Making a Good First Impression with Flooring in Your Church Building Café

Not every church has one, but for those that do, the café of your church building can be one of the most important places to make a good first impression. However, with all the food and drink being served, it’s reasonable for church leaders to worry about spills and stains ruining that first impression. It’s why good flooring matters in café areas. Here is some flooring wisdom that will also translate to any high-traffic areas where spills could happen.

Considering Luxury Vinyl Tile

One of the most popular and flexible flooring options for your church building today is luxury vinyl tile (LVT). This vinyl product is made with three layers.  The center layer is a printed image that gives a highly realistic look of visuals.  The most common are wood and stone in an abundance of colors that fit any church vision or decorating style.  It’s also an excellent choice from a budgetary standpoint. While it may cost less than porcelain tile (which we’ll address below), many restaurants and retail settings use LVT to create an excellent first impression.

With LVT, spills are easy to clean up and there is no grout to discolor or stain. Walking on LVT is quieter than porcelain tile or stone, yet it can mimic the same colors and effects. Our one cautionary reminder is that LVT is vinyl, so it is softer than porcelain or stone, and can be gouged if someone drags a chair (without glides or other flooring protection) across the floor.

LVT Examples for Your Church Building

Here we have two LVT examples which show some of the range available in these tiles. This first image, of the café in Belmont Church, shows the woodgrain look that’s very popular in LVT, installed in “planks” that enhance the impression of wood flooring. In this second image, of the Berachah Church café, shows how LVT with a stone pattern could look in your church design.

Porcelain Tile and Polished Concrete Options for Your Church Design

If you do want to go with a more traditional tile look, porcelain tile is a durable and elegant way to make a good first impression with your café flooring. As you can see in this image from the Global Café at Bethany Church, we combined two related colors of tiles to provide some visual variety in this large open space. This adds interest to the floor and helps to create a welcoming space.

Finally, polished concrete is another budget-friendly way to create a sleek first impression, Color can be added to create even more interest.  Although is it a hard surface, it can be subject to stains, so it is important that spills be cleaned up.  We have also found it to be a popular option for youth spaces, which tend to get some hard use over time. 

In these examples, making a good impression balances the durability and design of materials to meet the needs of the space. With your church building café or other fellowship areas, it’s important to use flooring that will be attractive and resilient, making cleanup easy and straight forward maintenance. Stay tuned to learn more about other ways to make a good first impression with your church building in our next post. While you wait, sign up for our next free i3 webinar, where we keep you up to date with all the latest in every church design element, from floor to ceiling, inside and out.