This Damn House

A lot of people tile their kitchens so it's certainly a viable option. I personally don't care for the hardness of tile, nor cleaning grout, so I vetoed tile for our kitchen. We're doing cork. Soft, comfy, easy to install.

I'm going tile in mine because it looks so darn much better than any laminate ever could.

Yes, bowls and plates will break when you drop 'em, but half the time they would do the same on laminate. You do need to make sure the grout is sealed to keep it from staining, but this is a small price to pay for a killer-looking floor.

My daughter dropped a bowl of spaghetti-o's yesterday on our travertine floor. The bowl broke and everything cleaned up perfectly. The floor is 6 months old and sealed.

I'd say the laminate is the way to go. I love the look of tile, but, yes, all the problems your friend mentioned seem relevant. Though, to be fair, you'll be moving out soon, so you won't have to deal with it! Whatever you do, though, don't get vinyl sheeting. That stuff is nasty.

Sue: We used cork in our basement but nixed it for the kitchen; our experience was that it isn't durable enough for such a high traffic area. Dents easily, too. We are very happy with it where we have it, though.

This is something I debate all the time as we prep our house for sale. How much effort and expense do you put in? Where is the balance between it making the house more sellable and not costing too much in time and money? Particularly in the kitchen, which is where most people spend their time, and so is more likely to be changed to fit the desires of the new owners anyway. I'd hate to put a lot of effort into making a great kitchen floor that I love, only to have the new owners rip it up and replace it with what they want anyway. Tough call. Me, I'd lean towards a nice vinyl, but I could be convinced otherwise, and I'm a cheap guy. Nuff said. :-)

I struggle with this question myself, even though a kitchen reno is a long way off.

My kitchen has laminate (I didn't install it) and it's not holding up well. There are a couple of chunks missing, pieces are warping. Plus you're supposed to use this special cleaner, it's a pain!

And I have hardwood everywhere else, and where they butt up together it looks horrible.

I don't think I'd do laminate again, but I'm not completely sold on tile either.

I'm no help at all, am I?

Laminate, if it would mesh well with the rest of your flooring. My in-laws recently ripped tile out of their kitchen and replaced it (with hardwood throughout) because of all the problems of tile. It contributes to breakage, it's difficult to clean -- but most importantly it's very hard on older people's feet and legs, as well as anyone with a disability like mine.

Ellen: Don't I recall you saying recently that laminate lowers property values?

I went to Home Depot recently to check out laminate floors. They were mostly pretty ugly. The non-hardwood-looking ones were especially ugly, and we can't really get hardwood-looking ones, since the rest of the house is hardwood and it wouldn't really match.