Anonymous wrote:grout is easy to clean, just go to amazon and get some grout-eez that comes with the brush that makes it so easy

Steam cleaner also spiffs it up. Only needed maybe once a decade.
A good quality fine grained grout and smoothing it out nicely when installing it is also key.

Getting darker grout will definitely help hide dirt, as well as sealing. But I would still recommend hardwood. Tile is so hard, and the kitchen is where you will be standing in one spot the most often. Also, even though spills are easier to clean up on tile, the grout, no matter how well sealed, will suffer, and if you drop a glass on tile, it’s a disaster.

We did in our previous Michigan home. Cold, hard, and unforgiving (hmmm, sounds like my ex-wife.) I jackhammered and removed the tile, prepped the floor and covered with a 1/4" thick cork underlayment topped with sheet cork. Beautiful and a comfortable walk.

grout is easy to clean, just go to amazon and get some grout-eez that comes with the brush that makes it so easy

I was so happy when we renovated our kitchen and replaced the cold, hard tile with wood floors. They were awful to stand on, and really unpleasant with bare feet (we don’t do shoes inside- and yes, I know about slippers/house shoes but sometimes barefoot is easier)