Sarasota Kitchen tile

A kitchen floor and backsplash take spills, heat and cleaning every day, and they still have to look good. Compare porcelain, luxury vinyl and engineered hardwood floors and ceramic and mosaic backsplashes side by side in the Oracle Flooring & Design showroom in Sarasota.

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What should you plan for in a kitchen?

Start with the floor. It runs up to the cabinets and often straight into the living room, so it sets the look of the whole space. Porcelain and luxury vinyl are the workhorses; engineered hardwood brings warmth to an open plan.

The backsplash is where you can have some fun. Glazed ceramic and mosaics bring color and pattern, and a single large porcelain panel gives you a calm wall behind the cooktop that wipes clean in seconds. For more ideas, see backsplash tile.

Planning your kitchen

What works where in a kitchen?

Which kitchen floor suits the way you cook?

If you cook a lot, porcelain is hard to beat. Water and heat don't trouble it, it stands up to years of traffic, and a wood or stone look carries it into the rest of the house. It's hard underfoot, though, so a mat by the sink helps on long cooking days.

Luxury vinyl is softer and warmer to stand on, and many boards don't swell when water gets on them. Engineered hardwood brings real wood into an open kitchen, as long as spills get wiped up quickly. Luxury vinyl and engineered hardwood both come in our Signature Collection, our curated range.

How high should the backsplash go?

Usually from the counter to the bottom of the upper cabinets, about 18 inches, or all the way to the ceiling behind a big hood or open shelves. More on heights, grout and edges on our backsplash page.

Does the grout color matter?

More than people expect. A grout close to the tile's color lets the backsplash read as one calm surface; a contrasting grout outlines every tile and turns the layout into a pattern. In a kitchen, a mid-tone grout also hides cooking splashes better than bright white.

How do you plan around the cabinets?

Bring a cabinet door or a few photos, and we'll lay floor and backsplash options against them in the showroom, so you see everything together before anything is ordered. If new cabinets are part of the plan, choose them first; the backsplash comes last and pulls the room together.

We've worked with custom cabinet makers for years, and we offer cabinets and vanities from budget-friendly to high-end. Our own custom cabinetry shop opens soon.

Questions we hear

What is the best kitchen floor?

Porcelain tile if you want a floor that never minds water, or luxury vinyl if you'd like something softer and warmer to stand on. Both take spills, and both are in our showroom.

What is easiest to clean behind the stove?

A large porcelain panel, or glazed tile with tight grout lines. The fewer joints behind the cooktop, the less there is to scrub.

Can you match the backsplash to my cabinets?

Yes. Bring a cabinet door or a photo, and we'll lay backsplash options against it in the showroom.

Can the kitchen floor run into the living room?

Yes, and in an open plan it usually should: one floor makes the whole space feel bigger. Porcelain, luxury vinyl and engineered hardwood all come in looks and sizes that carry through.

Ready to plan it?

Bring your measurements and a few photos to the showroom, or have us come out for a free estimate in your home.

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