Ok so i've picked the cabinet - shiloh has a glaze -- we will use black knobs/pulls.. and the granite is choosen Now we need a floor- our original one doesn't have enough texture- wont hide the pet hair or dirt... we dont like shiny.. and we do want tile... We want something dark or medium dark... Here is our cabinet - ours wont have so much fancy molding another shot of the cabinet and similiar black pulls as these Here is our granite (ignore the tile- we will not be using that- we are looking for one that is darker and has more texture) Behind this tile is the wood that we will have running in adjacent rooms- its a darker maple

FWIW I don't think a darker floor would conflict with your cherry floor-- as long as the tone is utterly different, it could look great. For the tile the key seems to be to get away from anything pink-ish or orange-ish. But all of the tiles you pick have that tone, so I would consider changing cabinet tone, maybe to something closer to your floor, and then the combo will be perfect. Even a lighter version of your floor would work. Maybe it's the cabinets that are throwing everything off instead of the floor! All of the tiles you like seem to be similar, so I would start with that and work from there. The tiles are lovely, just too pink/orange for the cabinets. Or, go darker with the tile, but we keep suggesting that and it isn't sounding good to you, so there must be a reason! I agree re: the dark grout-- it would look funny with that tile. With a slightly darker tile it could look awesome. Here's a tile that looks like the others you picked but without the pink tone: http://www.crossvilleinc.com/products_color.cfm?SeriesID=3&TileID=28&ref=products_browse Crossville is a fun place to look if you want to just browse a bunch of colors! Good luck-- you have beautiful choices and anything you pick will be fine. This is all just window dressing.

I would also recommend going with hardwood flooring. I used to live on the west coast and we always had tile. It's so common there, I didn't really think twice about it, but I also always hated the grout issues and trying to keep it clean was a PITA. After moving to Michigan, we bought a fixer and decided to install wood throughout the first floor. On the advise of friends, we also installed it in our kitchen and I LOVE it. Although it's just my DH & I, the friend who recommended it has 7 kids ages 7-19 and 2 dogs. Her's is the busiest household I've ever seen! And her floor, an oak is doing fine. Wear and tear is important, but comfort should also be something to consider. If you spend any amount of time in the kitchen, you'll immediately notice how the wood is so much easier on your legs and feet. To protect ours from water, I have a rug in front of the sink. Also, after time, those scratches your DH is concerned about will make a sort of "lived in" patina that will help give the room some character and IMHO it will work better with the style you are going with in your kitchen. Another positive about wood is that when you want to freshen things up, you just sand and refinish them. The 3/4 inch planks have a VERY long life because you can do this several times before they need to be replaced. I would really think twice about the tile, after having both I can honestly say, there's really just no comparison.

That tile is gorgeous. I think it has to do with an uneven floor. However, your contractor should have addresses those areas by leveling. When I put laminate upstairs, my contractor laid out my entire master and realized several areas where it did just that. He pulled it all out and placed mats underneath certain spots to create an even surface before relaying. I know you can't do that daily with tile. What does your installer say?