We are just finishing up a kitchen/family room/powder room renovation. Removed the tile in kitchen and powder room and replaced with wood which we stained a medium brown similar to @momofboiler1 to match existing floors in other rooms. It contrasts nicely with the new white kitchen cabinets.
I think I would have picked this color even if I didn’t have to consider the other rooms. I’ve had dogs and no problems with scratches but I keep their nails trimmed so maybe that has helped.
I vote for hardwood over the vinyl wood. And I really like the honey tones - they go with everything! But this is also a bit dependent on the style of the home. The lighter floors tend to create a more open feeling, and I have a preference for that.)
I have had wood in my kitchen in one home with a very open floor plan and loved it. I also have vinyl wood in two back rooms where the contractor was concerned that real wood would warp. (These are subject to high degrees of temperature and moisture change.) It looks nice.
I currently have mostly wood, but tile or stone in a few areas, primarily entryways, I have used “natural materials” as the theme throughout more than exact color, etc.
I think a powder room is some place you can have a little fun - so a mosaic tile or something with a fancy stone is doable and because the room is small, not too pricey.
The rustic photo you posted is a no for me. It actually to me (if the photo is true to life) seems grey and dark as someone else mentioned.
While I probably don’t want 5 floor varieties on a single floor of a house, I don’t think 2 is a big deal - wood and tile. Everything the same takes away from house charm to me. I picture just boxes upon boxes of the same floor material laid end to end on a house. Boring! 
I love, love a maple flooring like @thumper1 mentioned.
There is “light” and then there is “white” - some light flooring almost looks like it’s whitewashed. But desirable “light” flooring to me has some color to it - subtle.
(Our (cherry) wood floors were fine with our 7-18 pound dogs. Then our 40 pound new pup scratched up the floors immediately when he got over 30 pounds.)
Actually mine is maple color, a warmer tone, not blonde. I don’t like grey and dark wood at all, make me depress. Also lighter color makes the house look bigger, maybe that’s the selling point. The wood floor is in the kitchen except for the downstairs bathroom. I have tile or stone in all of my bathrooms.
Designed by the love of my life at Lamps Plus (really!) - they have an entire collection you can self design for so little money (the 20" drum light is $200) - where you see “16+ colors” click and a palette of colors comes up, but then also “customized colors” and even further, “go advanced” and the entire color spectrum comes up - You can literally customize the entire thing - we simply color matched the 3 main colors and opted for the mid-mod which we both adore. It was super fun and it was delivered in 10 days.
love the beams. i’ve been thinking about adding one to my vaulted eating area.
for floors: our maple floors were stripped of color and just plain varnished about 12 years ago. very natural looking. But - i will add, they are turning yellow/orange in the areas that are near windows. I am guessing its a mixture of sun and the varnish? I like the look of lighter flooring and would do the same treatment again.
I have two high energy dogs. I put down a pre-distressed oak plank floor. I don’t worry about the scratches now.
I think hardwood with dog scratches looks better than vinyl with dog scratches. Plus you can always refinish the hardwood later on, if it gets scratched to the point that it bothers you.
Thank you all for the additional insights (and pictures - love them!)!
We just got back from (another!) visit to the specialty flooring store and my hub was wondering where all my new hardwood floor ideas were coming from lol 
We used to have two dogs (each about hundred pounds) that ran laps around our first floor. Maybe that explains the wood scratches. If we got another dog, it would probably be a big one!
My husband - who works in a building-type field - is adamant that wood would not be appropriate in a kitchen (e.g., dog’s water bowl gets knocked over and water sits for a few hours, etc.). I suggested wood with some distressing (to hide the potential, future claw marks) and that was a no in his mind also.
So I’ve (for now) capitulated back to luxury vinyl, but perhaps keeping carpet in the living room, dining room, and library (which are on the first floor but not part of the open flow).
I really like the advice here about ‘get what you like’ - and trying to get in the heads of potential buyers four years down the road has me spinning in circles, lol.
That being said - is lux vinyl consider a little more ‘tacky’/less elegant (if those are the right terms?) as compared to wood? 
Does your husband do all of the cooking? If so, let him have as much tile as he wants. 
Tile is very hard on one’s back and joints.
I visited a friend who got a very high end LVP flooring in the whole first floor. I honestly thought it was wood. Looks fabulous.
Re: wood and water…wood will have a poly finish…and a couple of layers of it. Water just beads up on mine. We also have a little rubber mat under the cat’s food and water bowls. Works just fine.
oh man - get what you want!!! no matter what, it will look great, new, clean and fresh! new flooring is a blast - whatever you chose will look great and in style.
we’ve been in our house 20 years and raised 4 kids here. we have carpet in the family room. honestly, with kids i’d have it no other way. it’s cozy for floor play, slumber parties, naps, etc in the cold winter. We’re on our 4th carpeting now; we replace with high quality carpet and the nicest pad available. it feels so lush. but i do know non-carpeted living rooms and family rooms is the style.
23 years with hardwood floors in every room except the bathrooms (yup, even the kitchen)…with a full time electric wheelchair, several large dogs over the years, and a cat - floors look new.
Thanks SO much for these additional thoughts! I think I/we are going to let it all settle for a bit before making a final call (ha, the hardwood got added to the mix today, so we’ll need to discuss more!). I’ve also reached out to a designer who does work staging homes in the local area - figured she might be in a good position to guess what will show well a few years hence…
Then will definitely go with what we want. Hub is talking about buying small case of our ‘finalist’ floor and laying at all out so we get a real feel. I like that idea - with this much $$ going out the door - want to be as sure as possible! Thanks again!
Our hardwood floor is 40 years old. Kitchen and the rest of the ground floor. We use trays under cat dishes.
My brother has vinyl wood in one of his house, I can’t tell the difference. I have carpet in my living room, it’s an open floor plan, but the other side is maple wood. My husband and I like carpet, not wood and rug combination, I think at our age, I don’t him and I to trip on something. But this has been our preference on multiple houses.
@Jolynne_Smyth just remember there’s no right or wrong choice, there’s only a choice. Have fun making the choice.
If you get regular hardwood…do you plan to apply the poly finish to it? Otherwise, it won’t be the same color and finish as a finished wood floor.