We just put wood-look tile throughout our entire home. I think it is a rather timeless look, given that it looks so much like wood. In fact a number of visitors have asked if it is wood. I tried to pick a medium color - so much wood look tile that is available is so dark. What seems to go in and out of style are the trendy light and dark colors. In warm climates, I'm not worried about the coolness of the tile. However, in Minnesota we have a radiant heat system under our tile. It works great and we leave it on pretty much year-round. Tile is so much more practical than wood in certain climates: Easier to clean as well as less prone to wear, accidents and humidity. And if your husband can install it - which saves a huge percentage of the cost - it would be my first choice! I've seen some luxury wood look vinyl and it does look nice. But I think I'd hate it in a few years. And we were warned about travertine being prone to breaking.

If you have water leaks in your slab, the floor will be the least of your worries! I ruled out tile pretty quickly for out kitchen remodel. I spend too much time standing on that floor to deal with the hardness of tile. We're still going back and forth between marmoleum and engineered wood. If there's a leak, we'll deal with it then. In the meantime, my back and legs and feet will love me more for a more forgiving surface.

I went from a condo with wood floors to renting an apartment with tile floors throughout while we wait on our house to be built. I hate the tile floors as they're so hard on my back and on my knees. I dread having to stand on these floors for any length of time.

I would do luxury vinyl tile before I would do tile in my own build. Plus, I really do think within 5 years the wood look tile will date the house. Real wood is timeless. Wood look tile isn't.

I put wood-look tile in my bathroom 10 years ago (before it was trendy and before all the color and style options flooded the market) and I still love it. I don't know that I would want it throughout the house, but I wouldn't worry too much about it looking dated.

There are products available. Check with manufacturers for details.

http://www.tecspecialty.com/products/surface-preparation/moisture-mitigation/Liquidam-EZ.html?lang=English#.WHQXSlwk

I agree it won't look dated. Everyone I've ever talked to that went the wood look tile route is very happy with their choice. It's partly what convinced me to choose the tile over wood. Every day I love this tile more and more. It cleans up so nicely, always looks perfect, and I have zero stress about it. We installed it in our entire first level as I wanted one flooring throughout. It was an agonizing decision (wood vs tile) and I made the right choice with the tile. My cousin ( a plastic surgeon in the San Francisco Bay Area) just bought a new multi million dollar home and also used wood look tile throughout. I think a floor as gorgeous and functional as this is here to stay.

Thank you all for your input! It's helping. Can anyone post pics? Also, any other opinions about travertine? I love the look so just want to consider that too. Thanks!

Have you considered COREtec flooring? You can get the distressed wood-look with the water-proof and mold-resistant material, and because the underlayment is cork, it is much softer than tile! You can have the best of both worlds. We're on the east coast, but I'm certain you can find a local distributor near you, and if you cant, just contact us and we'll help.

COREtec flooring main site

The Couture Floor Company

Flooring Blog

We have looked at the luxury vinyl plank flooring too but we have lots of direct sunlight so am worried about it holding up.

Vinyl has issues in direct sunlight (fading, discolouration, warping in the heat, etc). If you have HIGH end Windows with all the UV/infrared protection then you can have vinyl. If you do not, then all those windows could wreck havoc on vinyl. We've seen it time and time again on Houzz.

Good to hear that confirmation. Thank you. We just installed new windows with UV protection but we have 2 big sliding doors that are very old. Lots of direct sunlight.

So back to tile vs wood!!!!??? Argh..

thanks!

I've posted these pictures in this forum a couple of times, so my apologies to any regulars who may keep seeing them. Hopefully they will help OP make a decision one way or the other.

donnatrus, like you our home had 5 different flooring types and we too wanted one continuous. We also wanted wood, and liked a little bit of a rustic look. We went with 8x48 wood look tile in a distressed hand scrapped finish. Here are some pictures, I hope they help. :) This our kitchen into family room area

And that's another problem although your floors look beautiful Season, it would drive me batty seeing tile pieces every 48".