You could use ceramic tile in the classic, vintage checkerboard black and white, or a wood look ceramic tile, but you could also use soapstone tiles for the floor.

I went to the kitchen photos on houzz and filtered for white cabinets, soapstone counters and porcelain tile floor. Link below. You could try some other combinations: marble counters, ceramic tile, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz link[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/phbr3-bp~t_709~a_17-100--19-30--47-363)

We had a similar palette for our cabinetry and countertops and went with medium-gray porcelain tile for the floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: BakerJen's kitchen

Never considered soapstone, I will have to look into that! Going to also see what comes up on Houzz. Thanks!

I feel like anything other than wood floors won't bring depth or warmth to the room. Does that even make sense? I was originally thinking a grey plank slate or porcelain tile in a herringbone pattern, but the husband said it would make the whole room sterile. Hmph!

Baker Jen, what lovely kitchen! It looks so bright and inviting now! Love the book shelves on the outside of the island. I have bathroom plans on the brain as well (we actually close on our first house later TODAY!!) and want something like the ogee drop tile like you used for your backsplash.

I wonder if wood floors in the kitchen is a regional thing? No one I know has anything but some variant of tile, from chipped ceramic to huge marble slabs, and everything in between - can't think of anyone who has wood.

I don't know if it is regional. I had friends with wood floors in the kitchen in the DC metro area (we had cork). My mom has wood in the mid-west. And I have wood now in the SF Bay Area. (I always think it's interesting that people say wood doesn't hold up to ktichen use because ours is original to our 1926 house and is just fine.).

So that covers a lot of ground, but obviously not everywhere. Tile over large parts of the house seems more common in the southwest and Florida to me?

Wood floor in kitchen is absolutely the norm in CA. No question about it. And modern finishes hold up very well, especially factory finishes.

Tile is cold (unless you have under floor heating), hard on feet and joints, and will look dated eventually (matter if when, not if).

Another wood floor here in the SF Bay Area. It's nearly 8 years old and looks fantastic with no more dings than the floor in the rest of the house and absolutely no water damage.

My cabinets are white and counters dark gray. I don't have an island or any stained wood cabinetry in the kitchen. Without my warm red oak floor, my kitchen would be too stark for me. It really is the beating heart of my kitchen.

I'm using black slate tiles with a similar color palate. The soapstone pictured above is gorgeous. You could get a similar look with the slate. I can attest that natural slate wears like iron. I love it in black. It's really a very dark grey. I've installed it in three homes to date.

My KD said that the white cabinet with marble counters was a classic look. She suggested using something in the kitchen with wood. She said it softens and grounds the otherwise sterile effect. If you go with the wood tone island, you satisfy the need to soften the look.

This is luxury vinyl tile, grouted, and we love it. We have off white shaker and dark charcoal counters and it does bring a warmth to the kitchen.

We used a porcelain tile (I think - it may be ceramic) on the floor, using a pinwheel pattern. We didn't want a wood floor after looking at many kitchen wood floors in terrible shape during our house search. Also, we had to refinish the floors in the rest of the house and after that experience, I will never want to live through another sanding and refinishing of wood floors!

The tile has a faux stone look and I still love it over a year out. I'm used to tile floors since I've always had them and the basement is quite warm beneath the kitchen, so the tiles are actually warmish. I'm too lazy to look it up, but you can do a search of my username and find my reveal with all of the details.

bordenh, that's nice! - Do you recall the pattern name and/or who makes that tile?

Since we are salvaging the original floors in the house - 1920s parquet - I feel like trying to match any sort of wood in the kitchen would look jarring and out of place. Wood-like tile would pose the same issue. I was thinking the tile would look more intentional.

I actually believe the original kitchen had parquet as well, but it looks like it's been tiled directly over :0

I'm leaning toward a grey tile - similar to the soapstone and slate mentioned above.

How would it look in a herringbone pattern? Or is that trying to hard?

Here is a link that might be useful: Herringbone floor

While we don't have an island, we do have white shaker cabs and black countertops.
We went with Montauk Black slate for the flooring.
As "HomeChef59 " says, they are almost bullet proof and require almost no maintenance.
Here's a shot.
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peegee, it was Mannington Adura vinyl tile in Overcast.

If you are good with tile, that's great.

If you are looking for warmer looking alternatives that would go with your original parquet, I'd suggest considering cork or linoleum. I had cork in two kitchens adjacent to hardwood floors and loved it. Linoleum would be very period appropriate and not as hard or cold under foot. Just ideas--feel free to ignore!

Well, I certainly had no idea that cork could look like this!
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Lots of options in cork. :-)

I really loved my cork flooring. If we didn't have original to our 1926 house already in this kitchen, I'd be putting cork down again for sure. (Dh was kind of hoping our contractor would say we couldn't match the wood for the part we are expanding so he could get cork again.)

We went with a cork that was a similar color to our wood flooring in both of our previous kitchens and I was really happy with the way that looked. The grain or whatever you call it is so different that it didn't look like we had tried and failed to match. But it blended, IMO.

I love marthastoo floor. Looks awesome with her cabinets and counters.

What did you end up going with? I am in a similar situation with our new build/kitchen as I know I want soapstone countertops. My first flooring choice of upcyced roofing slate didn't pan out so porcelain tile has been my second choice, although I briefly considered brick as the two do look great together in the pics I've seen. (I decided I couldn't work around the color with the decor I have in mind). I didn't want stone-look tile either but I did find some with the look of linoleum imo, and now I'm trying to work out a pattern that isn't all-gray but doesn't have so much color that the floor draws attention away from the countertops.