Med quality laminate with a runner down the main aisle and rug under the sofa area. After a few years of the kids tearing it up you can replace it with ease and not much cost. I am doing almost my entire downstairs with laminate. The cost is about $2500 with us installing. We figure if it gets tore up could actually afford to rip it up and redo. Not that I want to but much more affordable choice for someone with kids and large dog without a lot of money.

You could do hardwood as it can be refinished after the kids are done tearing it up but it is waaaaaaay more costly.

Tile is cold but you can still do the rug thing if you worry about slipping around. It is cold but you can install the heating underneath as a DIY very affordably and the tile would last a long time. My friend did this due to allergies and loves it. Plus they make really cute slippers with grips on bottom. Dog may not want to wear them but you could try- lol!

Or ceramic tile and use a large,decorative area rug. I feel your pain.

Tile and area rugs is indeed a good way to go. You can also put heating matts under the tile, if you live in a cold climate and can stand the extra cost.

-Roger

Sorry for posting and disappearing: I tend to hang out on the Decorating forum and plumb forgot about coming over here.

I'd suspected that tile would be the answer, but it's so hard -- that, more than the cold, is the problem. I live in southern NM, so during our 8-month miserably hot summertime the cold floors are actually a blessing. But my feet hurt after too much time on the tile (I know, I just need to get good slippers or wear my Birks 24-7). It also means we need to bring back the tile guys, who did an OK job on the other half of the room, but about whom I was less than crazy, IYKWIM.

That said, to totally contradict myself, I also really like the look of the acid-etched concrete (which is also cold and hard... wasn't it Emerson who said consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds?). Any ideas about whether it'd stand up to children and the eventual dog? We were thinking the acid-etching might be a cheaper temporary fix, and then if we're still in this house when the kids are bigger, we might do wood then, over the concrete.

DH nixes laminate: it'd bother him that they weren't "real" wood. I have seen a lot of people go this route, and I know there are a lot of pretty laminates out there, but His Highness Has Spoken.

I have a kitchen that sounds a lot like your living room as far as wear goes. It's the hub of the house, largest & brightest room. The garage door and backyard sliders open into the room. The floor gets the heaviest traffic and toughest use. We're also on a slab.

We had a flood over two months ago and are currently without any type of flooring over the concrete slab while we 'negotiate' with our insurance company. I'm in my 50s and hope whatever flooring I choose will be the last flooring I have to put down. I'm sick to death of 28 years of cleaning vinyl.

I thought I wanted tile. I decided porcelain was my best bet due to the hardness rating and best durability.
Why I don't want tile: I am usually barefoot. The cement is COLD and HARD and my back and hips now hurt if I stand in the kitchen long enough. My 2 year old grandson has fallen twice on the floor--the thud was sickening and he really got hurt. Tile is too hard and cold a surface for me. Same for etched concrete.

I considered laminate. Kitchen=moisture and spills. I am a decent housekeeper but not a slave to it. I worry that the traffic will be too tough on the surface or water will lift the seams. I also don't care for the artificial look of it or the sound it makes when walked on with shoes. A weird kind of clicking.

After doing a lot of research and shopping around, I'm going with engineered hardwood in a distressed style. It will be warmer and softer under the feet (and grandkid's head and limbs). The distressed style in a matte finish won't taunt me daily to "come clean me . . .I'm not shiney anymore." I've been told a daily Swiffering keeps it mostly happy and presentable. I like that the finish is baked on in the factory and won't need on site finishing. We really can't afford to have the room out of commission for days while it cures.

I'll use mats or area rugs at the doorways and sink.

That said, I raised two boys in this house with vinyl in the kitchen and carpeting throughout the rest of the rooms. Where there are children, there is cleaning and upkeep and repairs to be done.

You're smart to try and minimize your work.