Marmoleum is solid color all the way through, if that matters to you. I have it in my dog room over the 1986 inlaid over a cement slab. I can see toe nail scratches when it's wet after I've mopped but not otherwise. I had the original wood floor in a house in the mid 1960's and a small dog. It scratched but I wanted the wood floor so I put up with it.

I did not even consider vinyl for the dog room. I knew I would be replacing it in a year or at the most 2. Is your husband thinking the transition of the height might be different or the look of Marmoleum to wood would be awkward?

He's afraid we'll end up with a "speed bump" transition strip between the hardwood and anything I put in the kitchen other than hardwood. At least with ceramic, he knows they can adjust the subfloor and grout the transition so there's no bump laying across it. But since I'm not even considering ceramic... The one flooring guy said I'd be fine with anything that's glued down, which is why I'm considering sheet lino. But then if I put cork underneath, won't it flex too much, causing a gap between the lino and hardwood?

I'm not so much worried about the scratches, because I know it's coloured all the way through. And it's been used in schools and hospitals for 100 years, so it can't be all that delicate.

I'm just questioning the comfort. Is there any reason to go one way or the other on comfort alone?

I've had wood floors for about 12 years, and had medium-sized dogs the whole time. The floor has scratches, but few that I can specifically attribute to the dogs.

I'm pretty fanatical about trimming canine toenails, however. As soon as I hear toenails clickity-clacking on the wood floor, I cut them. Silent puppies = no scratches!

We had vinyl in our kitchen for 25 years, and it wore like iron. It was a spec house, so it certainly wasn't high quality stuff. It curled up at a couple of corners, and faded in front of the patio door, but didn't scratch.

We've had hardwood in our kitchen since '86. Refinished it once about 10 years ago. Last year, did a quick 220 hand sand, darkened the stain and added a couple coats of oil poly finish. Looks great, and we had a dog for over 12 years too!

I have linoleum in our master bath--installed less than a year ago and obviously a low traffic area so I can't really comment on durability or dog damage (our golden has never even been in the master bath). I have hardwood in most of the rest of the house, including the kitchen (that's what was there when we moved in). I go barefoot in the house and I'd say the Lino is slightly cushier under foot and feels a bit warmer than the wood too. Linoleum feels closer to cork, which we had in two previous kitchens, to me. Hope that helps!

Just thought I'd add something to the mix! I know you don't want vinyl because it's cheap, buuuttttt, would you consider a vinyl with a wood look? We have Earthwerks vinyl with a wood look in our kitchen and dining room. I love the look of laminate and wood, but was too afraid my dog (large boxer) and sliding chairs would scratch it up over time. After three years I still LOVE this floor! Here comes my commercial... it does not scratch -at all. I've pushed my piano across it many times and nada. It's also stood up to our boxer and sliding chairs. It has a texture to it and it's easy to clean, but like wood or laminate, it does show pet hair a bit easier. Seriously people think it's laminate if they didn't know better. It is glued down directly to the subfloor. Supposedly the planks areeasily replaceable if damaged.

We went with Marmoleum and love it. It feels great underfoot and is so easy to keep clean. We had tile before and were determined not to do it again because it took a toll on my back and I hated the grout.

I originally wanted wood but I couldn't make it work with all the other elements going on. So I took the plunge by going with Marmoleum and I am very glad I did. We did the 13 x 13 tiles and created a contrasting border around the room.

I vote hardwood for aesthetic reasons. Having one contiguous flooring material throughout the house is really a beautiful foundation.

We choose Marmoleum Click because it is an all natural material and works in harmony with an old house. I would not buy vinyl because its manufacturing process is not eco-friendly, it out-gasses and it has no advantages over either wood or Marmoleum except that some kinds are cheaper. In previous kitchens, we have had wood and I love that as much as the Marmoleum.
Diane

We just put in 500 sq ft of white oak 2 1/4" rift and qtr sawn flooring. We went the old fashioned ay as I did not want the grooves that you end up with the engineered pre-finished stuff. It looks great in the kitchen. We have throw rugs and runners around the kitchen in some spots. We used marmoleum in the laundry and up and down bathrooms. With the color throughout the material it looks great and cleans easily.

If you go with thinner material you could put underlayment of appropriate thickness on the floor to level things out. We are happy with the hardwood but wouldn't mind having the Marmo in there either. Both are great options.

We went with a Tarkett product called Transend. It is a wood look, micro-beveled edge product. So far the only scratches came from Mom's walker, as we did not know the rubber boots had worn completely through. Our Wheaten terrier has not put a mark on it yet, and he is very active. It is a floating floor, meaning easily replaceable, no glue etc. It is not cheap, in fact many hard wood would be in the same cost range. We have it on concrete and over a formerly sunken den, the transition is not noticeable, even when looking for it. Also considered Karndean, but we went with the Tarkett due to floating floor requires less "perfect" floor beneath.

How about cork that looks like wood planks? I would choose cork over wood if you cook a lot and spend a lot of time standing in the kitchen.
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood look cork on green building supply