wood is so much nicer on the feet and on dropped glassware. You cant let water sit on it for too long, but it's tough enough for our family of 3 kids - but then I'm not that worried about distressing. I'm no expert on types of wood, but oak has worked fine for us!

There is a good article about this from Consumer Reports magazine. We've had laminate in our home kitchen for years because it looks and feels like wood, but holds up to water better. You can't refinish it, so after a couple of decades it will need to be replaced. At that point you can probably find a recycler who will take it. We have two young kids and they have yet to damage it. Hope this helps!

Wood flooring has come such a long way! Buy good quality flooring and hire a contractor that knows how to put it in, you'll love it!

I love the feel of wood flooring in the kitchen (softer on the feet) and absorbs sound better than tile. I also think it is easier to clean since you don't have grout lines to deal with.

I think you would love it, and others would be green with envy once they saw it. I've had oak in the past and it's very durable. I currently have dark walnut floors that are 100 years old. They need refinished but otherwise are in great condition. I heard bamboo is very tough too.

There is a lot of great reclaimed flooring out there too. Take a look at http://www.elmwoodreclaimedtimber.com/index.aspx

I LOVE my floors, especially in the kitchen because they're wood. Couldn't stand cleaning grout in my previous home!

Yes, yes, yes! The only room on the main floor of my home with wall-to-wall carpet is the living room. My husband and I removed the wall-to-wall carpet in the children's rooms upstairs, electing to install HW floors and use area rugs. The hallway and stairs do have carpet as does the master bedroom which is next on our list for HW floors, but first we need to build a "real" master bedroom closet. We also installed heated tile floors in the sun room as well as the bathrooms. I love the HW floors. They are easy to clean and lend a brightness and warmth to the house. My HW floors are select oak with a Swedish finish.

It seems that oak is the way to go. I like the grain in an oak floor too. Thanks for the feedback.

Just another thought, cork tile is also wonderful in a kitchen. It is available in many colors, including natural which matched our oak flooring in the dining room. It is very soft and warm under foot & held up great to small children & pets. Since our cork was in tile form, we kept the extras, just in case a tile was damaged over time & needed replacement, however we never needed to do so. Easy installation & long wearing. We installed it at our last house in 1998 and with a weekly steam mop & the occasional application of polish, it was as beautiful in September when we sold the house as when it was new. Wish I had it now.

One more vote for oak in the kitchen. Our white oak floors are 85 years old and still going strong. Last refinished 20 years ago.

Wood in the kitchen is very common here in the States. Here are few pictures of our recent projects that will get you started :-)

I've had engineered wood for about 8 months now after 30+ years on ceramic tiles. So far, so good. The biggest pleasant surprise is to watch glass jars fall from 5 feet and not break!

A big part of my decision for wood in the kitchen was that my remodel made rooms flow together more, with wider openings and fewer logical places to transition flooring. So if living rooms, dining room, and kitchen must all be the same for continuity, then it's wood everywhere for most of us. (Ceramic tile flooring in living and dining rooms in my part of California is virtually unknown and would be a detractor for most buyers.)

wood is lovely to walk on, and i love it for all the reasons stated above.

I have to join this discussion of Hardwood in the kitchen. I am a little biased in this discussion because of being a tile contractor for almost 30 years. I have seen alot of hardwood kitchen floors. I have to give you the cons of putting hardwood in. Hardwood floors look great. As far as durability I am not sold. Hardwood floors look great when they are first put in. Depending on the traffic in the kitchen I give them about 4 to 5 years is when you see significant wear. I have seen alot of hardwood floors in kitchens with water damage. Now I know you think you wont have a leak from your dishwasher, refrigerator or a general plumbing leak. Well these things do happen and when it does the hardwood needs to be totally removed. Some times this is not so easy if the hardwood goes under the base cabinets. I am not saying do not put hardwood in the kitchen I think you should look at whats going to work for you. There are plenty of porcelain tiles that will give you the look of hardwood but give you the durability of a porcelain tile. Tile installed properly will last a long time. Hardwood will last but it will look warn to the point that it would need to be refinished at a cost around $2000.00 depending on the size of the room. I don't want to upset the hardwood floor lovers I have it all over my house except the bathrooms and kitchen. The floor is 20 years old 4 kids 2 dogs and still looks great. I am sure what ever you choose it will look great.

Like the look of wood but hate the durability issues? Hey vinyl flooring from Elevations. Totally floating floor and incredibly durable and looks great. Every person that comes in my home is surprised when I say "its vinyl" so take a look.

In the end your best bet is to go to an honest flooring store and walk on the samples. We have a Lumber Liquidators around us so we went there and walked on the different types of flooring and talked to the guys about each type of product. There is no one right answer and there certainly is no perfect product. As with any design project, I recommend deciding on your top three requirements and figure out which products fit best. It sounds like you want durability with warmth and ease of maintenance. If you have little runners in the house also consider a floor that has some texture to it. I think you can find two or three products that fit your needs, the trick is to figure out what you're willing to pay for.

One other consideration regarding using Hardwood Floors is that if I drop a china plate or a wine glass on my hardwood floors it has a change of NOT breaking. No such good odds with a ceramic tile floor. I've installed too many vynil floors over the years in my building projects to get excited about it in my own home. It is, however, always an option depending on what your budget is and what LOOK & FEEL you want.

I'm probably in the minority here. I've got laminate, tile, and hardwood in different rooms in my house. I hate the hardwood. With dogs and kids and people in and out, it's always a mess. It's so much harder to take care of than the other types. When I installed the floor in my kitchen, I considered doing hardwood, but chose tile instead and haven't regretted it one bit. It's fabulous!