Good quality vinyl planking is great.

What is the flooring in the rest of the house?

Carpet with underlay. Would like 'timber/wood looking'. I haven't heard of a Lino floor since my childhood. Thanks for your responses.

Nothing beats a good hardwood floor in the kitchen, but yes, as you have found happy accidents can result in dents.

Out of the options you have, hardwood and cork are my choices. I was originally turned off by the thought of cork... but a quick search for cork flooring images on Houzz came up with some of the following- I think I'm in love!

My Houzz: Midcentury Modern Style Transforms a Vineyard Bungalow · More Info

Log Cabin - Kitchen · More Info

Are you considering changing the carpet to timber as well?

No. I like the carpet and it is soft under my arthritic body.

If you like a timber 'look' vinyl check out Karndean's Loose Lay Longboard. The colours and grain are fantastic!

Looks like it may be the answer. Thanks. Just need to know how 'soft under foot' . I may visit the showroom.

I was a flooring specialist in my last job and I can tell you that the most friendly wet room (kitchen, bathroom, laundry) flooring is vinyl planking.. you can get click or stick down.. in my opinion it is better to stick down in the kitchen so water doesnt get under it.. it is soft (no aching legs), warm and if you buy one with texture its hard to tell the difference as to whether it is wood. I have it on my floors and would do it again.. it works in well with carpet too if you get a good natural colour.. if possible take a piece or photo of your carpet with you so you can see how it looks or grab a sample of the vinyl to take home.. you will never regret it. My kitchen below..

I am slowly progressing with my kitchen reno. Recently put in Karndean Looselay planks. They are vinyl, a bit thicker than standard ones but very nice to walk on (I had tiles before and my knees hurt a bit after longer time in the kitchen).

http://www.karndean.com/en-au/floors/products?gclid=CPz045zgmtICFVAGKgodJLgA4w

Thanks to all. Lisa your flooring and whole kitchen looks great. How long ago did you 'do' it?.

I'm coming across so many sub-heading in renovations. Cupboard height is the next one I'll tackle !. Then lighting, then...................

Several decades ago, I grew up in a house with cork tiles in kitchen and sunroom - and I was a convert from then. Cork is warm to look at and to walk on, and is very forgiving when you drop things on it. Since then Ive had houses with tiles in both bathroom and kitchen (not my choice), and more than half an hour standing doing kitchen/meal prep, used to give me aching legs. I could never figure out why tiles were so desirable by all and sundry, until I found their advantages in a hot climate in summer - cool underfoot.

But when I bought my recent house I was intent on putting cork down, but found I had vinyl wood-look planking in the kitchen - I have learned to love it, as it is : comfortable to walk/stand on (must have a good underlay?), things don't smash when I drop them, and so easy to clean - I really love it now, and with a couple of polyprop non-slip mats from Briscoes for extra underfoot comfort, I'm sold...

Hope you solve your dilemma soon... :-D

I have had a couple of kitchens with cork floors and I like it. Mine is the orange cork tile kind, but I have seen ads on the internet for cork floors that look like timber boards, and are installed like timber boards. It might be worth investigating. I think it's called Readycork.

Linoleum is back with a vengeance, so do consider it. It's low-toxic, forgiving underfoot and hardwearing. Consider rubber, too, if only because it's just lovely underfoot, less likely to break dropped glass and very easy to clean. Google both for prices and patterns.

@jenatch the flooring was done prior to my moving in.. my last house had a different colour see below (chosen by myself for a rebuild after Chch earthquakes). I'd go wood vinyl planking any day... I like my little kitchen too however no pantry does bug me so will one day be changing things around somehow.. I have also changed my gas cooktop to a 70cm black glass gas cooktop which looks amazing and is so easy to clean.

Hi Jentatch

As all of the above, I have vinyl planks in my own home. As a business, we sell a lot of vinyl planks, and we are putting plenty of it into new builds around Millwater, Auckland and Riverhead.

My recommendations are either the Karndean Looselay Longboards - which have a very high acoustic rating, or equally, Godfrey Hirst or Quickstep click vinyl planks.

At my home, my subfloors are marine ply (yep, by the time I got to the particle board under layers and layers, it was had it), and the vinyl planks float straight on top, click system - not unlike tongue and groove.

You will love it!