Kitchenswe all have em, but how often do you neglect whats underfoot, in favor of focusing on the delicious meals youre busy whipping up? Guilty as charged! The truth is, there are few features that spice up a kitchen like an amazing floor, so its fine time we start paying attention to it! Eye-catching design aside, your chosen floor (as with your backsplash, cabinets, and kitchen island) must stand up to the occasional chocolate cakerelated mess, making it essential to pick one that sits at the precise intersection between looks and practicality.Where to begin? Per San Franciscobased designer Noz Nozawa, you have to consider what kind of space youre working with. The first factor is where the kitchen lives in your home, Nozawa tells ELLE DECOR. Is it part of an open-concept great room, where there will be a very visible flooring transition between kitchen and living space? Is the kitchen in its own room? Then the balance of style versus utility really comes down to the people who live there! If youre, indeed, prone to making messes (err, happy accidents!) and thus prioritize easy clean-up, go with forgiving surfaces like porcelain tile. Craving a rustic farmhouse look straight out of the Strega Nona childrens book? Commit to gorgeous terra-cotta tiles. As ubiquitous as they are, I absolutely love hardwood floors in a kitchen. Theres something very warm and easy about them, Nozawa says, offering another alternative. But I also love large-format tiles where there are fewer grout lines to keep up with. As with most kitchen design elements, the modus operandi here is: You do you. Dont let fear of water damage or spills influence your kitchen flooring choices! the designer insists. As someone whose dishwasher has absolutely flooded my kitchen before, I get it, but try instead to make design choices based on the best life you can dream of for your kitchen space.Our list of 32 gorgeous kitchen floor ideas from the ELLE DECOR archive represent just this kind of mentality. A word of warning: Youre going to be floored. 1Mix-and-Match FloorsAdrian GautYou'll be seeing quite a few checkerboard floors in this roundup, but what's special about this onefound in a Spanish-style Houston house designed by ELLE DECOR A-List firm Ashe Leandrois the fact that it combines materials. At first glance, the tile is homogenous (aside from its contrasting colors). The reality is far more attractive, however: The floors feature both reclaimed terra-cotta tiles from Chateau Domingue and acid-washed limestone tiles from ABC Stone. Talk about a mix-and-match moment!2Oak Floors (with a Twist)Joshua McHughThere's something so timeless about kitchen floors crafted out of natural wood. In the kitchen of designer Kimille Taylor's Upper West Side apartment, timeless is not equated with boring: seeing as how the oak floors are painted with a custom geometric design. Tired of your own wooden floors but don't want to overhaul them completely? Whip out the paintbrush!Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3'Unexpected Red' FloorsMaura McEvoyThe unexpected red theory proves true with this exuberant floor from Forbo, in the Berlin Red color. The pictured kitchen of a Maine vacation home also includes matching cabinetry finishes and a vintage pendant (by Paavo Tynell)creating a truly put-together, fun-loving, retro space.4Poured Concrete Kitchen FloorsSam FrostIn the kitchen of a Venice, California, Frank Gehrydesigned abode, industrial materials take center stage... and are instantly made warmer through all those timber touches. The room's concrete floors pair exceptionally well with the sleek granite breakfast table and its surrounding chairs.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5Lava StoneTiled FloorsMatthieu SalvaingThis Ibiza kitchen, brought to life by Madrid-based interior design studio Casa Muoz, has us in awe. Sure, that patio access is great and all, but the glazed lava tilesin a turquoise hue imitating the sea beyondare the real showstoppers. Decking out the countertops in the same material is yet another way Casa Muoz outdoes itself in this Mediterranean tableau.6Classic Checked FloorsChristy KosnicIn this galley kitchen, courtesy of Washington, D.C.based design studio Third Street Architecture, a marble checkerboard floor is exactly what saves the space from feeling too constricted. The pattern has potential to visually expand your kitchen's square footage, all while adding an element of play to the whole setup. More exciting meals incoming!Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7Exposed Brick FloorsStephen Kent JohnsonExposed brick isnt just for your walls: Designer Shawn Hendersons rustic floors in the kitchen of his upstate New York farmhouse stand out against the bleached oak cabinetry. 8Out-of-the-Box Terra-Cotta FloorsWilliam Jess LairdIn a 1950s California ranch, renovated to tip-top shape by design firm Studio Muka, the kitchen isn't decked out in your average terra-cotta tile. Instead, the flooring is not only hexagonal but also reclaimed from the client's 16th-century family homea double whammy when it comes to building a cooking space with character.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below9Red-and-White Checkered Floors Douglas FriedmanIf youre looking for a French touch in your cooking space, take a page out of ELLE DECOR A-List Titan Robert Couturiers book. In this Manhattan townhouse, he paved the floor in a country-chic pattern of red-and-white cement tiles. 10Multihued Kitchen FloorsNova Soul ImageryWant to rebel against the all-white kitchen aesthetic? Do so with a quirky, multicolored floor like the one seen in this Reston, Virginia, kitchendesigned by architect TJ Monahan and inspired by the hit show Only Murders in the Building. The hardwood floor planks from Mirth Studio are in competition with the kitchen cabinets for the "most vibrant" award, but we're equally obsessed with both.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below11Dark Wood Floors Christopher StarkThis Bay Area kitchen, by Noz Nozawa, is blessed with sky-high ceilings (not to mention towering redwoods within view outside). Nozawa accentuated the height via white walls, cabinets, and ceilings but kept the look grounded with chocolate-y timber floors. Bonus: The vintage rugs add an endearing dash of color!12Glazed Terra-Cotta Tile FloorsKaryn MilletThe kitchen in this Spanish-style home, the residence of design-world insiders Joe Lucas and David Heikka, features glazed terra-cotta floors that were original to the house. The couple opted to keep them and simply douse the cabinets in a complementary bright blue. We're charmed.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13Quartzite Floors Billal TarightThe creative challenge for this Parisian apartment, designed by architect Elliott Barnes, was to use a single material throughout the home. Barnes selected Vals quartzitea durable and luxurious stonefor all of the homes floors, including here in the kitchen where its smoky hue is in perfect contrast with the stainless steel cabinets. 14Blue Tile FloorsPaul RaesideWe love these hypnotizing Emery & Cie floor tiles that British design firm Retrouvius used in the kitchen of this London townhouse. Like Picasso, your floors just might need a Blue Period.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15Painted Wood FloorsStephen Kent JohnsonLiterary couple Darryl Pinckney and James Fenton, whose Harlem townhouse is drenched in color, painted the floors of their kitchen in Black Forest Green by Benjamin Moore. As a result, they're now in fluid conversation with those bright red dining chairs and exposed brick wall.16High-Gloss Black FloorsDouglas FriedmanArchitectural designer Sandra Arndt went bold in the kitchen of filmmaker and collector Dorothy Berwins New York apartment. A bubblegum-pink table by Sabine Marcelis pops against the kitchens gleaming black floors, creating much-needed visual drama.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below17Terrazzo Kitchen FloorsNathalie KragIts no wonder that a pair of Capri restaurateurs have a standout kitchen in their home, designed by Giuliano Andrea dellUva. The wall tiles are custom, and the hand-poured terrazzo floor was influenced by the late-19th-century Villa San Michele on the island. 183D-Effect Parquet FloorsEric PiaseckiDesigner Steven Gambrel, whose name is synonymous with vibrant kitchens, created a custom 3D-effect floor in this Chicago home with oak that had been ebonized, fumed, and waxed. Trompe l'oeils for the win!Advertisement - Continue Reading Below19Stone Tile Floors Kelly MarshallYou cant get much sleeker than this minimalist kitchen in the Los Angeles home of Mara Brock Akil. ELLE DECOR A-List designer Tiffany Howell opted to keep the existing cool gray stone tile floor: a move that matches the twin stainless-steel islands and Arabescato marble walls. 20Patterned Tile Floors Guido TaroniArt historian Carolina Vincenti naturally selected antique cement tiles from 1925 to cover the kitchen floors of her Rome apartment. Matching yellow walls (and a feline companion!) complete the sunny look. Stacia DatskovskaAssistant Digital EditorStacia Datskovska is the assistant digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers news, trends, and ideas in the world of design. She also writes product reviews (like roundups of the top firepits or sheet sets)infusing them with authority and wit. As an e-commerce intern at Mashable, Stacia wrote data-driven reviews of everything from e-readers to stationary bikes to robot vacuums. Stacias culture and lifestyle bylines have appeared in outlets like USA Today, Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, Food & Wine, and Brooklyn Magazine.Anna FixsenDeputy Digital EditorAnna Fixsen is the deputy digital editor of ELLE DECOR, where she oversees all facets of ElleDecor.com. In addition to editing articles and developing digital strategy, she writes about the worlds most beautiful homes, reviews the chicest products (from the best cocktail tables to cute but practical gifts), and reports on the most exciting trends in design and architecture. Since graduating from Columbia Journalism School, shes spent the past decade as an editor at Architectural Digest, Metropolis, and Architectural Record and has written for outlets including the New York Times, Dwell, and more.