I think using two different flooring materials in that space would be a mistake.

I'd leave the whole thing wood.

I know that running hardwood would keep the flow, however everyone I talk to has told me that running hardwood into the kitchen can be the biggest mistake a person makes.. Yes it will keep everything uniform, but all it takes is one water leak that doesnt get immediately cleaned up and your flooring will never look the same.. Even the builders say that we should keep away from doing it, but said the choice will be ours..

The layout posted isn't very user friendly. Post your floor plans, and maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.

If the floor is laid well by a good pro the transition doesn't have to be an issue. You can also do a transitional flooring for the area around the island, especially if you'll have counter seating on the family room side. You can mix smaller versions of your kitchen floor tile and wood tiles the color of your family room floor and make a band that wraps the island on the family room side. You can also just draw a line where the kitchen proper stops, and tile up to there. Some people tile a goodly distance into the family room, or even the whole family room, to also contain the kiddie messes, and put down area rugs for warmth (with good non-skid underlayments).

I prefer tile in the kitchen for the reasons you do, and because it's SO much easier to clean than wood, but there's only so much good it can do you. Water can flow under and around the island and get to your family room floor, too, especially if you're right on slab concrete (it flows through the concrete). It's really minor leaks you're protecting against with tile, rather than major ones. Worth it, but no magic bullet. It helps if the dishwasher isn't in the island. and if you're careful about what you put down your drains and making sure they're clear.

I wanted tile in the kitchen and instead got talked into hardwood by "everyone" on this forum. We love it!!! Easy to clean, soft, warm.

Does your builder expect there to be leaks?

Agree with LWO, post your plans if you want some input.

I've had wood floors in several different kitchens (and bathrooms!) and never regretted it. If you have a leak large enough to damage a wood floor, you'll have a whole lot of other problems to deal with too...the wood floor will likely be the least of it! The wood floor in front of our sink and dishwasher does look a bit more worn than in other areas of the kitchen. But in our case the flooring is old anyway, so it all kind of blends in.

FWIW, I find wood to be much easier to clean than tile. The tile we had in our previous house always looked dingy to me and the grout would stain in the areas that I often stood and prepped food. I really didn't like it at all.

ETA: if it's the look of tile that you like, then I can't argue, but if it's the performance then I would ignore your contractor's knee-jerk reaction to wood in the kitchen.

This post was edited by susielovestopaint on Tue, Jul 22, 14 at 16:21

Have you considered wood look tiles in both rooms? There are some wood look tiles that are really beautiful.

I actually wouldn't have a problem using wood in the kitchen if the wood is either solid wood or engineered with a thick layer of hardwood on top (3 sandings). What I wouldn't use is wood-look laminate in the kitchen - moisture and laminate do not mix.

That is one dysfunctional island. I hope you fix that at least.

Here is the floor plan.. The floor plan was done when we had the idea of just doing the angled counters on the back side wall.. We couldnt decide at the time of the drawings and the architect said it didn't really matter since the kitchen designer will redo the kitchen to whatever we want as far as counters and whatnot.. his job was the wall placement as he put it..

In the setup in the floorplans the transition wouldnt be a problem.. The issue comes in if we decide to do the kitchen style we like which is pictured above..

Picture below is the floorplan with the alternate kitchen idea..

Ok, I'll play...more ideas is always good! Have you considered a peninsula instead of angled island?

So...
What does your contractor say to water in the foyer or entrance commonly used. Rain? Snowy boots? That type of wet is going to be left sitting on wood far longer than you'd leave water on the floor in your kitchen.

Next, he'll tell you inset cabinets need too much adjusting, will sag, warp, whatever and "advise" against them.

Horse hooey.

We've had wood (solid red oak) in our kitchen since 1984, raised two boys, and it has held up beautifully.
Of course, if you have a major catastrophic leak, you might have a problem, but then you will also have an insurance claim...

I'd just like to comment on the OP's first alternate island (the one in red with the red arrow). The island is only about 2' from the corner of the pantry, as well as from whatever is to the left of the pantry.

And if the island is shifted away from that area, then it's too close to the peninsula.

I'd lose that door into the dining room. It's not needed and it creates traffic issues. You can easily reach the dining room from the other direction. Close it off and you'll have more options.

Flooring is not just about the feeling underfoot and clean-ability - though those are important. It also dramatically affects the overall feeling of the home.

As we have moved towards kitchens that are more social and integrated into the home, the trend has moved towards continuous flooring throughout, to maintain visual flow.

I spent $5000 on continuing the hardwood into the kitchen (formerly tile) and everyone who enters my flat comments on the floors (matte site-finished top-nailed oak). Everything in my kitchen is chosen to complement the floors as well. (Reno still in progress).

There are lots of beautiful and quality flooring options out there of course.

If you are worried about leaks, you can buy a leak alarm to put in leak-prone areas. Also, I personally would never have a water dispensing or ice-making fridge unless it was super high-end, because they really do seem to cause a lot of leaks.

The article below is really worth reading IMHO. You don't have to agree with it, but it articulates current design trends very well with photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: 5 Tips for Choosing Flooring For An Open Plan House

Many, many people I know have wood floors in the kitchen (including us). Some have had them for decades. They all love them. My grandmother did gave an ice maker leak that warped hers, but they flattened out in a few weeks good as new. There's a reason people have put wood floors in houses for centuries.

Also, I think it would be a big mistake to chop up your open floor plan with different flooring.

1) The angled island/peninsula is a very dated look at this time.
2) Hardwood floor with a properly done acrylic finish like Bona Traffic will hold up well, you will need to maintain felt pads on all of your chairs, chair legs are the WORST culprit for scratching my floors. Stilettos are also bad, but I don't wear them, and neither do my friends.
3) I find tile difficult to keep clean, it tends to look dirty to me with minimal shmutz.

Wood floors in the kitchen get just as dirty as tile floors. They just don't show the dirt as much. So is it better to know when there's dirt on the floor so you can see it and clean it, or is it better to never see dirt even though you know it's there?

I have wood floors throughout my house and I am often shocked and dismayed at the dirt that comes off of them.

DO you like "character" in your wood (scratches)? I like my wood to be sleek and satiny. The wood in my foyer shows every mark in certain lights. Kids dragging backpacks with zippers across it, gravel and sand from winter storms that gets stuck in shoes. I hate it. My upstairs wood seems to be holding up much better but then again it gets mainly socks on it, and the dragging of backpack days are over.

Have dropped a few knives on to my tile kitchen floor and been so glad it's tile! The drainpipe has come off the garbage disposer and it makes a mess before you realize it. If you have pets it's nice to have a relatively indestructible surface in case they get an "illness" or whatever. (and for training in puppies.)

I love my tile because it is about 8 years old and looks like the day we put it in. Mine is greyish but is sort of slate like with several colors. I can go FOREVER before it looks dirty!

I do like the look of the tile that looks like wood. I would strongly consider that. I even considered it for my family room, figuring I could get a big area rug that could be replaced easily if I got tired of it or it got dirty. If only I could afford the underfloor radiant heat.

The underfloor heat is a BIG plus for tile!

Can you square off the kitchen floor at the morning room across to the base of the stairs? With that floorplan I think the "Kitchen" can end wherever you want it to. You won't have family room seating up against the island, so wherever the island is would be "kitchen" so floor it like kitchen.

If you do get wood (and even if you get tile) be sure to get an extra box( or a few tiles at least) of each to store in case of a problem down the road. I replaced a section of wood with wood stored my attic (15 years old!) because the sun had faded it so badly from the sidelights and storm door.