Ok, so my DH brought it home and..... I don't like it :( Sometimes things have a way of growing on me but I don't think that this will. And, of course, the cabinet isn't finished yet so it's a bit hard to see it and judge with the cabinet looking the way it does above rather than the rest of the cabinets. My complaints - I think it'll be too dark. It's the darkest thing in the kitchen and it's basically the longest uninterrupted stretch of counter (the area next to it is 112 but that includes the sink) so it seems very visually prominent. I'm not a huge fan of the strips of wood next to the strips of wood in the floor. The finish on it is pretty shiny and somehow it appears very lifeless and flat - DH commented that it looks like laminate! I realize that this could be changed with a different finish on it. The positives - it looks really nice with the dark wainscotting in the dining room. It's not in the dining room of course but the view through is nice. The wood itself is pretty gorgeous. The colors and patterns are SO pretty. I'm thinking now that I need a different wood species. I think I'd prefer something that's more in keeping with the colors in the floor. Anyone have any recommendations? I'm thinking about sapele, mahogany, cherry, teak and maple. I think I'd probably prefer a plank style so that it's not as visually similar to the floor. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated!!

Aw caroline94535, that was such a sweet comment. I was not able to bring those antique pieces b/c they are too big, but the library card holder I purchased from dh, Randy's, elem school in Marksville. Small desk is from a school where I taught. The washboards and triangles were purchased through a grant I received from The Cajun French Music Association. Renowned musician, Mr. Hadley Castille, and his band did a 6 week set of lessons with my 4th grade class and the kids learned to play these primitive instruments. They did a PBS performance. It was fun. The 2 sets of shutters on windows are from Mom's kitchen (they make me smile). The huge roll of craft paper was my mom's. She was very artistic and always sketching something. I need to get a holder for it. That little wooden index card box is from my daddy's furniture store. He and my Uncle Oscar borrowed $500 from my Aunt Lillie's husband - an "orphan train baby", my rich uncle (LOL!), and opened a mom and pop furniture store in 1949 after they came home from war. Daddy and Uncle Oscar were both unmarried so they volunteered to stay longer so that married men could go home to their families. Many other items are gifts from my sis-in-law, best friend and soul mate, Carmen- old jars w/ zinc tops, soda pop crate, pics, a sheet of Elvis stamps, and old phone. Shades-of-idaho, Carmen is "Louise" to my "Thelma". Thank you for the prayers, caro.

I prefer site finished. It is easier to refinish when it needs it. Your friend has probably done "buff and coat" procedures. This is normally done ONCE and then a FULL sand and refinish. If your friend has been doing the buff and coat MORE THAN once, then she's doing it "wrong" (could be "right" for her, but it isn't the regular way for hardwood). Traditionally the FULL sand and refinish occurs around the 20 year mark. So the floors, after 20 years SHOULD look like this. That's kinda what tells you "it's time". A buff and coat only adds a coat of finish (to freshen up the floor). It doesn't "correct" anything. The FULL sand and refinish will do 10 TIMES more for the look of the floor than a buff and coat. The sand/refinish will strip the old finish off and then carve off 1-2mm of WOOD. That means 99.9% of all dings and gouges will be taken care of. The "dirt and food in between" (the planks) is MUCH MORE likely to occur with factory finished floors. These floors have bevelled edges (a little shoulder on every plank that creates little valleys between each plank). But it can occur with floors SHRINKING from LOW humidity. The floor can create little gaps between planks. That's normal if the humidity is too low or is uncontrolled. The THINNER the plank, the LESS the wood will/can shrink. That's why narrow/strip hardwood is the BEST option for uncontrolled humidity. Those big, beautiful, expensive, wide plank products that are SUPER trendy = not an option for uncontrolled humidity. A factory finished hardwood (with Aluminum Oxide = AO) is going to be SUPER expensive to refinish and here's why. The AO finish is SOOOO tough (how tough is it SJ?). It is SOOOO tough it takes 2-3 TIMES the amount of effort/material to strip it from the wood floor. Once the AO is gone, the wood turns into a normal hardwood floor. And just for fun, the 'refresh' buff and coat is almost IMPOSSIBLE to do. Even the toughest finish looks tired around the 15 year mark. Sadly, AO finishes often prevent a recoat (the finish is chemically very slick...almost nothing sticks to it = HELL to add '1 coat'). The average cost of a full sand/refinish = $5/sf. The average cost of a sand/refinish of AO = $7-$9/sf. Yes. It is THAT TOUGH to remove. A traditional buff and coat = $2.50 - $3/sf. So if you do the math, the site finished hardwood may cost a bit more on day 1....but by year 30 it will be MUCH cheaper/easier to deal with/live with. It allows you to freshen up the finish around year 15 (if you wish). It allows for a routine sand/refinish without adding a HIGHER COST of labour. So "cost effective" today can be much more costly by the time you plan on refinishing. In fact, so many people look at the extra costs and figure a new floor is cheaper....and they are right. Sigh...so there goes the idea of using up all the life on the hardwood (3/4" solid hardwood). That goes out the window when the owner realizes the costs are much higher and they choose to rip it out and throw it out; thus negating the benefit of a solid hardwood!

What ??? If I understand tile is on the main floor and this questio is for the seconf floor where the bedrooms are.I think it will depend on the color of the tile on the lower floor as you will be having the 2 floors meet at the bottom of the stairs. Some pictures would be abig help BTW. Maybe look a vinyl plank and do the stirs in a tile to match the lower floor I awys thin stairs look best done to match the lower level and then the floor cange change at the top of the stairs. We need pictures of the furniture too.