I agree continue the hardwood. I've had hardwood in my kitchen for 20 years and love it

If your floor gets wet enough to warp hardwood, it is probably also wet enough for tile to buckle due to saturation of the subfloor. As to water spots, you will get the same water spots on tile, just wipe them up. The hardwood floor finishes today are water resistant unlike wax finishes of 70 years ago. I've had hardwoods in 3 kitchens over the years without any problems. One really big bonus with hardwoods is that you don't have grout to have to keep clean.

My uncle had his kitchen hardwood covered with some sort of sealer that resembles bowling alley hardwood! It would take a flood that you need an arc to get to it! So I guess it all comes down to the prep work and if the person who installs really knows his/her stuff.

I just finished a kitchen with very similiar finishes to yours where she had original hardwoods throughout and chose a Luxury Vinyl tile by Mannington in a Plank style wood look. It is great for wet areas, an easy glue down installation, soft under foot and looks really good with the real wood. It's very realistic looking.

We chose a wider plank than her real maple floors in the darkest variation of the real wood, so it doesn't look like we tried to match and missed. She loves them!

I think you should install 12 + 24 tiles in your kitchen would look great

I would recommend something like

so I like your idea

Good Morning Ashley!

Since you're worried about hardwood in the kitchen, I'm attaching a project we did that has white cabinetry and an entryway into the living room from the kitchen for some inspiration. Hope you like it!

Crafted to Perfection · More Info

Crafted to Perfection · More Info

Crafted to Perfection · More Info

Crafted to Perfection · More Info

I do tile installation for many years and I like the elongated tiles