How about cork flooring, it wouldn't fight with the wood and it's so good for standing, wears well and is green.

i have done the vinyl next to wood... looks fine to my eye. i wouldn't worry about it... with the herringbone pattern, i think definately enough contrast to pull it off well with the vinyl.

Regular vinyl would look fine, but the faux wood.... Definitely a faux pas. There's nothing wrong with vinyl that is frankly vinyl and not "faux" anything. Can't you find a color or texture that appeals to you other than wood-look?

hmm... my faux wood has looked just fine (i think)...and has fooled a number of people. not doing "faux" anything sure leaves a lot of us out in the updating/decorating department.

Another who says vinyl but not faux wood vinyl...
Vinyl flooring can be lovely, but not when it's trying to be something else.
Either pick another material or another pattern of vinyl.
Linda C

I'm surprised by your initial statement that you're opting to not use wood in the kitchen for practicality reasons. Personally I've had hardwood floors in my 3 different kitchens and have found it to be extremely practical, good-looking and easy to care for. Now I realize that to each his own, but if you haven't had hardwood (mine have ranged from medium to med dark stain and two have been red oak), then you might want to reconsider.

In my somewhat limited exposure to faux woods and vinyl woods, I think they have their place, but IMHO, right next to real hardwood may not be the best place to use them.

Christina, the OP proposes to use vinyl "wood" next to real wood. I don't think this close proximity is going to help the appearance of either flooring. The material is not laminate flooring--- which I think everyone would agree has a place in the cannon of useful materials--- but even laminate flooring doesn't look its best when paired with actual wood, but that is just one opinion. I saw a 12 x 6 tile that had the texture of barn wood and LOVED it in an idea house bathroom, so I am certainly not against faux wood or anything else!

I agree with sujafr; I have real wood flooring in my kitchen and it looks great, doesn't seem to show any wear/tear and is holding up beautifully.

Techniques in wood finishing have come a LONG way in the past few years. You might be surprised at what you can find that will be perfectly fine for use in your kitchen.

And I also agree that wood-look vinyl isn't going to look very good next to the real thing.

I too have real wood in my kitchen and my lakehouse too including the bathroom. I have had less upkeep on the wood than I ever did with ceramic tiles. My latest wood has seven coatings of finish and I just clean it with Bono floor cleaner, one swish of the mop and it looks like the day it was installed.

This kitchen has wood floors, too. I don't know whether the depth of the floorboards makes a difference to comfort, but ours are an inch and a half thick. They vary in width from about six and three-quarters inches to 10 inches. I'm not sure about their finish, but they are in excellent shape. Actually, the kitchen and back hall are open to each other, and both have the same flooring. Despite the fact that we use the back door all the time, the wear and tear to the boards in the hall is relatively minor, all things considered.

Re: practicality of wood - our floors, at least. Warm and comfortable to stand on. We are not particularly clumsy, but dropped things tend not to break. The hard-wearing finish has protected the floors from water damage, not that there's been much of that - and regardless, we have a small rug (a canvas floorcloth actually) in front of the sink. We do clean up spilled liquids quickly, but wouldn't one want to do that anyway?

Vinyl would be pretty but not with the wood design. Although my kitchen floors are porcelain, I have a soft spot for vinyl floors, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.

We keep rugs in front of the sink and stove, so I never have had any problems with the floor being too hard.

I don't think I would put the wood look vinyl next to real wood.

I love the wood floors in my kitchen! I'm a big fan of carrying the same flooring throughout the house with the exception bathrooms and some mud and laundry rooms.

We put in wood look vinyl in our kitchen and it's adjacent to our oak HW. It is a different color than our HW floors, they're stained dark, the floor is more honey-toned.

I don't think it looks bad, personally. We spent A LOT of money on that vinyl and it looks very much like distressed wood. We used oak transition strips between the rooms.

Of course, my home would never be featured in House Beautiful... However, we have found that we love the wood vinyl, it's virtually maintenence free, soft under foot and easy to deal with with all the animals we have. I do love my HW floors thru ought the house, but I'm glad i chose the vinyl for the kitchen.

i will still say it looks fine... i used a threshold between rooms and do not find the proximity to be an issue.

I have to agree with the majority here and say my preference would be to avoid putting any material that is faux next to it's real counter part. Fake travertine tiles next to the real stone, laminate with a granite look next to a granite counter, and vinyl wood look next to real wood flooring. I think each has it's own place and look nice on their own, but they shouldn't be installed next each other.

I also have to agree about the wood floors. We have Brazilian walnut in our kitchen and it's held up great. Our electricity went out once for 4 days, the fridge leaked water all over the floor and we thought for sure it was going to require replacing. Within a matter of a couple of days, it had dried out completely and looked good as new. I love having the wood in our kitchen and doubt I'll ever have anything else. If the only reason you are putting vinyl in your kitchen is because you don't feel it's a good fit please reconsider; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

We purchased some inexpensive "wood" look vinyl to replace old vinyl in the attic spaces of our home. It is definitely a better look than the old cracked vinyl that was there. So simple to keep clean. However, it in no way looks like real wood.

Some of the laminates I've seen lately look like actual wood flooring. If I had to choose, I would choose a laminate over the "wood" look vinyl. From what I've heard from those who have used the laminate is that it wears like iron. I guess it's all a matter of preferance.

Ok folks I hear you loud and clear. Most of you feel fake next to real not a great idea. Thanks to your input I am now considering wood. Today I found a vinyl tile 12x24 that looks like porcelain, that is under consideration. I am a vinyl fan because I have had such a great experience with it. I had a beautiful high end vinyl in my kitchen for a very long time. A few years ago I replaced it with a laminate, I was not too happy with the laminate it chipped and did not hold up well. Maybe it was that particular laminate that was a dud, but "work in progress' I don"t feel like going back to laminate.
Now, a question for all you wood fans, if I use wood in the kitchen does it have to be identical (in color and pattern) to the wood in the hallway?
Thank you all for your advice.