Ageless Limestone For Your Kitchen Flooring

Limestone can be a good choice for kitchen flooring due to its subtle patterning and pale, neutral colors. This all makes limestone kitchen flooring a good choice in contemporary kitchen design. It is also a good choice because it provides hardness, low porosity, looks attractive, and is hardwearing and long-lasting. It also has oil resistant properties, although is should be sealed to prevent staining and to keep it looking its best and to be able to clean and maintain. So limestone is usually offered in a honed (unpolished) finish. Its softer, subtle hues make it a frequent choice of homeowners, architects and designers for flooring, countertops and interior or exterior walls.

Limestone kitchen flooring can possess a high resistance to freezing and thawing conditions. Therefore, limestone can be used in just about any atmospheric condition without it being affected. It is also exceedingly durable and easily maintained.



Limestone has been used in flooring for thousands of years. Limestone is a sedimentary stone that is made up of a least 50% calcite or calcium carbonate content, as well as being composed of grains, crushed sea shells, bones of sea animals, or fragments or biologic origin including fossils and dinosaur bones. Limestone can be a calcareous stone in that it can be highly reactive to certain acidic substances such as vinegars, and wine. Limestone is softer than igneous rocks such as granite, however some types of limestone are very hard and dense. This makes limestone suitable for most interior applications including kitchen flooring. Limestone also has a good non-slip surface, and limestone floor tile can be easily stained, making it a good choice for kitchen floors. Floor tiles can be etched by acids. Limestone has a compressive strength of 30,000/lbs./sq. inch.

Limestone kitchen floor tiles are available in colors such as black, gray, white, yellow, and brown.
Pure limestone is white or off-white. However due to impurities such as clay, sand, iron oxide, or other materials, limestone tends to exhibit different colors. There are several different types of surface finishes. The texture variations are produced because limestone tiles vary in shade and surface appearance. Limestone is made up of a large family of different kinds of stone that can vary in character. Limestone kitchen flooring tiles are polished, honed, brushed, and water worn.

The variations in limestone vary greatly in hardness, density, and porosity from stone to stone. Some types of limestone tend to be very soft and should not be cut on. The surface of the stone can easily scratch. Some types of limestone are very dense and hard and can be finished to a polished or a glossy shiny surface. Softer stones cannot be polished to this high gloss finish.

Limestone has long been the choice of architects and many landmarks around the world, especially in North America and Europe. Limestone has been used in many public building such as train stations, banks and other structures built in the early 20th and late 19th centuries. Limestone provides character and depth to any kitchen.

About the Author: James Mahoney is the author of many kitchen design articles and has a site about kitchen design ideas at Kitchen Designers Ideas.com.
He also publishes a newsletter on kitchen design.