Narrowing Down the Choices

So while I am obsessing over making the right choice and reading books and magazines, talking to everyone and searching the internet for info, I decide that it might be a good idea to go out and actually look at some of the choices in person. My husband had the day off and both kids were in school for a couple hours, so we took off for the Expo/Lowes/Home Depot tour to check out the options. I especially wanted to be sure that what he was picturing and what I was picturing for the new kitchen were at least in the same universe. So we looked (and felt--how a countertop feels is pretty important, I think) at granite, at soapstone, at marble, at limestone, at Silestone, at Corian, at laminate...and for floors did the same for ceramic tile, stone tile, wood, bamboo and laminate. We did like and dislike the same colors/styles, but other than that, we were just overwhelmed. I almost longed for the good old days when your countertop choices were laminate....or.....laminate.
So what are we going to choose? We pretty much ruled out laminate. It would be pretty accurate for the period look (especially if we got the metal edges) but we're not too keen on the particle board underlayment offgassing into the kitchen for years. Silestone and Corian are expensive, and I don't really like the way they feel--too plastic. Granite is beautiful and feels nice, but is expensive (although my friend used a fabricator who was super-reasonable, so it is not out of reach) and I really worry about it looking too dated in a few years--it has become so standard now that I know it will go out of style someday. Soapstone might look a bit more old-fashioned, but I worry about it chipping and scratching. Marble and limestone, besides being expensive, would not hold up well in our kitchen--we are not the "wipe up the one drop of lemon juice immediately" type of people...and I don't think getting an expensive marble counter would change our behavior--it would just change how the counter looks pretty quickly. I keep thinking about wood, but my husband points out (correctly) that it would not hold up well near the sink (we are not the "wipe that drop of water up immediately" type of people either) So we have narrowed down the choices to....nothing! Granite is in the lead now, just because it seems the most impervious to the abuse we will give it, but I would want to find a granite with the right look, so we could as least pretend it fits the vintage theme we're working with.
My friend brought me to the warehouse where she got her granite. It is a nice little field trip. The stones are all beautiful to look at. Most of them are not anything that would go in my kitchen, but they are all really cool, especially the limestone with the fossils in it--we could have science class every time we made a sandwich. I don't find quite what I am looking for, but the choices change all the time, and I am not buying today. The ones I like the best are, of course, in the "High" price range...if we were to get the granite, we would definitely be limited to the "Low" range and if the perfect choice showed up, maybe "Medium". It is easy to spend money--if only it were just as easy to make it!
For the floors, we are leaning toward ceramic tile. It would be hard on the legs (and the dropped dishes), but would work best with the under-floor heating. People are putting wood floors in kitchens now, but the proximitiy to all that water makes me nervous about it. And you need to be careful with wood and under-floor heating to make sure it doesn't dry out the wood too much. Not a practical choice for us. We look at laminate, but my husband isn't a fan of it--says he always notices the repeat in the pattern, so it looks really fake to him. I need to find out more about linoleum--the real stuff, not vinyl. It comes in tiles now that are installed as a floating floor, so can be used with the heating element underneath. It would definitely be true to the period, and is a very "green" choice, since it is made of natural materials, is very hard-wearing and will biodegrade once it has lived its life. Setting the material aside, what color would the floor be? That's a big unknown. We need to pick the countertops first, and we haven't gotten far with that. I need someone to tell me what the best choice is, so I can stop worrying about this and stary worrying about all the other things I need to be doing!