I have tumbled travertine (basically a form of marble) in the master bedroom and a marble mosaic in the master bath. It is higher maintenance. It stains and it wears differently in different areas. I am not doing natural stone in my new home. There are some fantastic tiles now that mimic all the stones, and a good quality porcelain tile will be very durable. Some ceramic wall tiles are "weaker" but I have had excellent luck with porcelain tile. Granite floors. Sure. But as people have said they also require maintenance like periodic sealing etc. In a house that size you don't want a different kind of floor in every room. I would stick to one or perhaps two types of floor tile in the main rooms. You can get away with additional types on walls in the bathrooms but I would keep the floors consistent. As far as cost goes, there is a very broad range of tiles and stones. In my shopping I have found some very good high quality floor tiles for reasonable prices. Stone has priced out higher...at least the ones I have looked at. Good luck!

@ Divya Sreedar. You will have to contact all of the ceramic boutiques that deal with imported tiles in Chennai. Attached below is a photo from AMSET ONE store in trivandrum with the subway tiles on display as I have seen. It takes 3 weeks to arrive from order date. If you like us to deal with the purchase please contact us or you could call them directly to find out.

Hi, I think full wooden tiles will feel like pathetic. Try disparate like combinations of glossy and wood tiles or like 2 walls and floor with wood tiles and other 2 walls light colored glossy tiles to break the monotony.Thank u.

you can transition, that's absolutely fine. if the kitchen is enclosed with an archway, it will take some of the awkwardness away for you. additionally, you can add a floor separator strip, or transition with designs on the floor. these will all work great for you