I would first make sure your tiles do not have asbestos beneath them and can be removed safely, and without a professional. Pergo (laminate) is terrible with water as it has a hdf or mdf core. If you have a lot of water from cleaning or spills it will cause the laminate to expand and it will be ruined. That being said, laminate is difficult to scratch. Cork on the other hand feels better to stand on, yet it is easier than laminate to scratch/damage. There are 2 types of cork - glue down and floating. The glue down style is fine with water where the click together type will be better than laminate in regards to water it still has an mdf or hdf core that could be ruined by water. If you choose either of these options for the kitchen I would highly recommend making sure to clean with a style specific cleaner which is typically a spray (Bona Kemi is a good brand) with a micro fiber mop head. Water is the enemy. Hope this helps. Also - some of the new lvp's out there look really good and are great in kitchen/potential water situations.

I know someone who did cork and sealed it
Soft on feet and loved it but after a
Whe times came up and she had to replace the floor after about 8 years

Some of the LVP (luxury vinyl plank) also look really good now, and are fine with water. Worth checking out compared to laminate and cork for the kitchen.

@Debora Butler, I did not realize that when i posted this. Thank you.

@simpleFLOORS Seattle, That's exactly why I want to do tiles, because our kitchen is a high traffic area and it is exposed to water more frequently than usual. But since my husband does not want to go through the trouble of installing tiles, he wants to do Pergo and I'm very much against it. I'm sure in 6 months time it will be total waste of money and time. I have considered the LVP, and there are really durable ones out there. Thank you for the tips and directions. I appreciate it.

@20fleetwood, I think 8 years is a very good amount of time for cork floor. Thanks for the info.

@fleetwood - 8 years is the time span for 'failure' if cork is not installed properly. Cork also requires "refreshing" every few years. The lower budget cork floors are finished in urethane and these need refinishing every 2 years. Polyurethane finishes need refinishing every 5 years.

If the finish isn't refreshed, you get wear through. This is the same for wood/hardwood/engineered. I've seen the "8" year floors. And that is why we have implimented requirements that are never mentioned on "other" cork flooring websites.

Now that we have, we have noticed the "big boys" of cork have changed their websites to mimic ours.

We have just recieved a new finish that is water based polyurethane with ceramic bead technology. It is supposed to have better wear tendencies. I will try it out and get back to everyone.

@Cancork Floor Inc., Thank you for mentioning that. Of course cost is also an important factor and I believe in some cases you get more for your money with tiles.