With the rise of open-plan kitchens, the types of flooring on offer for these spaces are more diverse than ever before. From durable wooden flooring and polished concrete to terrazzo and cork, your choice of materials is almost endless.

However, we still love a good tile in the kitchen – whether that’s a large or small format, ceramic or luxury vinyl. Not only are they perfectly suited for life in a busy kitchen, they also offer the opportunity to get creative with your design, by customising it for your space.

Sound interesting? Take a look at these 5 simple ideas you can use to create a custom floor design in your own kitchen.

Get creative with colours 

Image: Technicolour tiles, Domus 

If you’re opting for a tile floor, no matter if that’s encaustic, ceramic or luxury vinyl tiles, you don’t necessarily need to limit yourself to a one colour design. Why not get creative and design your own statement flooring? Whether you try the bold yellow ombré effect using herringbone tiles seen above, or upgrade a classic Victorian tile look for a more colourful gingham-style pattern, think outside the box and customise your flooring to add wow-factor.

Zone your space

Image: Amtico 

In a large open-plan space, using flooring to zone different areas can help avoid your furniture feeling lost in the room. You could try this between the kitchen and dining area, for example, or use a square of different tiles to frame a dining table or log-burner, as they have in this scheme from Amtico.

Create a statement step

Image: Mandarin Stone 

If your floor changes level, seize the opportunity to build in a unique design quirk. We particularly love this idea from Mandarin Stone for livening up a classic stone flooring in a country-inspired space.

Add in a walkway

Image: Harvey Maria 

Creating a sense of flow is vital to your design working well for you, and this idea to create a walkway that leads your eye around the kitchen is super effective using Harvey Maria‘s Lattice Seedpod luxury vinyl tiles.

Design a border

Image: The House that Black Built 

Getting creative with penny tiles is a growing Instagram trend, spearhead by Chelsea of The House that Black Built. In her kitchen, she’s created a striking border around the perimeter of the room, helping to soften the lines between cabinetry and floor in her monochromatic scheme.

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