What do you think is a good floor material for a kitchen?

Tile is nice and durable, but I'm concerned about the grout getting nasty, plus, tile could be hard on your feet when standing for long periods...

Solid wood - too easy to mess up, scrape, etc...

High quality linoleum - might be a good choice

Pergo / Engineereed Laminated wood - I don't like that it's such a thin veneer, but it might be in the running.


Any ideas and or "war stories" about installation and or results would be appreciated.

Cheers!

M

I like the floating floor myself, I've installed an AC3 quality throughout the house, and when I get around to doing the kitchen I'll probably install it there also, but an AC4 or AC5 quality. My folks recently installed an AC4 floating floor in their kitchen and it was a top click type, much easier to install then the typical slid in and click type. It also had a manufactures defect in the pattern, it looked like there was a piece of masking tape on the floor, the installer scraped at it with a flat head screwdriver quite hard and it never damaged or scratched the floor, it was also a breeze to change the piece.
With a good under-padding and a decent quality of product it's much nicer to walk on and stand on.
If you're looking to save you can get the AC3 floor, I got the cheap stuff from china, I figured it would be OK for bedrooms office etc. I installed it last fall and my waste pieces stayed out on the deck all winter covered in snow, no water damage & no warping either, I was impressed. I haven't finished installing it yet, so I don't' know how it's going to hold up in the office under my fat ass on the rolling chair.

Tile or stained/painted concrete.