We've decided to do the vinyl tiles. We have original hardwood (1940s home) and there is no easy or inexpensive way to match it. Our floors are also not incredibly level so it made sense for us to use the tile. I refused to have the Vinyl wood look next to my hardwood, so this was what worked for us. We haven't installed yet, but will be doing so next week and I'm very excited!

Thanks MP! Pls let me know your thoughts when installed. Can you also share where you found the vinyl tile? These are the two samples I got from floor and decor. My concern is how that transition from wood to tile will look. I don’t want it to be so stark but it doesn’t seem possible to avoid...

I think vinyl that looks like wood would be a very bad choice so I would say either get unfinished hardwood and have it finished to amtch what you ahve or do the tile look .

are the vinyl tile squares out of the running these days.....with the narrow real wood I think the change in format to a square tile look would really be classic and wonderful. Have you thought of darker with that beautiful oak next to it? that would play up the wood .

I'm confused by your photo--do you have three different floors? the wood, tile and white marble?

@herbflavor- I like that look but in order to put real tile down we would need to lift the existing tile. I’m going to see if I can find anymore vinyl planks that look like tile.

IMO, LVP planks next to hardwood would look bad -- as in cheap. Either do all hardwood (you can refinish the old so it blends with the new), or do an LVP that looks mimics the look of tile squares so it looks like a purposeful, defined difference rather than a giant miss.

I had a similar situation in my house and did LVT (tile, not planks) in a faux travertine that blends well with my adjacent Douglas-fir floors. I'm very happy with the appearance, feel, and durability, three years later.

When we redid the kitchen they installed new hardwood and matched the stain. We didn’t even have them lace it in so we didn’t have to refinish the whole first floor and it looks great!

Be very aware the 'thin' vinyl planks you are looking at can and WILL transfer the tile pattern to the new floor. Be VERY aware of what 'leaving the tile' means for your brand new floor - it will telegraph the Versaille pattern to your thin vinyl.

To get this to work (leaving tiles in place) you need to have a FLAT surface (grind and fill the tile and then give a bit of coating of Self Leveling Cement. Cost = $1-$2/sf).

Or you have to work with the THICK rigid product like 8.5mm CoreTech = $8.79/sf (which is roughly $3-$4/sf MORE than the thin stuff you are looking at). If you work with the thick stuff you will have a 1/2" floor height variation. Oh dear.

Or you jack out the tile ($2/sf) and put in whatever the heck you want.

Remember: going 'cheap' with floor prep (ie. leaving old stuff in place) can end up to be very expensive and/or very upsetting.

Please be VERY SURE you are FULLY AWARE of the issues with leaving the tile in place AND going with cheap/thin vinyl.

The two samples you are showing from Floor and Decor are a big NO - They will look awful. Continue your beautiful hardwood into the kitchen. You will not be disappointed.

@design girl- I’m leaning towards just getting the hardwood. I’m running around and researching vinyl tile and not finding anything that I love so I probably need to just bite the bullet and get hardwood. If I’m going to do this I want to do it right. Thank you for your input. Do you have any thoughts regarding the order of things- ie should I have the floors done first? (Before cabinets are painted and new countertops installed?)

@marylizdavitt - You will not regret the hardwood floors, ever. In terms of the order of things, I'd do the floors first. Then the cabinets will get painted (being careful not to get any paint on the floors). You'll probably get a spot or two on the floors, but it can be removed.

Hardwood all the way.

The industry has sold the public a bill of goods, adding “luxury”, before vinyl. And, it never matches up well against the beauty of real wood...or tile.

Mary, the two samples you show are an exact match for what we put into outer kitchen/family room that abuts oak floors in a mid century home. I hate the LVT every day. Not only is it lighter than anticipated, it shows every Mark. I wish I had just suffered for a week of stinky hardwood (staining and sealing) being put in to match the rest of the house. The price difference was only a couple thousand dollars at most.

I had luxury vinyl tiles down. They say it’s very durable. Maybe for normal wear, but the various workers who have been here have already put two scratches in it, one of them quite significant, and a small hole.