As 2019 approaches, home design trends are moving away from the neutral color palette of the mid-century modern look to one more closely resembling the farmhouse and coastal styles of the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, smooth and sleek kitchen floors are on the way out and highly-textured, visually interesting flooring materials are all the rage.

Whether you need to replace an outdated kitchen floor or are installing one in a new home, below are four considerations you should keep in mind while shopping: 

Consideration #1: The Amount of Time You Spend Standing in Your Kitchen

If you have a home cook who spends hours each day standing on the kitchen floor, then softer options such as sheet vinyl or wood are better choices than stone or tile. Sheet vinyl is soft under the feet while being completely waterproof and makes it easy to clean up even the worst kitchen spills. Additionally, if someone cooking drops anything on the floor it won't break the floor or what was dropped onto it.

Consideration #2: How Trendy You Want to Go

While not much has changed style-wise where it comes to flooring colors, grey and light brown still lead the pack over darker browns, much has changed in the style arena. Gone are linear designs and the straight lines of wood planks or tile, replaced by mixed-size tile designs, diagonal and herringbone designs, and creative borders.

However, while a trendy design on your kitchen floor is great looking now, you do always run the risk of it looking dated in a few years. Since you have many options, choose something that is classic enough that it won't scream 2019 when it is 2029.

Consideration #3: Eco-Friendly Flooring Options Made in the USA

More and more homeowners are opting for residential flooring materials made in the USA. This is great for the country's economy and promotes jobs here at home. Additionally, eco-friendly flooring materials made of cork, bamboo, and post-commercial wood products are easier on the environment. Since you have a choice of flooring materials, consider selecting those made locally of eco-friendly materials.

Consideration #4: Kitchen Flooring Needs to be 100% Waterproof

Since there is always water present in your kitchen and spills will happen, your new kitchen flooring option really needs to be completely waterproof. This is important because if you install something like hardwood floor planks and water leaks onto them from your dishwasher, then it will ruin the floor.

Consideration #5: Light Colors and Textures are In Style But Beware of Potential Cleaning Issues

As you shop for your new residential flooring, speak with the flooring salesperson about stylish options that are easy to clean. This is vital because light colors and texture are in style. Floors made of distressed wood, textured tiles, and natural stone pose cleaning issues because dirt and kitchen grease get trapped within the texture and light-colored floors tend to show every speck of dust on their surface.