House had laminate in the kitchen when we bought it, love it, even with all the "farm" stuff looks good. Redid our main bathroom and wanted something that I wouldn't slip and fall. Bought slate, used dark grout, replaced the counter with tile and dark grout. Is wonderful. Formerly had tile with light grout, never again. The cement is durable and now they can do wonderful patterns and stuff. Had smooth colored cement in our older SW home, slippery and showed every step we took. Would love hardwood in living room and bedrooms but not around water or heavy "farm" traffic :D Your kitchen is adorable, you can find blue slate and it isn't that expensive. Cleans easily too.