Many people have mentioned the "expense" of putting flooring under the cabinets, but the actual financials are usually a wash. It will be more expensive material wise to put the flooring under the cabinets, but it will be a much easier flooring install. It'll be more expensive labor wise to have your flooring person cut plywood to put down under the cabinets and then do even more cutting and fitting to get the wood to go around that plywood. In the end, labor usually being more expensive than the product, it usually makes more sense to just put the wood over the whole floor and then install the cabs and appliances. If the wood ever needs to be changed out, it's no big deal to cut it out right at the toekick line and install different flooring. The big risk in wood flooring in a kitchen is the inevitable moisture damage. Yes, "traditional" homes used to have wooden floors in kitchens, but there was no subfloor. The wood was laid directly on the joists, and anyone who has ever lived in an older home knows that the expansion/contraction of that wood over the years left gaps between the planks that modern homeowners would throw their hands up in horror over having. :) Well,those gaps and no subfloor let any water problems drain right out of that wood floored kitchen with only minimal damage to the floor. The water didn't stand on it for hours. Today's modern building methods have a subfloor that will trap the moisture, or a cement slab that will trap moisture when you have that refrigerator water line leak. So, getting moisture alarms shouldn't be optional if you want a wood floor in a modern kitchen. It will help to alert you to when you have a problem. And, it is when, not if! It's a wet workroom after all!

First of all people should keep in mind that they should wait at least 3 weeks better will be1 month after refinishing their hardwood floors to use a rug pad. Because if the polyurethane hasn't cured yet, it will be react with the pvc or rubber based pad, amusing it to mar the floor. What to expect from a high-quality hardwood floor rug pad With so many rug pad materials on the market, finding the best rug pad for hardwood floors to protect both your carpet and wooden floor can be quite a challenge. While quality rug pad for wood floors are designed to protect and offer stability, a low-quality padding may do more harm than good. As a rule of thumb, a good rug pad should keep your carpet in place, make cleaning easier, and protect the flooring underneath. But there are other characteristics to look for when buying rug pads for hardwood floors: a high-quality padding should not smell⦠it will not stick to your floor; those that do stick to your floors or stain them are made from low-quality PVC or are cured with various chemicals that can react with your sensitive hardwood floors. Always keep in mind that you should wait at least one month after refinishing your floors before laying any type of rug pad, otherwise the finishing may react with the padding. environmentally friendly rug pads minimize landfill waste and they do not contain harmful chemicals. Thicker rug pads for hardwood floors will help prolong your a carpets life. äRreduce slippage äMake vacuuming and cleaning so much easier äOffer a soft feeling under your feet äReduce carpet wear and wrinkling äProtect your wooden floors from stains äAdd cushion, warmth, and comfort äExtend the life of your hardwood floor.

Thanks, all for the feedback. In spite of the differing viewpoints, you've helped me think this through a bit further. Mnerg, your comment about the angle of the sink really got me thinking. I kind of knew that might be an issue, but hadn't really thought it through carefully. Your comment caused me to look at a scale drawing and see how things would play out. I've added a link below. I've already had a flooring guy look over the situation. He acknowledged that he can come close with matching the existing floor, but couldn't necessarily be exact with the color. We had talked about the angle idea and had come to the conclusion that we didn't like the pointy triangle of existing flooring that would result from making the diagonal transition on a 45 degree angle (green on the scale diagram below), which would be the common angle for laying flooring. So, we came up with the angle illustrated in red on the scale diagram. We hadn't considered the fact that the sink WILL be on a 45 degree angle. I definitely don't like the colliding angles that would result at the sink area. So, maybe the best option is to go with a straight divider (illustrated in purple) and continue the kitchen flooring either the same direction as the adjacent floor or on the same straight angle as the divider. That still leaves me with the color issue... be happy with almost the same and hope that as the new floor ages it looks more like the existing floor, or abandon the hardwood idea altogether... decisions, decisions... Here is a link that might be useful:

When it comes to hardwood, trends are something to ignore! Why? Because hardwood is pretty much a lifetime purchase, and unless yours is damaged in some way, you're probably not going to replace it. So, light wood vs. dark wood, wide planks vs. narrow planks -- that stuff's all going to come and go. With that in mind -- as well as the very real concerns about cleaning dark wood -- I'll vote for a nice, neutral midtone every time. Not too much contrast, not too red, and (unless it's a beach house) not too pale. I think this is the wood that's most likely to give you good service and stand the test of time.