Cork, a waterproof buoyant substance, is harvested from the bark of Quercus suber (the Cork Oak). Because of its impermeability, elasticity, sustainability, degradability, buoyancy, and incombustibility, it has numerous uses across several fields. Commonly used for wine bottling, cork is also used to make shoes, hats, watches, bricks, mopeds, baseballs, shuttlecocks, spacecraft, inkjet printers, classical guitars, pith helmets, and various other acoustic and decorative objects. That is why we believe cork will be a useful addition to your kitchen and hence, bring you the best reasons to incorporate cork in your kitchen.
Comfort
By flooring your kitchen with cork, you get a comfortable feel under your feet. No wood, tile, or concrete can substitute the bouncy layer that cork flooring gives you. If you are a home cook, you will experience the relaxing change in your knees and back straightaway. Cork has a density of barely 250 kg/m3, significantly lighter than other wooden and cemented flooring material. Its specific heat capacity of 1900 J/kgoC helps it retain heat for much longer periods than concrete substances. Instead of getting a freezing cold floor every morning, you will admire cork’s capacity to sustain room temperature.
Durability
Cork is one of the most durable materials you can find to floor your kitchen. Flooring and furniture made up of cork will last years, if not decades. It is highly resistant to strong heat and extreme temperatures. It is also sound-proof and incombustible. You will not have to worry about noise coming from another floor or room or panic if your house catches fire. It is unaffected by scratches and does not crack. Marks made by freezing zero-degree temperatures on cork’s surface will quickly disappear and your furniture will be good as new. Things made out of cork will be some of the finest ones in your kitchen and your collection as a whole.
Eco-friendliness
One of the most sustainable natural resources on the planet, cork is probably the most eco-friendly kind of material you can use to build furniture or floor your ground. With its myriad of applications and benefits, 50,000 tons are produced from 2.7 million hectors of cork forests, employing 100,000 people across the world. Moreover, you are not harming the plants as there is no need of deforestation. When a tree reaches 25 years of age, reapers strip off the bark tissues. New cells start growing and harvesters do this every nine years, hence making it a sustainable and renewable component of the planet’s ecology. Cork oak trees around the world absorb 10 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. These forests are home to 135 species of flora. Mediterranean forests in Portugal and Spain serve as the lone habitat to endangered fauna like the Iberian imperial eagle and the Iberian Lynx. Using cork stoppers releases 10 times less carbon dioxide than plastic stoppers and 26 times less than aluminum ones. Thus, by incorporating cork into your kitchen, you are taking a step to save the planet.
Style
Cork adds a distinct style to your kitchen. Depending on the location of your house and the community around it, cork can be unique. You can find plenty of artistic articles made out of cork suitable for your kitchen. Cork also gives you a taste of the trend. Nothing pops of color as much as cork does. Although by convention it is thought to be fawn and featureless, the industry has changed and today, you can find cork in a wide assortment of styles and shades, with more elegance and flair in recent artwork. Paneling your walls with cork substitutes the need for the traditional wallpaper or paint, with a better and eco-friendlier style and substance. Because cork comes in bricks and tiles of all sizes, staining it with color becomes varied and hence your kitchen will look a lot more beautiful. Setting up designs and patterns becomes easier and the walls in your kitchen will appear diverse and uniform. Not only stylish or trendy, cork walls and floor are appreciably convenient and sensible. Along with walls, you can also add bulletin boards and works of art, making your kitchen and your residence look increasingly stunning and delightful to watch.
Taking into account all the benefits of using cork, you can see why we are such proponents of this amazing material. We highly recommend you incorporate cork into your kitchen and reap its benefits.
