Kitchen Flooring

As our kitchen plans come along, we're now thinking about flooring. Do we use the same material on the floors as we're going to use on the countertop? Should we put wood down in the kitchen so that it matches the rest of the apartment? Perhaps we should find a greener solution?

I came across The Environmental Home Center after googling "green flooring options" or something like that. I was quite impressed with their selection, so I wanted to show you some cork and bamboo styles that I like.

I must say that I really love bamboo flooring. I find the beauty of the grain and the nodes truly gorgeous, and a whole zen experience washes over me when I'm in a room with bamboo floors. (Ok, not quite, but almost.) If I could, I would put bamboo floors everywhere in our apartment - I love them that much. My concern with putting bamboo in our kitchen, however, is that the color will look strange against the darker wood floors throughout the rest of the apartment. Also, isn't it a little strange to introduce another type of wood flooring? Alas, here are some bamboo floor photos I love:






I am not sure how I feel about cork yet. It would go well in our kitchen because the color looks like it is fairly close to our existing wood floors. I have not seen enough cork floors in person to be confident in its appearance. From the photos, it strikes me as a bit too casual, but then again, in a dark finish, it could be really perfect.







Oh, what to do?