These floors look beautiful! Are they slippery? Has it ever been a problem? I was all set on getting polished porcelain and my contractor just told me its very slippery if I put it by the entrance and the stairs to second floor. I have little kids....what am I to do? Thank you!!!

A relative has wood floors in the only bathroom in their home, and they hold up fine to 2 adults and 3 sons, none of who try to be neat. The wood floors (and the clawfoot tub) are original to the 1910+/- house. They didn't paint them - they just refinished the floors once about 20 years ago. The wood planks are wide, but I don't know what species.

I totally feel your pain! Remodels aren't cheap and it's not easy for everyone to picture what something will look like before its done. I had a similar situation - I just didn't feel that I could afford to redo the tile in the entire house - so I only did part of it. Huge mistake. I "solved" the problem with carpet squares. You can buy just what you need, get pretty creative and install them yourself. I'm sure there are many companies, I used Flor. I recommend getting samples - as it's impossible to accurately assess color from the computer monitor. (Samples are free during promotions and sales are frequent.) I would also suggest that moving the sofa to face away from the kitchen will not only cover up some of the transition, but also define the space in a way to enhance the separation of the rooms.

It sounds like the budget is really getting in the way of a redo (which is often the case...it isn't 'bad'...it just is what it is). Think of it this way: you have a 50sf laundry room which will house two appliances and cupboards (of some sort). You should be left with 4ft x 4ft (16sf) of visible flooring once everything is all done. Each appliance will take up (roughly) 10sf (3ft x 3ft + clearance = 10sf). The appliances alone = 20sf of floor space. The cabinet(s) will take up another 6-10sf. That means you are less than half of your square footage that will be visible. And if you don't like it (as much as you hoped to like it) you can always close the door or add an area rug (closing the door is the cheapest option). I would leave it alone and be happy that I'm not putting any more time/effort/money into a room that is not a 'living space'. It is a utilitarian space that needs to get the job done. Tile is a very appropriate product for a laundry room. It is a small space and a small price to pay to learn how to pick products that have a repeating pattern. It takes practice visualizing some of these things. I would chalk it up to 'live and learn' and be happy you learned it using 50sf of laundry room rather than 500sf of kitchen/entrance tile.