I don't think my advice was to either gut it or keep it because the OP couldn't afford to make major changes. I happen to like the OP's kitchen, A LOT! It's charming as it is and it appears to be in excellent shape.

OP, i happen to also like the eyelet window covering and everything you have. However if the tile truly bothers you, I'd look into replacing it with soapstone which would be in keeping with the overall look. However as I mentioned, I don't really think it's necessary.

As for the floors? Have you looked at Marmoleum which is real linoleum? (You have vinyl flooring, not linoleum.) Marmoleum also would be in keeping with the overall look and feel of your kitchen and you can do things like borders etc in fun colors if you'd like

herbflavor, I tried to private message you but you don't have messaging turned on. The reason I did so is because you have good advice many times but honestly, it's almost impossible to read because you don't use paragraphs and finished sentences. Could you please start using paragraphs and finished sentences? I know I've gotten to the point where I almost skim your advice because of your writing style. :(

That is a nice clean functional kitchen with a great deal of charm -- it is a pretty kitchen.

People complain about tile counters but truly the only thing they really aren't great for is rolling out dough - but if one is a baker then there are easy ways to create a smooth rolling surface and many cooks create sublime stuff in kitchens that are not "ideal".

For $5000 I would spend money only on items that improved the functionality. If your cooktop is less than ideal, then get a new one.

Really the only thing that isn't charming in your kitchen and actually seems visually discordant are the floors. I am not sure what flooring is contiguous to the kitchen but you might price options for better flooring. Marmoleum would be a fabulous choice that would work with the rest of your lovely vintage style kitchen.

Thanks for all the input everyone. It’s good to hear from all angles. I did not consider Marmoleum nor did I even know about the possible asbestos problem. The floor estimates I have gotten said they would just lay the new floor over the the old one. I was looking at a wood like vinyl that matched the rest of my floors. Would that be better?

My tile is kind of a pain to keep clean, hard to tell from the pictures posted but it has gotten kind of grimy looking in some spots which is why I was thinking of either replacing or cleaning and regrouting.

The floor estimates I have gotten said they would just lay the new floor over the the old one. I was looking at a wood like vinyl that matched the rest of my floors. Would that be better?

No it would be worse for 2 reasons.

1. There is not a chance in the world it will match the rest of your floors. No way. No how. And you'll be staring at the mismatch and coming here asking how to make it work. No way to do that.

2. And more importantly, you can't just go over the floor because then it messes up where the cabinets sit on the floor. Ideally cabinets sit on TOP of a floor and not have a floor. It will make your cabinets look off to do what you're thinking. It's a remuddle versus doing it correctly.

which is why I was thinking of either replacing or cleaning and regrouting.

The newer grouts are so much better at staying clean. I have a newer grout in my mudroom/friends' entry that is a cream color and after 4 years it is still the same color as when it was first laid down. Do the regrout. That you won't regret and it will be a heck of a lot less expensive than replacing the counters with a stone that really doesn't play well with your cabinets.

So then what floor suggestions would you give?

Hi- I haven't read every comment.

I would re-grout. I don't know what that costs to have professionally done in your neck of the woods.

Whatever is left over I would save in case one one of your appliances breaks and you have to replace it, after all, they are not brand new.

Or if you use too many things at once and you blow the electrical system and you have to upgrade the electrical panel. That'll be a good $5,000 right there. Or more.

Start saving up for that right now.

Marmoleum plank tiles can be laid over your existing flooring. Also, after regrouting, SEAL your grout regularly and it will stay looking new.

I have a similar vintage kitchen and I love the charming details!

I still suggest Marmoleum.

back on to this old post. I will be cleaning and sealing my current grout. I am just now in the market to redo the floors, and probably window treatments. Just confused what to put. I looked into marmoleum but I cant seem to find any pattern that really works with my kitchen, nor a local floowring place that actually sells it. Seems to be few and far between in my area.

if anyone has any recommendations for marmoleum pattern I would love to see what you think goes.

I have marmoleum in one room in my house, and I do not recommend it. It shows scratch marks and scuffs very easily, and although I am not at all a fussy person, it doesn't look good. I've posted this on Houzz before and was scolded that I did not take care of it properly. "Properly" involves a regular schedule of machine buffing that I definitely did not know was recommended when I put it in. Spray Buff the floor with a rotary machine (300-500 rpm) and a 3M red pad or equivalent using a buffable floor maintainer to remove gloss irregularities and provide an even appearance. https://forbo.blob.core.windows.net/forbodocuments/21697/Forbo_Floorcare_instructions_Marmoleum_EN-ISv2.pdf

Just an FYI for you.

Good to know!!! Thanks for the heads up! I had heard that from a family friend as well, and since I have a large family and a large dog so that definitely would not work in my house.

Did you get a quote for installing hardwood? That would be ideal but prob blow your whole budget.

You could do peel and stick vinyl floor like this. https://www.thegoldhive.com/blog/2017/7/24/a-diy-kitchen-transformation-using-vinyl-floor-tiles

You could also do a tile floor which opens you up to unlimited options. I think classic hex mosaics looks great in vintage kitchens. But then you have more grout to deal with…

I put this floor down in my kitchen in 2019 and I love it. It just went over the top of the old floor, cleans easily, and does not show scratches.

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Smartcore-Waterproof--Vinyl-flooring-Flooring/4294856531?refinement=3715160550,1686755038

They no longer sell the exact pattern., Mine is Lucca Stone, but it is very similar to Half Moon Stone.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-Half-Moon-Marble-12-in-x-24-in-Water-Resistant-Luxury-Vinyl-Tile-19-63-sq-ft/5001939995

I have wood floors also and the fake wood looked odd next to them.

ETA: I love your cabinets and counters. I also like the wood valance.

Okay, I commented on a floor five hours ago and it is not showing up Does Houzz hate L**es? It is a waterproof click-lock. "Smart Core" in a brown stone pattern, but they have lots of choices.

PM if you want to see.

By the way, your cabinets are nice and I like the counter. I would keep the wood valance, it is period. If you do take it down, please store in case you or someone wants to use again.

I’m keeping the valence o don’t mind it, and think it’s unique to the home.
I’ve been trying to keep away from tile as I don’t like the coolness of it and with small children don’t like that it is so hard.
I would love to have Hardwood but i think would be expensive plus I think hard to maintain in the kitchen with my family of 7 and pets

What I have is the vinyl click tile. It is NOT hard and cold. It just goes over your old floor. Google Lowes and Smart Core waterproof.

This is close to the color I bought.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-Half-Moon-Marble-12-in-x-24-in-Water-Resistant-Luxury-Vinyl-Tile-19-63-sq-ft/5001939995

OK well.....its been a couple of months. I went with the majority advice, and kept my tile, had it cleaned and regrouted and it looks great!! Replaced my old non working stove as well.

My main dilemma here is again the flooring. I need to replace it now since it has officially been damaged by one of my kids. I went against majority advice and ordered a wood like vinyl that smi matches my original hardwood floors, but now am having major second thoughts. i did a "see in your room": sample using an online service and am not a huge fan of the look of what I ordered. what do you think?

should i go with this? or go completely different and order somthing else?

any feedback on what color flooring would look best? I do not want to put marmoleum as i have a high traffic area. Here are some samples of other "flooring" that I have considered

I would return the wood look . You will not like it next to real wood. Do you have a Lowes near you? I love my Smart Core floor in my kitchen. It is waterproof . It looks as good now as it did in 2019. It can be put down on top of your old floor. My kitchen is very high traffic,

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=smart+core+waterproof+stone+look

Your counters and stove/ovens look great. I am so glad you kept the counters and backsplash. They are perfect for your kitchen.

ETA: Be sure not to get a floor the is too pure white or gray.

Of the ones you show above I like the stone /abstract looks as opposed to the wood look. I think the re-grouting looks good. I think this kitchen is charming. It may not go along with all the current kitchen layout guidelines, but I like the vintage look of it.

How about a dark slate look for the floor?

I don't like any of those above. The wood because it just looks wrong and all those light ones because it feels as if the whole kitchen is now "floating".

Also try a few others that you initially reject just because. You may be surprised.

Absolutely no to the wood look. It looks like you tried to match other floors and had a big miss. Get a vinyl, that looks like tile, or has a stone design, that will compliment the wood. I have seen mismatched, woods, and vinyls, and it really is not a good look.

I haven’t tried a slate, but have been staying away from dark just because my kitchen is small and felt that it may make it look smaller, but I can look into it. I was leaning toward a more grayish/ beige tome so it doesn’t look so “cold” and plain. Many gray that I have seen have a “wood like” look to them

Unfortunately, I can’t do Lowe’s or Home Depot, and have to purchase it from the store as an exchange otherwise I will lose a ton of what I already paid

I feel like the third one you showed had a decent mix of tones from the existing kitchen.

I like the idea of a slate look. In my last kitchen, I had charcoal colored plank flooring that butted up to hardwoods. It looked nice with white cabinets.

Or you could do VCT (vinyl composite tile) in a solid color or pattern. Those will stand up to anything and look really cute in patterns.

I like both of beeboo's ideas.

Here’s another VCT floor that’s cute

that is nice. Unfortunately, I have to stick with options from "Coretec" company since that is where the material I originally ordered from. So I have limited options

Oh, I didn’t realize it had to be Coretec brand. I would try to match the tone of your hardwoods as closely as possible but go a shade darker for contrast, so it’s clear you weren’t “matching”

Go with one of the stone looks.

https://coretecfloors.com/en-us/products?group=COREtec+Stone

I didn't realize that it had to be from the same place also.

Yes I have to use Coretec which greatly limits my choices. I’m leaning toward a stone look but there aren’t very many. I used their visualizer again and here are a couple of options that I found:

Can you get samples? None of those look great next to your cabinets, but that could just be the images.

Have you tried one of the darker colors. Yes, get samples to see in your home. I like these.

https://coretecfloors.com/en-us/products/coretec-stone/feronia-vv566-12241

This is nice, but the samples are out of stock.

https://coretecfloors.com/en-us/products/coretec-stone/valeria-vv564-12225

I was leaning away from dark colors just because my kitchen is small and not sure how that would look, and I like my kitchen to be light and airy feeling but maybe because I’m used to a lighter floor.
Right now I have old vinyl that is more of a griege tone, lots of brownish beige in it with some gray.

I could order samples, they have some at the store but not for all the floors online, I would have to order a small piece from online

A little more contrast on the floor would ground the room. Are you planning on painting the walls a color?

If you pick a floor that’s similar to the cabinets, be very careful of undertones. For example, a stone with pink undertones may clash with yellow undertones in your cabinet paint. That’s why you need samples.

Yes I am in the process of ordering samples. My walls and cabinets are white and I am not planning on changing the color of the walls or cabinets. I called the store and they opened it up to also including Shaw floors which will help open up my options.

I was leaning away from dark colors just because my kitchen is small and not sure how that would look, and I like my kitchen to be light and airy feeling but maybe because I’m used to a lighter floor.

You actually need to ground the room so a darker floor would do that. Try Sirius, Valeria or Vesta. A dark floor will not make the room look smaller.

I tried those colors but don’t like the way they look in the kitchen. I was able to expand to include floors from shaw and ordered some samples. The two are included here in the picture. And I also included the “visualizer photo” from online though the samples look a little different than the pictures produced online. What do you think?

No, I’m with the group that says darker. Those feel more contemporary for your cute kitchen.

Definitely dark!

They don't work. Sorry.

Hmmm. Wow I guess since I’m used to the lighter floor I figured the lighter would work but now I’m looking into darker shades. I didn’t originally think about that. Guess I’ll expand my choices!! Decisions decisions

What about something like this? It’s a darker color or I could go with a darker wood plank look?

No wood unless it ties into the wood you have in the rest of the house.

None of those tiles work. Again try a slate look. Also I wouldn't go with a tile that is larger than 12" square. Your kitchen has a wonderful timeless look and a larger tile is more contemporary.

rddee, I like the last one. It is a bit darker, but not real dark. The first two are too big of squares and if you want wood, you need to extend the one in the rest of your house into the kitchen,