Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Flooring Decision??

Help!! We are remodeling our kitchen/dining area (replacing cabinets, appliances, etc.) and can't decide what to do about the flooring. We recently removed all the carpeting in our house and found hardwood floors in the living room, bedrooms, and one hallway. (The house has two hallways connected "L" shape. One is the entryway and the other one leads to the bedrooms) The house was built in the mid 60's. Pier & Beam Construction.

The k/d and entryway has old vinyl flooring. The vinyl is really stuck down....the only way it will come up is to cut it out. The living room is rather small and both doorways connect to the vinyl. So the hardwood in the living room is separated and makes the room appear even smaller.

We are trying to decide which way to go:

1) Install tile (nervous about P&B construction) or something in the living, k/d, & entryway and do away with the wood flooring in the living room. Leave the wood floor in the other hallway & bedrooms.

2) Install wood flooring to match the existing wood floor - are approx. 2.25" oak strips. It would be approximately 400 sq. ft. of new hardwood. What kind of cost of we looking at?

3) Other suggestions? I'm not too crazy about laminates. I don't want to have the floor look cheap. We want the most for our money!!

My husband could lay the tile, etc. But he has never laid wood flooring.

Thanks ~ All advice appreciated.

Mrs. Whipple

i would lay tile in the kitchen/dining area and the entry, and keep the wood everywhere else. i think i've read here that you can tile over the old vinyl if it's down really, really well.

and to increase the size of your living room & create more flow between the different floorings, choose a tile in a color similar to the wood. not exactly, of course, but something marbled/mottled in the beige/wood color family, as opposed to plain solid white or something really contrasting to the wood.