Porcelain tile with epoxy grout. Durable, stain-resistant, and aesthetically pleasing.

Porcelain tile and thin grout joints. Our tiles are 18" x 18".

We have stoneware porcelains tiles in our kitchen that really seem wood. No water problems and no..dog problems with them ;) check the link below if you want, these are ours (not the house, just tiles!)

bye

Here is a link that might be useful: old wood tiles

Don't have it yet but Hubby and I are also DINKS with feline companions and are going the LVT route. Tile was our first choice then we started worrying about floors being cold, hard etc. I don't know if we're going the right direction or not with LVT, but that or tile really are the best choices it seems for the pet friendly flooring

I, too, went with LVT and do not regret my decision at all. At decision making time, it was narrowed down to an Alterna off white with grout or Nafco Permastone slate with grout lines. The Permastone won!

I arrived at this decision because I have bad knees and wanted some resiliency plus, the less hassle in putting it down was major for me. Appliances, etc. could be moved back the same day. No grout drying time.

Very easy maintenance.....the Alterna is beautiful but I am delighted with the results of the Permastone.

What have you decided to us for flooring? We are building in the flinthills also-near Emporia.

Previous two houses had large 18x18 porcelain tile with thin grout lines. I learned the hard way that "aging" feet, knees and lower back do NOT appreciate such a hard unforgiving floor surface as any kind of tile but especially porcelain. Gel mats are fine while washing dishes but that's only the one area which is a small percentage of the time spent in the kitchen area. I want to be able to WASH the kitchen floors and so wood of any type is not anything I'd consider. That narrows it down to either tile (never again) or sheet flooring.

I just had Mannington's Sobella Omni HD sheet flooring installed in the house I recently purchased. It is the thickest (most cushioned) on the market and when I compared the sample to the other one I was considering (Congoleum Airstep) it's noticeably thicker. It's a vinyl surface with a fiberglass core.

http://www.mannington.com/Residential/Sobella/About%20Sobella.aspx

The Omni HD series carries a 25 yr warranty and a "Gotta Love It" guarantee.

Annaceil333 now I'm considering Marmoleum. Looks fairly durable. Especially since I've been in multiple old farm houses that have 40+ year old linoleum floors that still look good.

I really like the idea to have the cork flooring in the kitchen. It seems going along well with all other floor coverings in the house and beats all others for comfort level. What do you think? Attached is a kitchen with a Onyx cork floor.

I put Marmoleum in my new kitchen, and I'm very pleased with it. It's soft under foot, really easy to keep clean, and supposedly it has some sort of natural anti-microbial properties so I don't worry about my dogs licking their food off the floor (they are messy eaters!). My only problem was finding someone locally from which to purchase - as far as I can tell there is only one company in my area that has workers trained to install it.

Sheet Marmoleum ...and you will never replace that flooring as long as you live in the house.

Tile. No question. Epoxy grout is very hard to work with, and might be overkill, but if you can find a tiler to do it, sure. we had hardwood in the kitchen as well, and hated it as well.

I put cork in my kitchen recently. We love it! Feels great. We went with glue down based on my research, though some have used floating. No regrets at all, though I might consider larger tiles if I put in another glue down floor.

There are a few very recent cork floor kitchens over in the Kitchen forum. Plus if you search for threads there you will find several great discussions from the past year or so.

I put gauged slate (not honed), large format versailles pattern, with floor heating underneath. Great for the dogs, pretty, easy to keep clean.

We put Marmoleum down 14 years ago. At the time, we had three dogs, and kids ages 2, 4, 6. I have loved it, but it did not last where there was water--such as next to the bathtub where the kids would splash and I wouldn't catch it, or where I put the dog water bowls. Our golden retriever sloshes when she drinks. Those two places, the linoleum is sort of disintegrating. However, we have it in the laundry room, and I have had two major washer overflows--with water like 2 inches deep in the laundry room and the linoleum came through great. It seems to be a problem in areas where there is repeated dampness rather than major occasional floods.

Another check-mark for cork.
Put Torly's cork flooring in about 3 years ago now. Terrific on the feet, stains and spills are a breeze (ultra low maintenance) and it looks fantastic.

My fellow stone masons would shoot me if they knew I was writing this - but save the stone and tile for the bathrooms/fireplaces and the exterior IMO.

Porcelain tile with thin grout in my small kitchen. The dogs eat their meals in there and it is a breeze to keep clean.

we put in cork click-lock about 2 years ago and we are very happy with it. There are a lot of patterns and colors to choose from and they (at least ours) hides dirt and imperfections very well. very strong finish. tough stuff!