Wood floors have been around forever, hence classic. Wood-look tiles . . . not so much.

also not a fan of wood tiles...hard on feet too...if you want tiles, make them look like tiles.

plus what grout would even look good?

You can use wood-look tile in a discrete area that isn't adjacent to real wood. For example, we used it in our client's kitchen, but the adjacent flooring in the living area was wall-to-wall carpet.

Prospect St. Kitchen · More Info

They like the material because they have large dogs. Putting hardwood in the kitchen wouldn't have worked for them--the dogs would have scratched it up in no time.

Overall, you want to put in as few flooring materials as possible. I do think tile in a laundry room makes sense, however you might want to pick a different type so it doesn't compete with your hardwood.

Your location dictates resale value as well as personal preference. If you are in a warm/hot climate than tile is the preferred surface (Florida, South Cal, Texas, Arizona, etc). If you are in a temperate or cold climate (Washington State, the Dakotas, etc) then wood is preferred because it is warmer.

The COST of tile install can be insanely high. Yes you can get tile for $2.99/sf (yikes) but you are looking at $12 - $15/sf total cost of install. That does NOT include subfloor preparation. That's extra.

Now for the 'staying in the house for awhile'. People think about 'resale' far too much. The only time I like to think of resale = moving inside of 5 years. If you plan for 3 years in the house (living in it while refurbishing for a 'flip') then you go for the trendiest finishes in the most financially viable option you can find.

If you are looking at 7-10 years in the house then IGNORE resale. By the time it comes on the market trends will have changed so much that new paint and (possibly) new flooring will be a must.

Solid hardwoods can be refinished for new colour (which turn them from 'So 2020' to 'Wow! Right on trend!). A sand/refinish is one of the LEAST EXPENSIVE ways of refinishing floors. The average price for a wood floor sand/refinish = $5/sf. Even laminate cannot compare to that price (when you include removal of old, subfloor work, product and labour for install).

A wood look tile product is already 'out of fashion' in many parts of N. America. The trendy 'West and East Coasts' are very much 'over' the wood-look tile products. These areas have already seen 10 years of wood-look tile products. They are moving on.

For me, solid hardwood or (for hot climates) a traditional tile are far more 'timeless' than anything else we have.

How long do you think you will stay in the home? How old is the house? Are you on concrete slab or wooden subfloors or both?

I like wood-look tile and think it has its place in a bathroom, craft room, laundry room, etc. the problem is that the grout lines give it a very specific look. also, personally I hate tile in an entire house because it's freezing cold and just too hard. when you drop something brittle on hardwood, it stands a better chance of not breaking.

hardwoods are less practical in a kitchen, but fine as long as you don't let water puddles sit. (plus, there are so many improvements in wood treatments these days.) it's a classic and objectively more beautiful. honestly, I'd go for that.

I just toured the oldest house in Naples, FL. I was glad that when they refinished the floors they left the thousands of high heel dimples in the floor. If you can live with dimples, go hardwood. Porcelain laughs at high heels.

Faux wood tile is fine as long as it’s not next to real wood floors.

And could I get by with engineered??