I had the same dilemna. I have golden oak floors throughout the rest of the house, but I wanted a darker floor in the kitchen. I would have loved an rustic, wide plank wood floor. This floor would not have matched the floors in the rest of the house and I was warned that the transitions from one floor to the other would not look so good by the saddles. In the end, I decided to go with the wood look tile because it works better with radiant heat than wood. I am so glad we did. Between the children and dog it was a good choice for us. I still have to stain the saddles at the two doorways that lead out of the kitchen, but it will be fine. If I used any floor other than golden oak, I would have the transition issue anyway. Love my tile floor! So easy to maintain.

I have laid 5 tile floors and have lived with them for 57 years. When we're handling something that is super precious to us, we are naturally very careful with it. What you might break is an everyday drinking glass or two, easily replaced if even missed. Only tile breakage I ever had was when I got a new dishwasher put in. You can roll out a refrigerator and tile under it, but not so with a dishwasher, so the tile stopped where the dishwasher began. Only change I'd make is if I got a new dishwasher put in I'd insist they remove and reinstall using brown board, or at least thick cardboard to try to protect the edges of the tile. Since we lost our manufacturing to overseas, there definitely is a question about how good a glaze is, and don't assume if it's American-made (or if it cost more) it will be good. Those days are gone. So it's a good idea to do your homework and read a lot of customer ratings on tile before you purchase. You do want porcelain, as it's tougher than ceramic. I've been reading a lot of reviews on porcelain floor tile that is chipping along the edges though, a problem I never had with my older porcelain floors.

I have had wood look tile in my home for five years now. Went with Bedrosians Heathland Cherry Commercial Grade Porcelain tile. It has a hand scraped waviness to it so it is very "real" looking. The Commercial grade porcelain tile is heaver duty than a standard tile so will take more wear and tear than a standard tile. IT comes in many colors. https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/list/porcelain/wood-look/ This company also has the tile that looks like marble too.

Hi Patricia! We live in Houston and are in the process of replacing hardwoods that were ruined in a house flood while we were on vacation (AC problem). We have hardwoods throughout (upstairs and down) that were ruined. I would love to re-install wood floors, but with a pool, kids, pets...I'm just not sure it is practical? Wood-like tile feels like the next best thing? I'm having a hard time getting on board with LVP because of the "plastic" factor but guess I'm open for ideas since it's a bit of a fresh start. My style is transitional leaning towards traditional. Our house is pretty open and we're wanting to do the whole floor in the same finish. Thanks!