I'd recommend walking on a vinyl floor (preferably barefoot) before deciding to put it down, especially since this will be your kitchen floor. I was planning on installing vinyl flooring in our house, but at the end of the day despite major improvements in vinyl, it can still feel a bit plasticky.

A high-end wood-grain tile might suit your needs though, and keep the feel of the current space. It won't look precisely like hardwood but there is legitimately impressive tile out there, and the feel of tile beats vinyl any day in my opinion.

If you like the wood looking and If your concern is about water damage so I would suggest a tile that has wood grain.

J Design Group
225 Malaga Ave
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Ph: 305-444-4611
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Based on your requirements, I would do a tile, probably a slate look. Then add rugs for softness. I understand the appeal of wood look tile but there are a lot of bad looking, busy wood look tiles out there. Because of that, I suspect that they are going to head into dated category in the near future.

vinyl flooring is a god send ...easy to clean ..I wouldn't put anything else in my kitchen !

I don't know anything about the new vinyls- but I will give you something to consider if you decide on tile (which i think holds up very well against water damage). I installed a grooved tile in my kitchen. It is so hard to clean! I guess kitchen gunk gets stuck in there and not that you can actually see it, but it feels weird on bare feet. I recommend a smooth flat tile.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions so far! We actually were looking at wood tile when the lady at the store suggested the vinyl plank. The wood tile might still be a good option. Patricia, you asked for some more details. The laminate that is in the kitchen matches the laminate in the entry way, but there is carpet that separates it. The rooms surrounding the kitchen are a closed off dining room (carpet) and open concept living room into kitchen (living room carpet). We had talked about eventually swapping out the carpet in the living room and dining room for laminate, but that would be down the line. We also weren't intending to swap this kitchen flooring out yet either ;) If we decide to go the laminate route again for continuity down the line, do you have a durable brand you would recommend that might give a little bit better water-proofing (although I know we won't truly get waterproof floors with laminate)?

Vinyl has come a long way but the repeat hasn't quite come as far. Coretec is one option. Here's discussion.