"I like the sheet vinyl ease of cleaning best, but I worry that quality sheet vinyl will cost as much as hardwood and still be considered "just vinyl" should we need to resell. Am I being silly to consider this? What would you choose?'

i'd go with a good quality sheet vinyl. I think when I figured what it'd cost to do my kitchen, hall and laundry room it was about 1,000.00. my kitchen floor to be covered is about 10 x 10.

I'd do tiles but I think I'd rather have no 'seams' / areas where water can leak down beneath it. I don't have little kids but I have an elderly dog and I drop things very easily. They just seem to jump out of my hands...

I'll probably have a carpet runner in the hall. I have an area rug for the open area in the laundry room. My other rooms will also have area rugs. Some of those rooms might get vinyl tiles or planks - only the parts not covered by the area rugs will show anyway.

I'd rather replace it in 8 - 10 yrs and not have to worry about water seeping under tiles thru grout, cleaning grout, etc during those yrs. In 10 yrs I might not even be here - or 'here' enough to even care what it looks like. I need ease of cleaning and to stand on now.

When we did our reno we matched our oak floors for the kitchen. I go barefoot in the house (not a neat freak, just like to be barefoor) and I like the feel and waarmth of the wood.
Not a fan of sheet vinyl. But as far as vinyl goes, it has come a long way. Some look like slate or ceramic. And, this would be more comfortable under foot than ceramic tile. I think Armstrong has a good selection.
I know we always think of resale, but I personally don't think it would be a deal breaker if the kitchen had vinyl flooring.

save money by installing wood or a wood product yourselves..worth it!!

If you're leaning toward vinyl, check out a product called Adura. It's made by Mannigton. It's a plank flooring. Wood look and pretty convincing. Our flooring guy told us it gets great reviews and is being used commercially as well. That says a lot I guess..It could by a DYI too. Worth checking out.

We have Marmoluem sheet linoleum, and we LOVE it. We have it in our kitchen, entryways, laundry room and all three baths. We have people come in all the time and ask us what it is, one even thought we had limestone floors before she felt them. We have two small kids, and a dog, and it looks great. We just vaccumn it, and it looks perfect because nothing sticks to it. We have it in the Caribbean color.

I have pictures in this thread about them. Read all the way to the bottom of the thread to see the install pics.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marmo floors

I had the same requirements, and we went with vinyl from Stainmaster. We picked one with a slate look and it's really beautiful. Not cheap, by any means, but sooo easy to keep clean and easy on the dishes we drop, and the splatters of water don't bother it a bit. It's slightly thicker than your average vinyl, too--tough stuff, should last a good long time. I'm happy with it.

Cj

Stainmaster Vinyl, Blue Slate

Here is a link that might be useful: Stainmaster Vinyl

Cj, lovely floor! Can I ask how much per sqft it was? I would so love to have slate but don't love grout or the coldness.

Tami78, I seem to remember that it was between $6 and $7 per square foot, installed. I'll look it up and if I was too far off, I'll let you know, but I think that was in the ballpark. (I can't remember what happened two DAYS ago, let alone two years!)

I love the look of slate, too, but besides not being in the budget, I also didn't want the hardness/coldness/grout that goes with a stone floor. This flooring covers our very large kitchen/dining area, the mudroom, the laundry room and a powder room. It was important to get something that we liked a lot and that would hold up to the very heavy traffic. So far, so good! This pattern comes in a number of different colors. There are some new patterns out since we got ours, too.

Cj

My vote is for hardwood, especially since it will be in your dining room and entry. I'm not a fan of sheet vinyl, having lived with it for years in an apartment.

I'd like to mention that the vinyls that can be had today are NOT the vinyls that we had in those cheap apartments we rented in college. The difference is night and day--it's not shiny or sticky and it doesn't grab and hold dirt the way that the vinyls of old did. I've lived with my share of cheap vinyl, too, including what came with our house when we bought it--nasty, ugly stuff. However, the new vinyl is an entirely different type of product. The colors are nice and it feels good underfoot--no sticky, weird feeling. It's soft and warm, and easy care. Before panning vinyl because you lived with it in college or in a rental somewhere, do check out the new products. You might be surprised.

Cj

I need to get some samples and play around a bit. CJ, your floor is really pretty and it looks so nice with your cabinets and counters.

Senator13, your marmoleum is really pretty too. I looked at the Forbo website today and I thought the grayish colored "eternity" would look nice with the color scheme I'm planning on. How does the marmoleum feel underfoot? Any issues with using a steam mop to clean it? I have a Haan, and while it's not a deal breaker, it would be nice if I could steam mop whatever flooring I end up with.

I love the look of wood. In our old house, we had old oak hardwood floors in the dining room. Not knowing any better, I wet mopped those floors just like I mopped the cheap icky vinyl peel and stick tile in the kitchen. It never once hurt the wood. Most threads on the flooring forum and the care instructions for wood I've seen on flooring websites suggest that even damp mopping hardwood is just asking for it to be ruined. I wonder why that is.

The eternity is pretty. A couple people on here have that color.

The feeling underfoot is amazing. We had tile in our kitchen, baths and entries at the old house and I couldn't believe what a difference this was. Literally, night and day!

No, youshould not steam clean it. Here is some additional guidance about cleaning it.

Here is a link that might be useful: marmo maint.

I agree 100% cj47. Vinyl has come a long way.

I have wood floors and love them. I would do it all over
again. They are durable, beautiful and great with my
active family. (big boxer dog) However they do show some
minor marks. My floor guy comes every two years to do
a commercial buff and polish of my floors to keep them
looking pretty but this is not cheap.

My sister, has two dogs and a home far more elegant
than mine. She decided she was not going with wood. She
chose a laminate floor that is amazing. She has dogs,
kids, and people over almost weekly at her home. She
loves, loves, loves that fact that her floors are soft and
durable. If water spills she has no issues. And trust me
people are always spilling, dogs drooling, babies
crawling.... her floors clean so easy. She loves them .

Choosing floors is a hard. My neighbor loves wood more than
I but she chose tile for her kitchen and area that deal
with water and her dogs. She wanted wood throughout but
for her tile lasts a good 10-15 years without issues
where as wood does need to be touched up and even
redone every 5-10 years depending on your wood.

You said it perfectly in your post. There are pros and'
cons to each. Trying to figure out what you want to
live with, what you love and what you don't is the balance.
I hope you find your floor to go with your dream kitchen.
It can be affordable and look pretty too.

Here are some afforable images of vinyl and laminate sheet
~boxer

Yes, this is Armstrong Laminate. I am drooling at how pretty.

If you check out Lowes or HD you will find some laminate
Armstrong floors under $4.00 per square foot. This is not
a terrible price for what you might be looking for.
The vinyl planks are bit more pricey $50. but if you are
looking for something to be a bit stronger or durable
than wood maybe this is an option for you.

Yes this is sheet vinyl armstrong. Shockingly gorgeous!!!

Not armstrong I believe this is congoleaum sheet vinyl

Bellacore laminate

Cork the product is corkoleum A beautiful product that is
warm and soft

Cork Tile calle Apollo

Tarkett Fiber laminate floor

Thank you, meangoose and Tami78.

I know that a lot of people love wood in their kitchens, and there are plenty of options that look like wood if you don't want the 'real thing'.

Boxerpups, you never cease to amaze me with the pictures you find.

Cj

Boxerpups, thank you for all those pictures. Soooo droolworthy! The laminate is beautiful. I was under the impression that laminate was even more water-adverse than wood, so I hadn't even considered it.

Took a little detour to the flooring section of Lowes today while waiting for paint for my daughter's bedroom to be mixed up (pink and purple, of course!)

Dh is pretty in love with a wood look sheet vinyl. I think that pretty much seals the deal.

Question: if we were to do a vinyl today and change it to wood 10-15 years down the line, is there anything I should do during the reno now to make that easier/better? For example, is there something I should be doing where the dishwasher will go to ensure it can be removed after wood is laid down?

Thank you all so much for your help!