I'm probably the thousandth person to ask about flooring materials for the kitchen and first floor but I really need some suggestions. I just read sombody's post about timeless choices and they seem to lean toward wood but I can't see our active family being easy on wood - we would just wreck it.

Our kitchen is the main entrance room in the house and where everything goes on. We have pets and we live in the woods so there is debris that comes in every day.

Our kitchen is open to the family room which has a cherry floor.The hallway from the front door has a darker stained Bruce hardwood floor and both the formal dining room and our office which is right off the kitchen, have clay colored carpet.

So, 4 different floorings, all visible from any room. Right now they are actually nicely color coordinated but the kitchen floor needs to be chosen before I can move ahead with cabinets. I'd like to have the same flooring in the kitchen, laundry room, half bath, hallway to front door and hopefully also our office. A very tall order to find something that suits all those different uses.

And I want something that needs really minimal maintenance and looks more expensive than what I paid for it - LOL.

I have had ceramic tile before in a kitchen and hated it. It cracked, was cold, made my feet hurt and the grout was impossible to keep clean. I hear they have better products now but it was a bad experience. I've looked at the laminates but the only ones I've seen in person 'clacked' when you walked on them with hard soled shoes - that would drive me nuts. To me, cork looks like it would harbor food bits especially from pets.

We have an antique brick floor to ceiling fireplace in the family room which does influence style. I even thought about brick flooring but wonder about grout maintenance and how easy it would be to get spills up. I saw a dark porcelain floor I liked called Alfa-Luxe Lavagna.

But what are the design things that happen with a dark floor? Does it recede or does it make the room look small? The discount places that advertise - can you really get a deal or are you buying inferior product?

Where can I read the pros and cons of flooring choices?

Should I just hire a kitchen designer to make it all go faster? I will post pics as soon as I can.

Thanks for any responses