We have both porcelain and wood in our house. I love them both. We have porcelain tile in the kitchen, bathroom, foyer, and the traffic areas, and engineered wood in the living, dining, and family rooms. Our through body gray porcelain doesn't show the dirt and is easily cleaned. Our wood floor does not have a lot of texture and our footprints with bare feet and our dogs spots from chewing her feet show up in the light. It's an easy wipe down, though, but it really shows the dirt sooner. About our feet, my husband really has foot pain with the porcelain when he's in the kitchen. I, on the other hand, do not have a problem. He never had trouble with the vinyl floor we had before, so it must be the tile. Truthfully, we really like both. In mho, I think that porcelain should look like porcelain if you have it. Trying to similuate another product doesn't do it for me. If you want the porcelain, there are plenty of beautiful kinds to choose from. I don't like the little squares of wood or floating floors that look like tile either. I say choose your material than choose something beautiful that truly represents the material. We have both porcelain and wood in our house. I love them both. We have porcelain tile in the kitchen, bathroom, foyer, and the traffic areas, and engineered wood in the living, dining, and family rooms. Our through body gray porcelain doesn't show the dirt and is easily cleaned. Our wood floor does not have a lot of texture and our footprints with bare feet and our dogs spots from chewing her feet show up in the light. It's an easy wipe down, though, but it really shows the dirt sooner. About our feet, my husband really has foot pain with the porcelain when he's in the kitchen. I, on the other hand, do not have a problem. He never had trouble with the vinyl floor we had before, so it must be the tile. Truthfully, we really like both. In mho, I think that porcelain should look like porcelain if you have it. Trying to similuate another product doesn't do it for me. If you want the porcelain, there are plenty of beautiful kinds to choose from. I don't like the little squares of wood or floating floors that look like tile either. I say choose your material than choose something beautiful that truly represents the material.

Thanks oaktown! Those are great pics. I very much appreciate your thoughts! I am reconsidering keeping the concrete floor. But I am worried that the concrete will stain with constant water exposure. Also, if there ever is a water main leak, it might be easier to hide any sawcut marks by replacing tile. The other reason I was thinking of tile, is I want to do the whole house in the new concrete flooring. This will be very expensive and may have to wait for a year. It might put off finishing the bathroom until then, unless I do tile.

We don't know what kind of cabinets you're discussing, so it's hard to say, "Yes, that's a fair price" or, "No, run away. Run away fast." You're implying that you're shocked by that high number and are wondering how to lower it, so I'll throw out these generalizations: - Custom cabinets will cost the most (by a large margin), Ready-to-Assemble will be the cheapest. Semi-custom and Ready-made will be in between. - Corner cabinets (for example, Lazy Susans) cost significantly more than straight-run cabinets. - Tall pantry cabinets (especially if they have pull-outs) are surprisingly expensive. - Standard sized cabinets cost more than unusual sizes. - Some woods cost more than others. Cherry or walnut are at the top of the cost list, while oak is a little lower, and MDF is cheaper still. Within the same type of wood, costs can vary; for example, rift-sawn oak or quarter-sawn oak will cost more than plain oak. - Fancy inserts (pull-out shelves, spices, silverware dividers, Chef's drawers, etc.) cost more than plain cabinets. - Drawers cost a good bit more than plain cabinets. - Glass-front uppers cost more than wooden drawers (because the interior of the cabinet must be finished just like the exterior). - Islands cost more than regular cabinets (because they must be finished on all four sides). - Shorter uppers will cost less than to-the-ceiling cabinets. - Two stacked uppers will cost less than taller uppers. - Overlay or semi-overlay doors cost less than inset. - Appliances hidden behind wooden panels cost extra; the same is true for refrigerators enclosed in boxes. - Soft-close drawers cost more, but not much more. - Full extension /heavy duty hardware will cost more (but will last longer). - Painted cabinets cost more than stained (and paint doesn't last as long). - Glazes over paint cost more than plain paint. I don't think you were including hardware, but hardware can vary from 50 cents to $30-40 per item. I'm not saying those higher-cost items aren't worthwhile, but maybe this'll help you understand where your splurges lie. And, as someone above stated, materials are high right now (and I think we all suspect will remain high for some time) for numerous reasons.

It's a very dark wall color. Last thing you need a dark charcoal tile color too. I don't understand why you would want to tear out perfectly good slate tile (if you like the darker colors) and replace it with something just as dark! something better would be a 24x24 porcelain in a warmer griege color. Tilebar, Lines Greige matte tile. Cavatina Corda so, no more carpet? everything is tile or just in the kitchen? or what about wood flooring throughout? Are you keeping those cabinets as is? You don't want to think about lightening up that space by repainting those walls? (You say you want a diff wall color, but your other comment says repainted is not an option??) The island? The rest of the cabinets? what about some hardware? new lighting? I had an almost identical kitchen. Like yours, I didn't get a ton of light (that window is a covered front entry) So, I refaced my cabinets, painted, new countertops, window, appliances, tile splash, pendants, vent hood, and I did french oak engineered floors throughout the home. It makes quite a diff in overall lighting, doesn't it? that kitchen was so dark. YOu need to make sure your kitchen bulbs are in the 4000K region. if they're belowe 3500K, things are going to look yellow. It seems like you're tyring to rush threw this? Flooring is a very important decor option in a house because of the expense, you're stuck with it for a long time!! Make sure all of your other design elements work w/this flooring. What about the rest of the house? Sorry, but that dark wall color, limited lighting, the darker furniture and these charcoal tiles, it's going to be a huge light suck! Right now the slate works w/every single element you have. (You need a larger chandelier here) It works w/your color, the furniture. what you could do is bring in some wood flooring. If you want to take it all up, then replace it with a lighter oak flooring