Forgot to mention, I was considering ceramic tile, but I'm glad I didn't use it. The noise would echo.

I love the look of wood, which we put in the downstairs of our house. But I will never have it again! We live out in the country where the soil is very sandy. I have 5 cats and a dog, all of whom carry the sand inside. Then they roll around on the floor. It's like having mini-sanders on legs! I really regret not putting in tile everywhere.

One thing no one mentioned is that ceramic tile is hard on your feet and legs if you are in the the kitchen alot and have foot problems. You would need one of those really nice foam/rubber mats. I like ceramic, except if it is not installed right you could get a cracked tile when you move the fridge to clean behind it.

Just put ceramic tile in the kitchen and enjoy it.

I prefer wood. In our home in Maine we had wood floors. It went well with the antiquity of the house, and gave a warm feeling to the home.
I think if ceramic tile gets wet, as it will in the kitchen often, it gets very slippery. Hate to think of you breaking bones because you slipped and fell. After reading a few, I have to add that scratches and dents add character to the floor! The scratches and dents of life! Never bothered me a bit, my kitchen had character with my wooden floor. As someone said before, the ceramic is not forgiving and everything smashes when it hits the floor. The tile in the bathroom was cold and hard to keep looking nice.

Anywhere there is water, you should use tiles. Water is a natural starting place for black mold, which can be dangerous to your health. That's why we used ceramic tiles in our bathroom and will have tile in our kitchen when we replace the flooring. Grout isn't a big deal unless you use white (would never use white anywhere). We used a dark sand color in bathroom and then sealed with grout sealant and have never had any problems.

My DD's basement flooring is stained concrete, and it's beautiful. She's had no complaints and they've had it for about twelve years, still looks like new.

I have ceramic tile in my kitchen and love it.

If you want avoid dirty looking grout just pick a dark colored grout. I have a light tan colored tile with dark brown ( i think it's called coffee color) grout.
It's great. So easy to clean!!

Good luck with your choice whatever it might be.

Chris

I had ceramic tile in the kitchen. Hated - Hated- Hated it. If something dropped on the floor, the tile broke along with the teapot, the gout cracked and popped out because the tile was put on wooden underlayment and floor joices that had a little give, the tile was always cold to walk on, and if a little snow got tracked in I've have a wet spot that was invisible and very slick.

Tile is pretty but hard on the feet and legs. Wood looks warmer and better on the feet and legs. Speaking from experience.