I have hardwoods in my entire house also open floor plan except in the bathrooms. I am now putting porcelain tile in the kitchen. My dad used to be in the wood flooring business and would never have wood where there is water. My mom and my mother-in-law had wood in their kitchen and both had trouble. My mom's garbage disposal rusted out little by little and the water went all over the kitchen floor not aware of this problem until too late. Totally discolored the wood. My mother-in-law's refrig decided to not work any more during the night and water went all over the kitchen floor. When she went into the kitchen the next morning the water had warped several of the floor boards. I would never put wood in a kitchen although I would love to but don't want any problems.

The kitchen and laundry room can look nice with wood floors but unexpected water issues can/do happen, even in a new/remodeled home, so it depends on whether you're willing to take that chance.

I have wood-look porcelain plank tiles in all of the public areas of my beach house. I love it! I would choose a tile that harmonizes with your hardwoods. (With the variety of porcelain tiles available, that shouldn't present a great problem.) To set the tile off from the hardwood, you might choose to have the tile laid in a pattern, like herringbone or on the diagonal, for example. Your flooring installer should be able to insert a strip that will divide the two materials tastefully. Good luck with your reno!

I find tile very hard the feet and legs as you age and I have had hardwood floors in kitchens and actually (knock on woodI guess) have never had a problem. But in the bathroom and laundry I would do tile.

i'd say its six of one, half dozen of the other. if your kitchen is by the main family entry door i'd go with tile as you dont have the wet boots and grit issues which are bad on wood.

accidents can happen with appliances, but mostly they don't.