Sorry, I completely misunderstood your post. I thought you meant a transition piece between the two floors (ie, schluter, t strip molding). Don't grout that joint between the two floors. It needs to be caulked if you go that route. Otherwise, the difference in expansion/contraction between the two materials will cause the grout to crack. As far as grout color, look at lots of pictures. I would think you'd lose a lot of the beautiful herringbone pattern if you tried to match the dominant color. The tones of the two floors are very similar, so they already connect on that level. I don't think you have an issue of transitioning in terms of grout color. I guess the more natural selection for a wood look would be a little darker than the main color, like a shadow between the boards. A lighter color or a gray will look more like a tile floor with grout. I wouldn't do something lighter, as in peachy. You can kind of see what it would look like lighter right now. The higher the contrast you have with the tile will affect how busy or pronounced the floor pattern will look. Maybe you could cut strips of colored construction paper to lay over the joints to see what appeals to you more. You've got some variation in the tile colors, but when you use a grout color that matches the flooring, the floor becomes one big solid mass of color. Here is a link that might be useful: herringbone tile pictures This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, Aug 8, 13 at 23:15

Most engineered floors can not be refinished. Some can not even be screened or need extensive hand work just to renew the surface finish. I can easily tell the difference between engineered and solid when I walk on them - they don't sound right and they are a little spongy. Ask to have sleepers laid so a solid floor can be nailed to the sleepers instead of glued down. For a kitchen, a site finished floor is preferable to a pre-finished floor. The surface doesn't have nearly the nooks and crannies to hold onto -ah- food dust and fluids? In my opinion, floated wood floors are a cheap substitute for hardwood. imo, they are an expensive substitute for hardwood as you need to replace them when scratched up, any water issues and any floorplan change. You can't take new floorboard and thread them in because manufacturers quickly follow fashion.

It is highly dependent on the AGE of your slab. If it is older than mid-1980's build, then you have a HIGH chance that you do not have a vapour barrier underneath. That means your glue costs just when up. You have to move to the big boys of glue = $2-$3/sf just for the material. The labour costs will keep going up. A floating floor can be stabilized by leveling the subfloor and using something like 6mm cork underlay to help with the 'solid' feeling under foot. A properly installed floating hardwood floor with cork underlay should feel as solid as a glue down floor. I've seen it time and time again. Start with the age of the slab and then make your decision from there.

Before you glue to the concrete, I would like to know a few things: 1. Is the slab on, above or at grade (on the ground, above the ground or below the ground)? 2. How old is the house/slab? Old homes have issues with moisture (moisture barriers were not consistently used until the late 1980's - mid 1990's (depending on where you live). As someone who is overly cautious with hardwoods and concrete slabs, I like to be QUADRUPLE sure that a glue down is an option. And even then I would consider floating if I am not 100% sure of moisture readings. As an aside, I've read the technical specifications of this floor. I would say they are underwhelming at best. This is a 9.5mm engineered hardwood with 1.2mm wear layer. It is 5" wide (which could indicate 'glue assist' would be a good idea). This floor consists of short lengths. The longest plank will be LESS THAN 48" (states 47" as the longest plank) with an average plank length of 29.5" (less than 3ft). At $2.25/sf, it will cost more to install the product than the product is worth. I hope your installer is aware of all these shorts. Shorts make for a LONG install. And the longer it takes to install the product, the higher the price you pay the installer. I wish you luck. I really hope the 1.2mm wear layer stays attached to the 9.5mm thick plank. To do that, you will need EXCEPTIONAL humidity control. As in you need a super-duper high-end HVAC system that can have humidity added/removed with the touch of a button.