Porcelain, it will outlast the house it's going in...easy to keep clean as well.

Marmoleum could work - easy on the joints

Most people would not put old fashioned VCT in their living rooms, but I was in my old grade school a couple of years ago and it still has the tile installed when the building was built 70 years ago and it looks brand new. And I work in a 40 year old building with VCT in it that looks mostly brand new. In that building they are replacing some of it with Marmoleum. I am putting VCT in my kitchen.

If they are more concerned about hard wearing but not all that concerned about a pristine finish, site finished oak strip flooring is good. I have lived in two places where the floors had never been refinished in 50 years and in my current place there was literally no finish left around the front door or on the basement landing but the floor itself was in physically good shape and able to be refinished.

We beat the heck out of our hard maple floors without much ill effect. Oak is, I'm sure, almost as good. Terrazzo is the go-to for shopping malls and airports that see constant foot traffic all day long.

Good point, go for tile and install it with membrane, to protect if from cracks. Just wondering how carpet hold on for so many years after use like this…

Actually old carpet was often quite durable. I lived in a building where the hallways were carpeted in 1965, including lots of stairs, and much of it looks good at 50 plus years. And this gets a half hearted vacuum on occasion and in the winter snow and salt and stuff would get tracked into all the entry areas.

Wool carpet to replace the 50 year old carpet. Sheet vinyl for the rest. Good sheet vinyl can last 30 years. It's very easy to clean. No grout.

I love my LVP in our walkout it has been there for 15 yrs still looks like new with 3 huge dogs in and out of a free run dog run in all kinds of weather , Totally affordable easy to care for and easy on joints and feet .IMO carpet is always a really bad choice it gets gross can never be claened properly . Our LVP has seen everything you can possibly imagine and at the end of the day O sweep and damp mop if it has been a rainy or snowy day We are shoes in the house people not one issue there .

I would choose Marmoleum over LVP anyday. One is made from petroleum products (LVP) and one is made from natural products (Flax seed oil, wood flour, pine rosins, jute, limestone and pigment). And Marmoleum which is basically linoleum updated, can last 50-100 years.

In my area, the more expensive vintage homes were usually strip oak flooring in the main areas with brick red quarry tile in the foyer and utility areas. The quarry tile is virtually indestructible and available in brown and gray as well as the classic red. Most of my oak had been refinished once but the tile was in perfect condition

"They’re use-and-abuse kind of people" I call it "they live in their home, not for their home". It sounds like they live in a cold climate. Tile is out. It is hard, cold and the grout is a PIA to clean. If the flooring is on wood beam instead of concrete slab it takes special underlayment. Even then it is iffy if it wouldn't crack from expansion and contraction in such a large area. Wood flooring takes a certain amount of babying. If you want a solid surface any of the others above should work. Just remember that with solid surfaces people end up putting rugs all over the place anyway , the living room, dinning room, halls, and any entry. Rugs are big tripping hazards for older people. Maybe solid surface at entry points, kitchen, laundry, and the remainder carpeting.

I’d be concerned about how hard tile is on joints. My in-laws had a beautiful MCM home, and after a flood, replaced the original flooring with tile throughout. Almost immediately they developed terrible back and knee pain, and I always thought it was caused/ exacerbated by the unforgiving flooring. I was three decades younger, and my back hurt if I spent over one day visiting!

I give a thumbs up to Marmoleum, and will add that I’ve always had hardwood and do not baby it; I find it very easy to care for.

What about cork flooring? It’s warm and easy on the joints.

I love my tile. 25 years in, it looks like the day it was laid. We chose dark gray grout and it still looks fine. We got it because my son used a wheelchair, which tracks a lot of grit into the house on its wheels. It's nice not to worry about the floor at all because we're hard on it.

As far as being hard on the joints, we would wear slippers in the house with any floor. Nothing fancy, mine are hot pink crocs - over bare feet in the summer, over wool socks in winter. Pretty simple.

Bruce, hartco and several other manufacturers offer wood flooring that is made for commercial use or is highly scratch resistant for dog owners. The flooring typically has a high janka rating and associated warranty.