I am planning on changing the flooring in my LR / Kitchen area. Currently, the flooring is 14" beige ceramic. Pretty basic. It has served its purpose, but I am ready for something new. I really love the look of wood, but I have that in my bedroom and am concerned about how easily it can get scratched and nicked. I don't know if it's the type of wood (the BR is engineered Tigerwood), or if that's just how wood is in general. I know that I could avoid that problem with stone floors, but I don't really care for the coldness and hardness of stone.

Any recommendations? Types of wood? Types of stone? I'm totally open to suggestions. Since the LR and Kitchen sort of form one big room, it has to be something that will work well in both spaces.