I just posted a question on the kitchen forum about this!!! We are thinking about putting it in. Believe me, I've put LOTS of thought into it. I've heard great things. Never seen this distressed tile on a floor, but I've see other plank styles in tile stores here in upstate NY. The grout does worry me a bit... Tell me the tiles you're considering... Ours is The Atlantic Series by Ege Seramik Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49735953@N04/4730117434/

Amy- there are a ton of size and color options with laminate tiles, but I dont think any are larger than 12"x12". ganggreen980- Thank you! The cabinets are actually not stained. It is an oil based finish called Waterlox on mahogany. Oil based finishes bring out the depth and color more than water based. It just makes the wood look "wet" gwent- I think for pure durability, water issues and ease of care, nothing beats sheet vinyl or linoleum. I was going to go for high end vinyl, just for functionality, but I have heard that sheet products are pretty hard to self install well. So even though the product was less expensive, once labor was factored in, it would have been a wash. So without a cost savings, and with laminates looking better (to me) that made the decision. Now, if money were not an issue, and I did not have a cement slab to work with, I would have done amtico! It is am AMAZING vinyl product. But is is pretty expensive, and I wanted a little padding between me and the cement slab.

Tile worked better for my home. I tried some vinyl in a couple of rooms, a few years ago, but my old, large dogs had trouble getting purchase to rise. If you're on a slab do the moisture tests to determine if glue down or floating is the way to go. You don't want mold growing underneath or installation failure. If you choose tile, make sure they leave an expansion gap around the perimeter and don't grout up to the baseboards. Every person I interviewed did it that way as a matter of course. I removed the baseboards and reinstalled them, to ensure I had the gap and a nicer finish than shoe mould. I also told him where I wanted the movement joint where the flooring ran longer than 20-25 feet. I'm extending this tile into other areas, with the current reno, and have indicated where the expansion joints will go, because they never use them. For the kitchen, watch the clearances for any under-counter appliances. They might not fit! Tile raises the height of the floor more than LVP will. My project manager wanted to install my flooring after the cabinets, which wouldn't have worked out well for the tall tub dishwasher. I think he rolls his eyes over my requests, a lot. A helpful link about tile movement. The tile I chose is Mohawk Stage Pointe and has high texture and shading variation. The grout color is the darkest of the shades and hides any staining that might occur. The close-up pic is how it looks IRL. Second is of the room right after install. I love wool area rugs and they dampen sound nicely, as well as providing softness underfoot. Most of the floor in the second pic was covered by an 11x14.

IMO rethink the tile it is already a dated look and IMO never was a good choice. As for how to lay it them same as you would do a real wood floor so the long way not across and real wood is often done in a different direction when it turs a corner to go into another space.