Kitchen/ Dining Room Flooring

[carrotcake]

Hello, I am starting to look for flooring for kitchen cum open plan dining/stove area plus corridor. I understand that marble, whilst expensive, involves maintenance and can be cold to walk on and break easily (I don't have underfloor heating). I was thinking of going with cheaper and 'maintenance free' (as per tile shop man) version i.e. polished porcelain and wondered would you recommend that? I was also thinking of going with linoleum or marmoleum - in my home house/parents house, we had lino down for years and years and it's still looking as good as new. I want some type of flooring (not wood) that will have minimum maintenance, is not porous, is not cold to walk on, is affordable, will last, can withstand a lot of traffic i.e. kitchen, eating area, etc.etc. Am I asking too much!! Thanks for any advice you may have.

 

[Leo]

Post split from Attic Flooring thread.
Leo

 

[Silvergirl]

I had lino in my last house - a tile effect, looked warm and was warm underfoot - I miss it. Lots of people commented on our lovely tiles.
It was also really easy on your legs and feet if you were standing on it a long time. That said it was laid on a suspended wooden floor, not sure if effect would be as good if laid directly on a concrete floor?

Have polished porcelain in my new house (travertine effect) was also going to go for travertine but the maintenance was an issue as I have a a large tiled area. Looks well, easy to maintain but cold under foot and not comfortable if standing for a long period if you're not wearing cushioned footwear.

Matter of choice. If you are using a solid fuel stove I'd tile the around directly in front of that as your lino will get marked with sparks when re-fuelling.

HTH.