Kitchen Floors - Tile or Hardwood?

[DVCLiz]

If you have one or the other, which and why? What would you recommend??

I'm almost finished with a sunroom/breakfast room/half bath/laundry room addition, and the tile guy is here today, laying tile in the entry, bath and laundry room. The rest of the addition is hardwood, as are the other two rooms (den and dining room) that have kitchen entrances. I planned to replace my linoleum with hardwood to match the new addition, but before I make it final, I thought tile might be a good alternative as well. So what do you think??

 

[ozarkmom]

A couple of years ago we replaced tile & carpet in laundry room, kitchen and dining/living area. We put tile in the laundry and wood in the rest. I came home one day and my dishwasher had overflown and the water did a number on my kitchen floor. I wish I had put tile in there also. Oh and I can't wait until we replace the carpet in the bedrooms. I'll be so happy if I never see carpet again!

 

[kmp1191]

I'm partial to tile.

 

[Nicolepa]

A vote for wood. I would dread having to get spills out of grout. I can just imagine getting spaghetti sauce out of there.

 

[floridafam]

We just put laminiate in the main living areas. I wanted it in the kitchen but DH wanted tile.

We went with tile and I am so glad we did. I've already gotten the tile wet a few times and I would be paranoid if it was wood or laminate.

Here's a picture of the tile.
http://web.mac.com/energylab/iWeb/Site/untitled album.html

I vote for tile.

 

[minkydog]

We have hardwoods in the kitchen and I love them! I like the fact that the flooring "flows" from room to room. They don't show stains and are easy to keep clean. We haven't had a problem with water.

 

[aprilgail2]

I love our tile in our kitchen...if you seal the grout you won't have to much trouble with staining. I love the look of hardwood in any room but if it is not going to be real hardwood and be that fake pergo stuff I would go for tile no question.

 

[Magickndm]

We have wood in our kitchen. As someone else stated, it flows with the rest of the house since we have an open floor plan.
Water could be a concern, but we shut off the main water valve when we're gone even over night, so it's not likely we'll have that problem. I also work from home, so if the dishwasher does back up, I'll know soon enough.
Every floor has their pros and cons. Wood can dent when something gets dropped, tile can crack. Tile is harder, to me anyway, to clean.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have hardwood with a water-based acrylic finish. I wash it with window cleaner and water, and it's easy and turns out beautifully, has held up well,. I have a dog and a lot of traffic through my kitchen, and I am very pleased with it.

 

[ozarkmom]

My tile has dark grout and it's sealed. To me it's just the easiest thing to take care of. Everyone has their own opinion though.

 

[Sleepy]

I have nothing but tile in my house (as does everyone else here). Sure, makes for a cold floor, but cleanup is a breeze.

 

[DVC-Don]

We put tile in our kitchen about 3 years ago. Last summer our dishwasher sprung a leak and we are glad the flooring in there is tile.

 

[Muffy]

I like tile in the kitchen. I think it is durable and attractive.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I used to hate TILE...we had hardwood put into our previous house.

Now with the new house here in Texas, dogs, and we are getting a pool...I can say I love, love, love TILE! Grout may be a pain but I never, ever want hardwood in a kitchen again. Not practical for my family.

Alot of people go with Travertine or Terazzo (sp...not sure), if you want a very nice "upgraded" look. I haven't looked into it yet.

 

[hucifer]

One reason I will never go with tile is because it is unforgiving to the feet. Hardwood, laminate, and vinyl are easier on the feet than tile. And what other place in the house do you spend more time on your feet?