Polished concrete is good-especially with decorative gravel in it.It looks like granite.

I had tile with radiant heat in it. Beautiful to look at, easy to clean, cozy and warm on cold winter mornings, BUT hard to stand on for long periods of time (kinda like concrete!) I had to buy expensive gel mats to put in front of my sink and work station to save aching legs at the end of the day.

Definately wood. Wood is softer and comforting and more forgiving. Ceramic is hard, cold, slippery and lethal to dishes and glassware. Did I mention the falling dangers?

I like ceramic tile I just swiffer mine. But you do need to be careful not to drop things. I love the look of wood but not in the kitchen, what happens when you have liquild spills?

Hardwood, hands down. Last house ceramic and things broke everytime they were droped on it. Not on hardwood!

Interesting post - we have laminate tiles in the kitchen that I absolutely love. Black and white checkerboard. We haven't had any problems with them in about 10 years of use. I love the way they feel on my feet and I am a dropper, and things don't shatter as much as with tile. We do spill liquids. Maybe because these are the older ones that are glued together - we just wipe things up. We put porcelain tile in the bathrooms when we redid them 2 years ago. Nice looking, but I don't enjoy walking on them as much as the laminate.

Pulled up the carpet in the living/dining room and the linoleum in my kitchen last year and had hardwood put in. I love it. Best thing I ever did.

I have tile. The builder suggested we grout it in a clay color. It's worked well. The grout hasn'r discolored and dirt doesn't show. It's been down for 20 years. Really like it. One consideration is it does get cold in the winter. You need to wear socks or put an accent rug under the table where you sit.

Love my hardwood!

If you can afford it (and your structure can bear the weight) I would go with radiant heated terrazo. I wanted to do that in our kitchen but we would need too much reinforcement. If you don't have a basement then you're good on that end.