scott (08:30):
I know, it's hard, it's very hard to do well.
Taylor Davis (08:34):
The other thing I'll say about hardwoods is that we can now do lots of different underlayments under hardwoods depending on the conditions. And since we do lots of aging and place work, we've actually done some work for clients who are prone to falls because they may have Parkinson's or something like that.
So, there's a double-edged sword. We don't want area rugs where people can trip, and carpets are really hard to put wheelchairs on a lot of the time. So, hardwoods are a lot easier to navigate, but if you fall on hardwood or tile, you don't necessarily bounce, you got to have some absorption.
So, we're beginning to see in the marketplace and it's really exciting. There's a couple of different products out there, but some cork underlayments that increase kind of the give underneath a hardwood floor, for particularly an engineered wood floor, they sprung out of people making gym floors, so that's where that whole market has gone.
And the other thing that I think is pretty cool is there are some new flooring underlayments that are coming from the senior living industry that are designed particularly for falls in a commercial setting, and they're beginning to be able to be used in single family residential too.
So, if that's something that you're dealing with and you've got some mobility issues, or some gate issues, or you've got someone in your home that's prone to falling, you may want to think about what you're putting underneath your floors that may help deal with some of the hardness of those falls.
Sheri Scott (10:06):
I love that, Taylor. That's new to me.
Marilyn Moedinger (10:09):
Are you guys doing carpet at all? Is anyone asking for carpet?
Sheri Scott (10:13):
No, we're trying to save some money and some back bedrooms maybe, but we haven't done that for a while.
Taylor Davis (10:20):
We do carpet sometimes. A lot of times we're doing it on stairs that are slippery. And if we want to get some carpet in there to sort of increase traction, we do that a lot of times.
Marilyn Moedinger (10:32):
Or carpet runners, we do that.
Taylor Davis (10:34):
Carpet runners, sometimes we're doing it in basements and we'll do a lot of those floor tiles, carpet tiles so that if something gets wet, or a kid spills something on it, we can pull it up and replace it. And we're only replacing one and not the whole kit and caboodle.
Entry halls is a place where lots of people do something different in their floors, whether it's stone or tile or something different. Some people are incorporating walk-off mats into some of their mudrooms and sort of entry spaces so that those can be kind of recessed and it's not a tripping hazard so that you walk directly onto whatever that surface is, so you can recess things into the floor that will help clean your shoes as you come in. That sort of stuff.
Sheri Scott (11:13):
Can we talk about our love hate relationship with vinyl flooring? LVP (luxury vinyl plank).
Marilyn Moedinger (11:18):
Oh, you mean mostly hate?
Sheri Scott (11:20):
(Laughs)
Taylor Davis (11:22):
I have it in my basement and I don't — in my basement, it's fine.
Marilyn Moedinger (11:27):
I know, but it's like plastic, I don't want to walk on plastic.
Sheri Scott (11:31):
It is plastic and it feels like plastic on your feet, but it is a great price point, it does look fine. It does not look like wood to me. You're not tricking anybody that it's a beautiful wood floor that has eight-inch-wide planks.
I think that there's a place for it. I don't know that it's always in the basement. Basement's a great solution, and well, that's why I brought it up because I am so conflicted about it. Of course, I would not put it in a main space, in a multimillion dollar ground up construction, but there are some places for it.
And honestly, the people that we're talking to right now, 80% of them probably have it somewhere in their home. So, yeah, I wondered what you guys thought of it. I think it's getting better.
Marilyn Moedinger (12:26):
Yeah, it's not for me, and I just won't do it. It's like a hard no … so in basements or spaces where people have wanted to do it, what we've just done is polish the concrete slab, and it's gorgeous. You don't have to glue plastic down.
So, I think for me, I mean I do a lot of historic work, I do a lot of healthy building type stuff, and just kind of coming in and gluing down plastic, it's not going to happen. So, I know it's a great price point and I really struggle with that part of it.
What I'm saying now is not about an elitist standpoint at all, we don't work. Most of our renovations are not multimillion, they're not even a million dollars (laughs). But at the same time, especially when hardwood isn't that insanely expensive, like we do a lot of strip oak finish in place, very simple, it wears forever, and you're not walking on plastic.
Sheri Scott (13:31):
Well, I disagree that it wears forever. Vinyl flooring wears forever. The LVP.
Marilyn Moedinger (13:37):
No, it doesn't. As soon as you scratch that stuff, you can't repair it.
Taylor Davis (13:44):
I've been living with it for over 12 years.
Marilyn Moedinger (13:46):
Okay, let's hear it.
Taylor Davis (13:48):
It's got treadmill, it's got a bike, it's got kettlebells, it's had a pool table, it's had three kids’ Legos, it's had water, it's flooded, it's had basement toiletry that has gone awry, thanks to lots of children using the toilet incorrectly.
So, the best part about it for us was that I wasn't worried about mold. I wasn't worried that the damage would impact anything terrible in the rest of the house. It's in a very limited space. It has been there 10 years; it really hasn't scratched, it's easy to clean. And I can replace the planks that I need to replace.
Now, that said, there are some alternatives out there. There are some linoleum products which are much more environmentally friendly.
Marilyn Moedinger (14:36):
Linoleum, yes. Thank you.
Taylor Davis (14:39):
That are very similar that you can use in a very similar way, that also is not prone to water damage. And that's a really good product if you are thinking about sort of a sustainability perspective, that's not a bad one to look at. Marmoleum, I think is one of the brands that does that.
Marilyn Moedinger (14:59):
Yep. We use it all the time.
Taylor Davis (15:01):
I don't necessarily think that it doesn't last forever. Ours has lasted forever, thank heavens because I don't want to pay for doing it again. And we also had an issue (this is another thing) – in some homes, you will find that there are some hazardous substances that were incorporated into the mastic or into the old flooring of an existing house, and pulling that up and grinding down to concrete, the “A word” - disturbing any of that is a very, very bad idea.
Marilyn Moedinger (15:31):
But you can put wood on top of that. I just want our listeners to know the only way to encapsulate asbestos is not vinyl (laughs). You can do minimal for sure.
Taylor Davis (15:40):
No, I'm just saying it's a good option, it is an option that you can put on top of it. It's not the only way to do it for sure, but it is one thing that's easy to do, is to get on top of it.
So, I am a situational person, I'm less like hard and fast rules about certain things. So, I'm not going to put it in somebody's kitchen. If somebody's got a basement and two dogs and cats and is throwing weights around on something, let's talk about it. Maybe it's a viable option.
Sheri Scott (16:07):
Yeah, I think it's situational. And in all honesty, we put it in our house not too long ago – total disaster, I hate it. I hate it every single day (laughs) and I would never put it in my own personal house. It was installed incorrectly. Of all the people to have it be installed incorrectly while I'm watching them (laughs) … every single morning, I hate it.
So, there are rules to make it better than worse. And like I introduced it, it's a love hate relationship. A lot of times, people feel very strongly one way or another about it.
Marilyn Moedinger (16:50):
Imagine that. Imagine the three of us having strong opinions about things. I think it's important to just take a step back and say this is why it's important to talk to people who have experience with a wide variety of materials.
If you as an owner, you go to the carpet and vinyl plank showroom, they're going to talk to you about those materials. As architects, we're going to talk to you about every single possible material that's out there.
I have put LVP in projects because that was what the client wanted and that was the right answer for that moment. If you're asking me what I would put in my own house, it's going to be a different answer. So, I think that's why it's important to talk to someone who has a wide experience with a bunch of different things and not just what's on sale at the showroom because the showroom person is pushing this on you or whatever.
Taylor Davis (17:41):
Absolutely.
Sheri Scott (17:42):
Do you think that there are aesthetic style swings? I don't think flooring swings as quickly as some other things in our industry.
Marilyn Moedinger (17:54):
Yeah, I mean I would say that-
Taylor Davis (17:57):
The colors, the stained colors, it's the stained colors that change.
Sheri Scott (18:03):
Yeah, because we went from really dark and then to grays, and now, we're back into more naturals.
Marilyn Moedinger (18:09):
What I hear from my clients a lot is they don't want their wood floors to look yellow. Because I think that a lot of oak floors, which oak is very common because it's hard and it's a good price and it's a great flooring material, the polyurethane is what yellows.
So, it's the coating on top. So, we'll polyurethane floors, we always use water-based whatever. We also will oil floors – not oil-based finish, but we oil it with furniture oil.
Sheri Scott (18:40):
That is so beautiful.
Marilyn Moedinger (18:42):
I've only talked one client into it. I did it in my own house. I did it in my office space, partially because I want to show people what it looks like because it is magical, and you don't shut down the job for two weeks to do it. You can literally walk on it like eight hours later. So, it's actually great for construction.
But it's not for everyone and kids and dogs and whatever like that. But wood is resilient and so as long as you're caring for it, it can be okay. So, that's my-
Sheri Scott (19:08):
Agreed.
Taylor Davis (19:10):
Thanks for joining us today on Home: The Second Story for our quick snack. If you have any questions for us or topics you'd like us to cover, or if you're interested in being a guest, please reach out at admin@htsspodcast.com and we will see you next time.
[Music Playing]
Voiceover (19:24):
Thanks for listening to Home: The Second Story Podcast. Feel free to share this episode with a friend. Contact information for all three of our architects are in our show notes, and don't miss future episodes. Follow or subscribe to our show for free in Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you're listening right now.