Heart or head for flooring. Wood or Stone?...(sorry another flooring one)..

[FishfingersAreOK]

We are renovating a 1930s house. Creating an open plan kitchen/dining/family space with bi-fold doors onto the garden. (Have a separate grown up living room). Got to decide on flooring. We have underfloor heating going in (so real wood not an option).

Initially we were going to do engineered wood throughout the downstairs. Then I had a wobble about the suitability of wood (engineered or otherwise) for the kitchen. Practical problems:

1. Keeping it clean - apparently only can be damp mopped - does not mix well with water - how feasible is that with a dog and 2 DCs aged 4 & 6? A damp mop to remove weetabix? Really?
2. Scratching...dog doesn't tend to run about much inside - but would the mix of dog & wood be practical? She can scratch at the door a little
3. Underfloor hearing doesn't work as efficiently as with stone/ceramic etc
4. Would the space end up looking a bit "woody". (Going for off-white shaker kitchen, black esse range and granite worksurfaces which is all fine with the wood - but dining area/family room would have oak dresser/tables/bookshelves.)

So we decided to go for stone/tile floor instead. Been looking, got samples, been browsing. Been tearing pages manically out of vastly overpriced magazines. But I cannot get a picture in my head of how it would look. I have yet to find a tile that makes me think "perfect." Or even "that will do". DH dead against cream (I may be able to talk him round but is it worth it if ultimately he hates it) which is possible the look I would like most (Limestone, textured).

So, sorry about length. Do I do what I imagine in my heart for the space to look like...wood...and sod the practicalities and all the excuses I am making up to not do it.....Or do I go for the pragmatic choice and just keep looking until I actually find a tile I like.

Is wood (engineered) really so impractial - am I just making up problems which aren't really there. Or would I regret it?

Please help.

Light floors might be difficult to keep clean. If you're going for real limestone you'd have to seal it well because it may stain easily, it being a porous stone (as I remember from when I looked into this, may be wrong though). We've gone for a multicolour slate floor, which hides crumbs well. It's got browns and golds as well as greys and blacks, so goes well with wooden furniture, cream kitchen and black worksurface. Although I am very happy with my floor and would go for it again, one disadvantage of a stone floor is the acoustics though. But perhaps that is made worse by not having curtains or wallpaper either and not just the stone floor on its own.

I love slate tile flooring (have it in bathroom but downstairs hall/dining room/kitchen to be are laminate wood, steam mops fine) and I think it would look nice with the granite worktop, unless you think its too cold?

We have a large porcelain tile - you don't need to seal it. It's lovely with the UFH in kitchen and dining room - I'm not sure about tiles in a living room though, it's a bit mediterranean for my taste.

OK, now someone in RL has suggested Bamboo - anyone any experiences of this please? Could it be the answer to my dilemma?

I think engineered wood floor would be fine, as along as you dont expect it to be pristine.
We had it in a conservatory in our previous house and it felt lovely, soft underfoot and warm.
We used the room as a dining room too ans found it was fine to mop it.

Other options are proper lino or cork.
Have a look here
www.urbaneliving.co.uk/

There is a type of lino which looks a little like wood, ie it has stripes, its not pretend wood like karndean etc.
I saw it in JOhn Lewis today and it looked good. Marmoleum is warm, easy to clean and tough. WOrth a look I reckon. This is it
www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/For-Your-Home/Products/Linoleum/The-Trend-Collections/Striato/

We have underfloor heating and have used a cream natural rough edged travertine, (its a generic name) and got some at about £25/sq m. I love the look and the underfloor works beautifully. i've forgotten at the mo what we sealed it with (but the proper stuff is v exp - but good). I find it very practical, easy to clean and it slightly darkens with age and use. Also find it does'nt show the dirt that much (but don't have it in a kitchen).

We also have oak floorboards in the dining room which gets all the traffic from front door to kitchen. I also have a big labrador. We don't have underfloor in this room. If you do go for wood, I strongly suggest you seal with osmo polyx hard wax oil. This gives a really natural finish, is hardwearing, easy to clean (quick mop - not too wet). Plus if floor get damaged you just sand out area and reapply. Do not have to recoat whole floor.

Yes the dog has slightly scratched the wood, and the dirt has gone into the grain - but we wanted a weathered natural look.

Hi

I have engineered brushed and oiled oak in kitchen diner hallway and playroom. No problem in kitchen at all. This is the second home I have put engineered wood into a kitchen in. I have part original (very cold and damaged) flagstones and part timber suspended floors underneath so had to get a high performance engineered wood to prevent warping.

Dcs are fine (I have 2 under 3). Spills and thrown food wipes up fine.

However you have a dog and sadly they will tear and scratch wooden floors. My mum put in solid cherry and ended up taking the lot out after 3 years as her golden retriever had completely destroyed it. Not sure what type of dog you have but if it's a big dog don't go with wood.

Limestone tiles are beautiful. Go to the Manderin Stone website. And look at St Abois limestone or their Dijon tumbled. They have a 15% sale on at the mo.

Hth

Oh and don't worry about staining limestone. You can get excellent sealers now. I was recommended Dry Treat by a stone mason for my limestone shower trays. It has a 15 year guarantee.