I moved into my home three years ago and wanted the same thing in the foyer. You can place tile directly on wood floors. Use thin mortar to set and you will love the outcome.

while you can put tile over a hardwood floor ( or even a thick plywood) it's best to install over 1/4 backer board ,it my store we talk to lot's of people who want to know why the grout popped out or a tile cracked. in every case no backer board was used. its not that the installation will fail if you don't use backerboard, its that it wont fail if you do. good luck

If you think about, the SLIGHTEST flexing of the floor will cause grout to crack when someone heavy walks on it. Better to not take the chance, and use backer.