Thanks everyone! I didn't think it would so difficult to choose floor tile, wow! All the tiles I showed are porcelain by Surface Art. Individually, I prefer the travertine and slate look ones BUT I think we have so much going on in the kitchen that I think the two quartz-look ones (light grey & dark grey) are the better choices overall for our space. The problem is I wish there were an option that was halfway between the two grey colors! I do like how the dark quartz looks with our other choices, but am having trouble envisioning it in the entire space and am concerned it's dark enough that it would show every little speck and crumb. The light one seems a bit too light, and seems to tend to the blue side at some times of day. I'm heading back to the tile shop now to see if there's an in between option in another tile brand... Linelle -- our cabinets are through a local shop. The name of the stain is "Late Harvest" (on rustic beech, it looks a lot like natural cherry color) and the paint is "shoji white". If you're in eastern WA / Idaho, let me know and I'll send more info about the shop. thanks everyone! Michelle

Bumping... We visited a floor store this weekend and brought home many samples of laminate and vinyl floor planks, all wood-look. I think we are leaning towards one of the higher end laminate wood-looks and using it throughout the foyer, DR, and whole kitchen. My new questions are: Does high-end laminate scratch or scuff under barstools or dining table chairs? How does high end laminate hold up under water? The salesman we talked to was very confident that the choices we took home would be fine in areas where there could be water from time to time. What sort of wood tone should I look for that will look nice with the maple cabinets in the kitchen, and the dark cherry dining set in the DR? Does anyone think I would be better off design-wise with tile-looking laminate in the kitchen, then wood-looking laminate in the foyer/DR?? (don't want real tile, too hard and too cold for my tastes) Also, does anyone know anything about vinyl planking? The sample we looked at had a lot of nice texture and was realistic looking. Might be a nice option since it will be in the kitchen and foyer, both watery places from time to time. It is a floating floor that glues at the seams on tabs that interlock. Thank you again for your input.

Dottie - I could not have done this without an educated designer - it's not just about the design choices although I would never have come up with design choices as my brain isn't hardwired in those kinds of visually imaginative ways. I can appreciate things but I don't know how to pull them together and I wouldn't have the ability to figure out where to even start in terms of the sea of vendors. I am good about researching appliances and functions but get lost in the sea of visual possibilities :-) And I can't even imagine dealing with codes and such since Los Angeles is code crazy - I wanted to move some floor electrical outlets up a bit from the floor as I found it difficult to reach them when I had some hip issues so I was thinking about for the future - I was told that if I move a plug, the whole thing has to be rewired back to the panel box. And the darn kitchen sink has to be approved by the UL LOL - who would think a kitchen sink could be dangerous.

I appreciate it sparkling clean in a small bathroom. I've never seen anyone tile a kitchen in tiles as small as that. I don't think it makes sense functionally, since grout cleaning and resealing is actually so not-fun to do that there are companies you can pay every 6 months or so to do it for you. I think most people would be happier in today's busier lifestyles on-the-go to have as little grout as possible. Tiles are designed to allow very thin grout lines these days.