My main entry opens into the living room. I was planning on putting tile there instead of wood because I don't have a mud room and it's a pain to worry about wood floors. I notice a lot of people are using wood in their foyers. I like the way wood and a rug looks but am concerned about how practical wood is in rain and snow as a main entrance. The rug would have to be butted up against the door to protect the whole area. I don't want to be wiping up drips every time I come in. I was looking forward to having a durable entry to not have to worry about but afraid a patch of tile will stick out like a sore thumb. I'm also not finding a tile that I'm sure would look great there. I've got one that I like but am not sure about the whole set up. I don't want it to look like an apartment entry. Someone close to me told me to just put wood in with a rug so I'm getting cold feet again. I've known people that even had wood in their laundry/mud room entrance but those were good solid 3/4" wood floors. This is a thinner 3/8" engineered although it seems to be pretty good quality.

If you have wood in your main entry, how does it hold up? Is it solid 3/4 inch? How do you protect or care for it there? Would you prefer something more durable after having lived with it?