Original & reclaimed wooden floorboards in the kitchen. Good or bad idea?

[fabtigger]

We have a dining room with a small kitchen off of it. Were making it into a kitchen diner. The dining room has original wooden floorboards, and the kitchen area has tiles on top of what I imagine to also be a wooden floor.

An option that we're currently discussing is exposing the floorboards in the kitchen and having wooden floors throughout the whole new kitchen diner. I'm just a bit nervous having floorboards in the kitchen area as I've always had tiles and it just feels cleaner to me. So thought I'd ask here for others experiences and thoughts on original floorboards in the kitchen area to help me think about the pros and cons.

1. Are original wooden floorboards fine and hygienic for kitchens?
2. Can stuff get stuck in the gaps, or do you use special filler?
3. The floorboards will have to be varnished/ sealed. Are some varnishes better for the kitchen?
4. Are there other things that I need to consider?

I wouldn't like floorboards in a kitchen. But it's your house and you have to live in it.

I love wood flooring in the kitchen but my husband hates it.

Have you considered ceramic tiles that look like wood? They are very realistic:

www.wallsandfloors.co.uk/range/wood-effect-tiles/rustic-wood-tiles/

Thanks for the replies.

About the wooden look tiles: My partner is an interior designer and fake anything is usually a no no. We've talked about tiles... another option is getting some encaustic tiles in the kitchen. However, she would prefer wood so both rooms have the same floor. My worry was about spilling water on the wood and food getting stuck in the gaps. I've read quite a few other threads on this matter and although is not ideal the general consensus is that it can work. Most of these threads however are about engineered wood, my floorboards are antique pine.

We also had wooden work tops in our last place and had no problem keeping these. I regularly vanished them and a couple of times when something really corrosive stained them, I just sanded the mark away.

@roses2
Out of curiousity what does your husband hate about the wooden floors?

We have reclaimed, varnished pine floorboards in our kitchen. I love them - they've been there for eight years and IMO look better the older they get. They are extremely low maintenance: I just sweep or vacuum the floor once a week or so, and mop or wipe up any spilt food etc. The gaps between the boards may be full of ancient food and they do look a bit worn in high-traffic areas but that doesn't bother me. They are beautiful

I had a wooden floor several kitchens ago and I loathed it with a passion. Whatever it was varnished with, it always fell victim to dogs/children/life, and we had to go through the days long process of varnishing it again. Never, ever again.

I had always had a very sniffy attitude towards the ceramic tiles that look like wood until I went to the showroom and saw them in situ, and I, and DH who is even more fussy than me, thought you know what? They are ok. And they are.