Neither...go with vinyl or linoleum or cork...hard wood doesn't stand up well to moisture and it scratches. Dishes don't do well when dropped on tile and it can be hard on your feet, knees and back too, not to mention cold...

We have hardwood floors in our kitchen and heart pine in the laundry room, no problems with either. I think a single flooring is best and I wish all our floors were the same species. In your situation, tiling the laundry closet would probably be best. You can butt wood to tile and if the wood needs to descend to the tile, have them angle it down from the underside of the abuting wood. Alternatively, you could use what they call a "reducer strip"----which IMO is okay only as a last resort--- but either option would allow you to get the appliances in and out of the closet if necessary.

I've mentioned this on here before, but, we started with laminate and after about 15 years put in hardwood. We'd never had a water leak in nearly 30 years of marriage so I wasn't worried. Ha! The joke was on me. The refrigerator, dishwasher and toilet (in powder room) all had leaks at install. The kitchen was able to dry naturally; however we had to replace the powder room floor immediately. Then a year or so later the refrigerator sprang a leak again - this time they put in a stainless steel water hose. The floor now has ridges but the flooring guy says it would be difficult to swap out in that area. I will say we have not had any problems with dropped dishes or scratches.

But, I'd never do tile because it's so hard to walk on and cold unless you do in-floor heat.

I'm not familiar with cork, but that's probably what I'd look into, or a wood-look vinyl if you prefer that look.

I've had hardwood in two kitchens since 1976 and have never had one ounce of problems. I remember considering tile for the bathroom floor when I remodeled, but as the contractor told me, if you have a water leak that is bad enough to damage hardwood, it would also likely have damaged the subfloor under tile and it would also have to be ripped out and replaced. So I have hardwood in the bathroom now, too. It's the easiest floor to keep clean, (I have a Swedish Finish) and is so nice on your feet and legs and looks gorgeous. After 21 years in this house, they still look like new and I am NOT fussy about caring for them.

I've never seen a vinyl that I couldn't spot as vinyl...go with the real stuff if you want it to look like wood, make it wood.

I've had both hardwood and tile in kitchens, and my preference is hardwood.

In my tile kitchen, my legs ached (and I wasn't of my current age...). Wood floors are more conducive to the stationary work in kitchens than tile. If any water damage is significant enough to damage wood floors, you likely have an insurance claim. I would not let the threat of water damage in a kitchen deter you from wood floors. Day-to-day use in your kitchen will not result in water damage to your wood floors.

My laundry is located in my mudroom, and is the primary daily entry point for my children and my dog. It's tile--I don't believe wood would work for this high-traffic buffer area between outside my home and inside. This has nothing to do with water damage, but the sheer amount of muck that my kids and dog bring with them!

I had HW (maple) in my kitchen and am putting HW (walnut) back in.

Am in the Chicago area and often walked across it in wet, snowy shoes - it did fine.

It's hard to picture exactly how your floorplan is, but I would go with tile. We've had it for over a decade now and though I didn't want it, I'm glad we made the compromise. Hubby wanted tile in both kitchen and adjoining sunroom. The sunroon is hardwood like most of the rest of the main level. We both are very happy with our final decision.

Our hardwood kitchen floor was installed in 1919.

No water leaks have damaged it yet.

Tile. It's only cold in the winter and houseshoes will fix that. No heating necessary.

Rugs in front of the sink or stove makes standing a breeze. I've spent many hours on my feet in the kitchen and have no problem at all.

I've gone barefoot on my hardwood and ended up putting my houseshoes on. Hardwood is also hard. :)

I would never put wood near a water source. It's just a matter of time before something springs a leak.

Salesmen will tell you wood is okay in the kitchen, but most flooring companies tell us not to do it for obvious reasons.

Unless you're an immaculate housekeeper...meaning you mop every day, then it's easier to clean crud in the corners under the cabs if you have tile.

I love my hardwood in the kitchen, it matched up perfectly with our fifty year old existing floors.,
Yes, floods can happen, but the odds are slim. Tile is hard on the joints. Of course you can wear slippers (I never would) and get those gel mats for in front of the sink and stove.
As Annie mentioned, vinyl is another solution. The wood like vinyl she has posted in her home looks gorgeous. There are many choices out there.

I agree go with vinyl. The only other added deterrent to tile is NOISE. The acoustics drive me batty in tiled rooms. We went with vinyl planks and LOVE IT!

Hardwood. I've got oak engineered HW flooring throughout my entire house except for bathrooms and florida room. No problems anywhere including the kitchen, and I agree with others it makes a beautiful continuous look for your home.

We replaced the tile with hardwood a few years ago and it has held up beaufifully, blends with our existing hardwoods and has been easy to care for. I disliked the tile, finding it hard to keep clean, the grout in particular.

I've had it all. DH used to be a flooring contractor... Hardwood, vinyl, and tile and we just put tile in our new house. The rest of the first floor is oak except for mudroom and I just wanted a different surface for the kitchen. My new house living room opens to the kitchen and dining room.
The porcelain tile I have currently for past 7 years is the easiest floor I've ever had to keep clean. I have dropped canned goods and a glass jar of pickles on it - nothing broke. Tile nor glass. I've dropped and broke dishes on all the surfaces. Grout was treated and stays clean.
I have arthritis and am not bothered by the hardness of the tile any more than the wood in the rest of the house.
Personal preference but I have seen many leaks in kitchens that buckle wood. I love wood but see no reason to have it everywhere and I really like some tile or stone flooring in a home.

I have had hardwood in my last two kitchens and love it! Tile is too hard on my legs and have no problems with hardwood...and it is so easy to keep clean. I do nothing but go over it with a damp cloth on my mop...not too much water and I have not had to even use soap.

I had vinyl but replaced it with hardwood. I like both...not too cold and easy to care for, comfortable to walk on and no dingy grout lines. If I had to choose between vinyl and tile, vinyl would win.

I have ceramic tile in my bathroom and I shudder to think of having it in my kitchen...the hardness of it for dropping things, hard on your feet and legs, and the grout would be impossible (at least in my house) to keep clean. We have laminate and have had it for about 10 years....so easy to clean. So hardwood rather than grouted ceramic tile would be my choice.

i have had hardwood in the kitchen in my last couple of houses and love the look, but since our large dogs spend most of their time in the kitchen area, there are lots of scratches in it...

we are moving into a house that has all hardwood except for the kitchen, back hall and laundry room where there's travertine and i am looking forward to a harder surface that will not scratch!! i am sure there will be other things that i am not crazy about with the tile, but right now i am looking forward to a more durable flooring in the kitchen!
i will definitely have a rug in front of the sink and stove...

Hardwood. Have had hardwood in my kitchen for 7 years, love it. We also have dogs and we have not had any problems with nail scratches, but our dogs are on the smaller side so that may be why. We did choose a slightly distressed wood so that newer scratches would not stand out, we have kids and pets so we know the wood will not stay perfect, and we have been fine with any added imperfections. Have tile in my entry and baths - it is too hard on feet and too hard to maintain, the grout is horrible to keep clean. If I have my say, I will not install tile again - just not worth it.

What Annie said and for those reasons we have vinyl and haven't regretted it. It's comfy, not cold, easy to clean, looks like real tile/slate that people think it is real.

Agree with everything Annie said. The thing I hate most in my house is the tile floor in the kitchen. The grout gets filthy, it is way too hard for standing and anything you drop smashes to smithereens. One day I will have it removed and replaced with Marmoleum which is a nice linoleum product. Do. Not. Get. Tile.

I miss the tile in my last house. I found it easier to care for than wood and no scratches or water spots! I usually wore slippers and our heat duct in the basement ran under the main pathways. I never noticed the coldness, even in the tiled rec room downstairs. As you can see, I loved tile. I did not find it any harder to stand on than wood. I had a medium colored grout which helped. I lived there 15 years and it looked great when we moved.
Someone I know had a very light grout which had gotten dirty. They had it steam cleaned and it looked like new, but I would avoid light grouts and dark grouts.

I want to mop my kitchen floor with a bleach & water mix.....only tile can take that. I throw a sisal rug down for decoration......I chose tile! No regrets!

@ nicole: I know this will also tolerate a bleach solution, because I dropped a cup of bleach directly on the floor, also does great with dog accidents, and no damage when the washer leaked. DS has it, looks nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: flooring

I love tile in kitchens and baths. When I redid my kitchen 5 years ago, I went with 15" x 15" tiles, in a 'cobblestone' pattern. LOVE IT. It looks great- we spill things, cleans right up. The key with tile is not to go too light on the grout. I have a rug in front of the sink, works great.

My daughter spilled an ENTIRE gallon of milk on the tile floor the other day. It was a lot easier to clean up than hardwood would be- I can only imagine how disgusting those crevasses would be!

@ nepool - site finished hardwood floors do NOT have a crevice. Crevices are seen in prefinished, engineered, and laminate floors.

I've spilled many a things on the site finished hardwood floors, including jars of marinara sauce, mustard & red wine - no problems wiping it up or stains.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

What are vinyl planks and what is on site finished hardwood flooring? You mean they stain it on site ? Wouldn't that cost more?

What I like about hardwood flooring throughout is the flow and you don't have those divider strips in between the doors.

We have three small dogs. I have wondered if they peed on hardwood floors , would it soak down to the sub flooring and make your house smell like urine or would it stay on top so you can wipe it up ? One of my dogs gets UTI's and she does on occasion have an accident.

About cork , I've been reading about it and how great it feels on your feet but I haven't seen any cork flooring that I like the color !

The grout is a huge reason why I dont want tile. I am too old to be scrubbing grout with a toothbrush, lol.

I am really tired of vinyl, but haven't ruled it completely out.

Dee

I can attest that site finished hardwood with a swedish finish is impervious to cat urine. I had an incontinent cat and if I missed an accident or was gone for a few hours, it had NO impact on the floor whatsoever. I always likened the finish to formica. Nothing sticks to it, you can wipe it with a damp cloth if needed, but it is the easiest floor I have ever cared for. I would be embarrassed to say how seldom I have to mop it, but it simply doesn't hold dirt.

We have tile, and I love it. So easy to clean up. Wood is beautiful and some people find it easy to care for in the kitchen. But not for me. Last year I came home to a big puddle of water in the kitchen, the hose to the refrigerator's ice maker had broken. With the tile floor, I just mopped it up, with wood I wonder if it would have been damaged. Yes, insurance covers that, but you still have a deductible and who wants to deal with the mess of replacing it anyway? Its a personal choice, I always look at the practical side of things, ease of care/cleanup. I don't find it too cold, yes in the winter it is cool but I wear house slippers anyway. In the summer, its nice and cool and that is where my cats like to lay on a hot day. Wood vs. tile is a personal preference I guess. I love the way wood looks in the kitchen but I love the easy care of my tile too.

ellendi, you mentioned you have 50 year old hardwood floors and you added new to another area. Did you sand and refinish the old floors? I am considering putting hardwood in the new kitchen/gutting the whole room---but have not done anything to the 31 year old natural floors throughout the rest of the house. The contractor wants to sand and refinished all the floors but that would be a nightmare. Having to move all the furniture, area rugs, stuff and then move out of the house for 3 weeks has my husband a nervous wreck. Suggestions????