Momnurs- For your cork in the kitchen I would recommend having felt pads under step stools, or anything with sharp type feet. If they are dents (and not tears/punctures) from weight they will actually bounce back after time. Regarding the large bath mat- please make sure it doesn't have rubber backing. If it does it will not allow the cork flooring to breathe, and it may discolor in that area. Mats with no backing, just regular material throughout will work nicely if taken up after getting wet.

I said laminate only because it is so forgiving - not stressing about scratches in the hardwood is ultimate comfort of me (which I need with 2 crazy kids :)

I have wood in my house and it's warm and comfy.

I have ceramic tile in my kitchen/dining. I love that I never have to worry about water or spills, but heaven forbid if I drop anything---it shatters! Also, I have to have a padded mat in front of my sink because tile floors over concrete means it is very hard on your feet.

We have oak wood flooring in the kitchen, but I would never recommend it!

I put a big, thick old wool rug on top of the vinyl on concrete floor of my apartment kitchen. I know I can wash the rug if something spills and its a real comfort for my back - its real old, super thick Indian made rug I found at a flea market.

We just replaced icky capet in the den in our new house with vinyl planks that almost exactly match our wood flooring in the rest of the house. The kids use that room as their playroom. We love it - the kids love it! I would suggest that solution to families looking for kid friendly flooring.

I like the wood!

If top priority is comfort, cork is the best choice. However, if you want comfort with a classic aesthetic, then wood is best choice.

We have old nasty vinyl in our 100 year old farm house. We are hoping to renovate this year and this blog has been very helpful. I was liking the look and durability of brick for this old house, but now realize that it would be really hard on the back. We have dogs that have "mistakes" that are kept in the kitchen at times. I really would love to put wood floors throughout the house, but have worried about the kitchen and bathrooms because of moisture. Are there certain woods or finishes that would stand up to my fur-babies?

I have owned dogs in houses with vinyl tiles squares, parquet wood, fake brick tile, and wall to wall carpet over slab, parquet, and hardwood. None of these floors are good solutions for pets who are determined to be a mess.

I now do overnight and vacation pet sits and the most successful weeks I have had were with pets that were crated when I was out of their house for even 5 minutes. Those were the instructional procedures of the pet parent. Even stays of 6 hours or more never resulted in messed crates.

Consider teaching your fur-babies to be crated when you are out of the house. Start slow with brief periods of time; build up; treats work; make it fun for them. Baby linens are soft and wash easily (source at yard sales). Put water pan not filled to the top in each cage.

My own sneaky and clever dogs got out of their crate the first day (show dog quality crate we were told). But now, latches on crates are far, far better than they were in in the 70's when I was struggling with my Houdini partners in crime.

Cork.

Sticking to the question, I would say cork would be most comfortable. However, comfort is not the primary concern in picking a flooring. Not many will add carpet to a kitchen since it is simply not practical for a wet, messy environment.

Love the idea of cork especially for a bathroom! It's comfy but it has a little less traffic and wear and tear than in an entry or kitchen! Also moisture resistant!

Cork, with today's varieties the choice is easy. I have used cork in a basement and in bathroom . The warm natural feel of the cork as well as the sound insulating properties help to make this a great flooring option. The sustainable properties put cork above other non renewable options as well.

heated flooring

Bamboo with a gel chefs mat under the sink

I have wood in our entry and lining room. Tile in the kitchen. Tile is terrible. Cold and unforgiving to cracking when something is dropped on it. The wood however is in high traffic area and after 15 years STILL looks like new and beautiful.

Haha...wood in DINING room! LOVE IT, and will be installing in kitchen soon!

I put ceramic tile in my kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. Real (not engineered or prefab) wood already in my LR and hall - already there. New sunroom also has real wood. The tile saved me from doing exact wood matches. I don't find the tile hard on my legs, but then I am on my own and don't spend a lot of time cooking except for dinner parties. Not much breakage either so far. I love the ceramic tile, but voted cork for comfort as that was the question.

Oh, and the tile cleans like a dream.

Our kitchen isn't finished but we installed this cork and so far we are loving it!

I have 18" square dark ceramic tiles that are set diagonally to make my kitchen look larger, and dark to make the white cabinets stand out. I chose this floor because it was the same color value as the hardwood floors surrounding it, and that made my small space not seem as choppy. I don't think the floor is as comfortable to stand on as a cork floor would be, though.

kingdo: I had no idea cork came in such long strips as shown in your photo. Where did you purchase this? Or are the long strips a group of strips made into one strip? They are very nice in any case.

halbanes, the cork is Torlys, designer series. It comes in 6 foot planks. We bought it at a Carpet One location. Can't think of the color name at the moment but all colors are shown on the Torlys website.

Love wood underfoot!

Kingdo: thanks! I am bookmarking Torlys; beautiful. Their installation instructions say that cork installations should maintain a healthy humidity at 40-60% year round. That could be a problem for me. I'll watch humidity variance levels in my home this winter.

wood or cork

Love wood underfoot!

I chose cork and am getting it installed soon. Have tile now and hate it; cold and hard!

CONGRATULATIONS to @shilpis for winning her very own pair of Houzz slippers! If you missed out on this poll, don't worry, you still have time to get your comments into our Cozy Material poll!
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/poll-favorite-cozy-material-dsvw-vd~698314

shilpis: I prefer Marble flooring.
Definitely the person who will need the cozy Houzz slippers the most.

only someone with soul will appreciate the authentic touch of this beautiful flloring. Marble is for an ancient imperial court or a cave person.....

Graciouspace Inc: guess I got soul cuz Iz got a marble entry way.

We love our DuraCeramic floor. It has a comfortable vinyl top with a thin layer of limestone underneath so it is more durable than vinyl and more comfortable than ceramic. It never feels cold either and I am barefoot in the summer air conditioning and in the winter.

I prefer carpet or rugs because there is less of a chance to fall and are comfortable and some of them are perfect for napping on especially if you are to tired or lazy to go on the couch a chair or your bedroom to sleep plus another handy thing is that they have lots more colors and patterns than hard floors.

Or maybe safety tested floor heaters that can't cause fires underneath the carpet or rug to create the ultimate napping floor.

We have cork tiles that were installed 10 years ago and they look terrible........they wear away at the edges, the have big big "pock marks". Cork tiles are the worst choice for the kitchen. Now I am replacing them and am undecided what to do.

Love wood floors....warmer to walk on...and are just beautiful!

Hardwood flooring gets my vote! #BeSeenBeSafe

@ bubiechavala ... this is exactly what I found out about cork floors when I was researching all flooring types. I feel so bad for you! What an expense to go through (twice). For our recent new build (2,500 sq. ft.) we ended up choosing luxury level vinyl flooring (13' wide rolls). It's a wee bit cushy so it doesn't hurt your back, more silent to walk on, guaranteed for 25 years, and if you ever get tired of it, so easy to lay another floor over much later on. Every body who walks in to our house loves it (just different enough to be not the same-old, same-old that everyone else chooses, and modern enough to outsmart the trendy types of flooring). We did pay extra to have it professionally installed because getting the seams right on is too tricky for anyone who doesn't do this every day. It is flawless (had it down for 2 years now), and best of all, extremely easy to keep clean! Like all flooring choices, you have to be careful not to drag anything too heavy over it, but otherwise virtually indestructible. We went with Armstrong's slate-tile look-alike pattern with minimal "grout" lines, in a dark grey. Here's a sample piece for reference.

Limestone with underfloor heating. Huge tiles, aged and sculpted.

Hickory over cork over concrete

Right now! We have uneven cement floors for the past several months. (2+years give or take, ) I just put down some scrap plywood of varying thickness, that is loose and warping with the humidity, I wear thick rubber boots to give my feet some relief, I would post a picture but... I am not about to remove the loose plywood to show you the cement.

I still LOVE my Armstrong plank vinyl. It has been 8 years since it was put down (over concrete) and it is still perfect and beautiful. I did pick a commercial grade, no cheaper than low end wood floors, but far better in looks and ease of living. These floors wow everyone who looks at them. As to your uneven floors...I would suggest moving to a different house.

Sheet vinyl. Proper installation is a must! I wanted it throughout the "new" (50-yo) house, but bedrooms and stairs were too hob-jobbed underneath the carpet to reasonably get them flat and level. But the entry, living room, den, kitchen, and dining room are all pulled together by warm, textured, and padded "driftwood".

Well, I am the "exception" out here...I have had my Pergo Laminate floor for 12+ years...we remodeled the basement to a beautiful apartment. We installed (DIY) a subfloor on top of the cement floor. This subflooring was a special product that has made a world of difference. It had to be special ordered from a big box store...this subfloor (one name is DRICORE) snapped into place with a waterproof raised bottom (think a soccer or baseball cleat ...square sections that kept it about 1/4" above the cement) with a particle board top that we laid the Pergo or ceramic tile (bathroom) on top of. We installed all flooring ourselves. The Pergo has been warm and RESILIENT....Yes, I have had water leak on it and it only buckled a little, We put a fan on the area and some weights....you cannot tell anything ever happened there ( I wish I could say the same for the cabinet inside shelf). I have two spots in these 12 years that a knife dropped on and "chipped" a very small part of the floor. We have dogs and daily use/traffic in the kitchen. My floor has not buckled or faded or SHOWN SCRATCH MARKS which is Very apparent, in my opinion of Wood floors....you can argue that this shows "character" or "patina" - I don't like it --for the cost, wood floors are a higher in maintenance and the GOOD Quality brand laminate has been a great choice!

I put LVP throughout my home. It doesn't look as nice as hardwood but it definitely has it's advantages. It's softer on the feet/joints than tile or hardwood and is waterproof. I've had mine for 3 years now and there's not a scratch on it. I have large dogs so being scratch and water resistant was a pre-req for me.

What is "LVP" flooring?

Luxury vinyl plank