I'd tile the whole thing with a largish (12-18" square) tile that sort of blends with the local dirt. Saltillo look, stone look ... whatever, but all the same and one that won't show tracks, with closely matched grout. Careful with the tones of the tile because it limits your other color choices (pinkish versus yellowish tans, etc.).

Buy enough spares so you can fix any tiles you have to when you upgrade kitchen and baths.

ASK the tile installer if there is a size that will make his install go easier, and have him remove the baseboards so the tile will be under them when you reinstall them.

Here's a wide chunk of our tile ... it runs into the hallway to the left and seamlessly into the bedrooms. The installer noted that a 13" tile would fit flawlessly into the hallway and flow better than a 12 or anything larger than 13.

Congrats neighbor! I live in PB Gardens. That's good advice from lazy gardens. I would tile the whole thing with something nice and buy extra tiles for remodeling and replacing tiles that me be damaged in the future. Consider laying the tile on the diagonal. It costs more but can generally lend a quality look to an otherwise plain floor.

Thanks for the feedback and photos. The townhome in Miami that I'm moving from has 12x12 mexican tile, which I grew to love but over the last 10yrs, but "new house , new look" (though it needn't be drastic) is what I'm after

What about one of the tile wood looks? Or how about an engineered wood floor in a light washed wood look? Very beachy.

Uptown ... I was not recommending the color, just showing how a full-house tile installation looks. In Florida, matching the local sand for tone would be ideal. there are some fabulous stone-look tiles.

Makes the house feel a lot larger.

Makes sense lazy:)

Ken

Large format tiles are those over 15 inches on any one side. LFTs require a very flat substrate before tiling begins. The industry standard is no greater variation over 1/8" in 10 feet measured peak to peak. Be prepared to spend some money on surface prep

You also need a "Medium Bed" or LFT-type (Large Format Tile) morter.