My first question is, why do you want different tile in the two areas? I'd use the same throughout.

Are the two spaces as equal as they appear in the drawing? Or is one larger than the other?

Are there any other visual cues such as beams, soffits or natural breaks in the wall or ceiling? Will you be having an island that will help guide your choice for a break between the 2 rooms?

Or you can split the difference....get a 3rd flooring material and shape it in a half circle in front of the door and have the break between the other two meet it in the middle.

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Tue, Aug 26, 14 at 8:11

I'm with sue on this one - I would keep the same flooring for all the rooms. I like the continuity of one flooring type plus visually it makes the rooms appear larger and more open.

If you are planning tile for both areas, I would use the same tile.

I understand why everyone is saying to have the same flooring for both areas. They are right, for flow and connection use the same for all rooms.

However, different flooring in rooms that are open to each other can create a feeling of separation/definition and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. In our home, two areas are open to each other and I really don't like it at all. I am glad they don't have the same flooring, I prefer the definition of kitchen/dining space vs. entry/living room space. What I'd REALLY like is a storage closet and WALLS to add to the separation...but not likely to happen and I can deal with it.

If you want two different floorings, then have the "walkway" area be flooring for whichever room you would like to feel bigger. Just looking at your layout, I think I would have the flooring be the same as the dining room flooring, make the kitchen it's own space.

You have the living room noted as also being next to the two rooms. Is that part of the open space or are there walls between it and the kitchen/dining area? Where does the walkway come from and where will the actual flooring for it start.

Thank you all.

A little more info. The living room is open to the dining room but not the kitchen. The kitchen is a u shape with an island close to the edge of the U. Essentially the living room, dining room and hall were going to be one tile and then the kitchen another. I was trying to kind of separate the kitchen from the other areas with the flooring. The kitchen is 12x15 not including the door area and the dining room is 24x12 if I include the door area. My dining room set is a warm walnut and is semi formal and the kitchen is going to be white cabs with a island matching the color of the dining room (brown). There are no soffits columns or anything else that would give the impression of where the kitchen should end and I was trying to achieve that with the flooring. I hope the below will help show what I was looking to do. The black boxes are the cabinets and the island and then the two browns show the different flooring. The colored lines are to show how the rooms are open to each other. Hope this helps and sorry for the picture on my backup pc without my floor plan program

I see where you're coming from, and as a Side benefit, when you damp mop the kitchen floor after dinner, you'll know when to stop LOL!

So as to the exit door, who does it belong to? Where are you coming in from, where are you going? Is the the dog's door, or is it for moving between the kitchen and the grill, or is it a casual "we are entertaining outside but the food is on the dining table away from the bugs" door? If you think you typically come in the door and wipe muddy dog paws or drip pool water or sandbox sand, or head to the kitchen, I'd match the floor to the kitchen.

This may be a 70s style, but can the flooring change curve, maybe a little swoop, from the top cabinet run, so that it is not a hard straight line transition? Or even stair-step a little? Does it have to be a "walkway" all the way to the LR?

From which area(s) do you see the area more? From the Dining area or from the Kitchen? Which area do you want to appear larger?

Is it going to get a lot of traffic? If so, which flooring is easier to clean, more durable, and shows the dirt less? Will there be a rug or mat right in front of the doorway?

Now that I see your whole floor plan, I would like the dining room and living room tile to flow and keep the wood tile in the kitchen only, just as you have pictured.

Ditto Kaarenseb!

I think the important factors here are type of flooring in the living/dining, and type/amount of traffic through the door, and surface outside the door.

If the door leads to a much-used deck, patio, or yard, with a lot of traffic coming in for snacks and drinks, then the door belongs to the kitchen - with the most durable, easy to clean flooring. I am not a fan of wood or carpet at a doorway.

I realize your dimensions are approximate, but I'd want to make sure there is enough kitchen flooring around the island.

You can ignore this suggestion I don't mind - how about a 3' - 4' wide pattern walkway involving both sets of tiles to act as a transition. You could do them as a checkerboard, or herringbone or alternating (either horizontally or vertically) the tiles.

I think the walkway actually belongs to the kitchen but the problem then becomes the transition at the end of the walkway at the living room end.

If you want to define the kitchen, then do your entry in the same flooring and the LR and DR. Otherwise, you seem yo be encroaching the kitchen into the entry or inviting guest into the kitchen. That seems the opposite of what you are trying to do.

Thank you all for your responses. I didn't even think about the fact that the flooring would be out of whack if I made it the kitchen color as then then it would jut out into the living room area and look weird. This is an aisle of sorts between the kitchen and the dining room and not really a defined walkway from the back yard. It looks like it will be the dining room color.

Appreciate the responses you guys are amazing. Anyone wanna go tile shopping??/

Just make sure you pay attention to the depth of the tile. What you don't want is an uneven edge where the two different tiles meet...don't want to create a trip hazard. Our flooring was all the same material though different colors so we had no worries about transitions, but if you are getting two different tiles, it is a concern.