Thanks so much for your help, everyone. I'm inching closer, I think. kpaquette -- your floors are beautiful (love that border)! If I go the red oak route, I really hope I can manage to get those warm gold/brown tones in the floor. Bobby99 -- That certainly is the beauty of unstained wood floors! Your golden floors look great with the black countertop, and I'd never be able to tell you have such a lovely and large companion romping on them! Northcarolina - I know what you mean about that red soil. I've got relatives in NC and when I come home from a visit, I've got to wipe the red clay off my sneakers -- it is a gorgeous soil though and would blend perfectly with the red oak - a maintenance dream! linelle, dseng, flori and i_love_my_dog -- that's what I'm struggling with the most. I'm afraid if I do anything other than red oak it will disrupt the flow and make the house seem choppy. Although the kitchen is not really "open", it has three interior doors (all leading from red oak) and you can see into the kitchen from the (red oak) front entryway. I love the red oak in all the pictures you've so graciously posted, but most of the kitchens (with the exception of oldbat's first pic) look pretty traditional; and I think our renovated kitchen will end up more transitional and I'm not sure it will look as good. I went to a nearby Lumber Liquidators yesterday (hmmm -- I only saw the bad reviews of LL after I returned). I loved the LL "Golden Teak", but after reading some negative reviews of LL, am pretty reluctant to take a chance on that. The teak has some variation though and blends with and picks up some of the red oak color, but is more of a medium brown with some red and gold tones. It really seemed like a nice compromise between the red oak and dark stained floors that would blend nicely. Didn't like unstained white oak at all (too greenish) with the gray counter. I'm tempted to try to stain oak the color of the Golden Teak. The LL guy did tell me that if I'm toying with staining an oak floor, I should go with white oak because it absorbs the stain more evenly. Can red oak be stained to pick up brown/gold tones? I'm not sure that will gain me much though, because once you stain oak, isn't it likely to show dirt and scratches much like the darker stained floor which I love but am trying to avoid because of the maintenance?

Thank you so much for all the kind words, your interest and your support! I have been on this board for 3 years...just not recently. I took a break from these boards a little while ago, just because I was kind of getting depressed at all the gorgeous kitchens! I admit, I even felt a little jealousy! Then just recently I stopped coming because we had already made our decisions and I did not want to get confused or torture my DH with some possible tweaks and changes. I am so happy to see some familiar names here on this thread. I know this sounds cheesy, but all the kind comments almost made me get teary eyed. Like I said before, this really is the only material thing I have wanted for a long time. But I know that Gardenwebbers on the kitchen forum know that a kitchen is not a material thing ONLY...for folks like us it is (cliche time, sorry) "the heart of the home." I have been cooking incredible meals and/or entertaining non stop. It is such a joy and pleasure to me. outsideplaying-thanks for your comments and for your excitement for me! Maine_Mare-That is good to hear! He actually did not even do these as well as he could have, because he truly thought they would be in for a few months. Where he adhered the counters to the undermount sink, you can see some clear caulking. Also, the end of the peninsula has a gap where he came up a little short! But next time, he will do an even better job and if we can keep them for 7 years like you...then we will be doing great! But I am fine the way they are, truly. Very minor flaws. frmrsdghtr-I really really do not have an estimate. I think my husband said awhile ago that the cabs were about 5k? I could be wrong, and he just said that figure off the top of his head. Thanks for the compliment! Hi colorfast! Your kitchen is lovely, too! Originally we wanted wood stained cabinets, but the darkness of the kitchen (no natural light) plus wood floors and a desire to have butcher block counters (eventually) made us rethink that! I never dreamed I would have white cabinets, because I lived in a townhouse for 14 years with white formica cabs and I wanted a big change from that. I am happy with our white now, tho! I have considered SS for the hood and I have seen your style before, but for some reason I am stuck on white. I attached a link below of an idea, although I have heard mixed reviews of that futuro futuro company. I *really* liked some of their other styles. They look more like light fixtures than hoods. onedogedie-thank you for being so kind about my long post! It's true, it was such a crazy and long journey, it seemed it warranted a little more than "here is my kitchen!" I have read so many "finished kitchen" posts here, and whether long or short, I like the ones where I can *feel* the pride in the post! I wonder why plywood is not mentioned more often as an alternative, whether temporary or more long term? I just never hear it mentioned and thought my hubby was crazy when he told me that was what he was going to do. I had no idea it would look so nice. As a matter of fact, even he gets a little frustrated when the first thing people notice when they walk into the kitchen is the countertop! LOL. Good idea about the kick plate, I will mention it to my hubby. Thank you CEFreeman! :) Lake_Girl-Ohhh, you should see what he is doing with the chicago brick pavers that are the walkway in front of the barn! They were put in half assed by previous owners, so he has his paving equipment here at the house and is using fill and making it look PRETTY. A total do-over. My friends ask me if he can do stuff at their house (they are willing to pay, of course) but I say NO WAY...he still has too much to do here! I think we compliment each other well because I NEVER nag him. To be honest, there are some other things I think he should be doing rather than the brick pavers...but I also know that feeling when I feel "inspired" to do a project and I wouldn't want someone nagging me to do something else instead. mmhmgood-lol, inside the cabs we left it the natural wood color! So that is what you are seeing, it isn't orange, LOL. I can see how it looks that way, but heck, even *I* am not that daring or funky! lol rhome-I had posted to you awhile ago about the oven. Your comments made me VERY excited. So far I love it. Do you think if I do not use the self clean mode, I will be ok with the blue porcelain? Or do you think I will have issues either way? I will try to find out about the door, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it will be pricey. It doesn't bother me *that* much. Thank you for your comments and help! marti8-he had ear plugs in. He had already purchased that tile chipper years ago. he said it does chip up thinset, but you have to use a different blade. Thanks for the comments! Thank you soooo much, gscience, catlover, About togetdusty and KrisMA! Here is a link that might be useful:

Marg CS is really easy to clean so that part is great. Two things I don't like as much 1) there is a translucent inclusion on the front edge of the sink (and elsewhere) that looks like a chip. Freaked me out several times until I stopped noticing. 2) I don't like having to use trivets for hot plates b/c I never had to think about it before with any other counter I've had. If you don't already know hot and CS don't mix-- that's what CS says anyway and I certainly haven't tried to invalidate their advice in my kitchen. Yes we had to coordinate the sink, counters and backsplash and the grout and paint color for that matter. Floor stain came later but wood floors and SS are kinda like a pair of jeans-- seem to work well with lots of other elements. As was suggested, you should order samples from Blanco website. We tried lots of combinations of sink/tile/counters in many different lighting conditions to get the right match.

Festusbodine - thanks for the link to your blog. Wowzers! You've got a BIG project on your hands! I won't complain about my humble kitchen remodel anymore.... Seems as though you either LOVE the idea of light counters w/ dark cabs or HATE it. I received a comment on another thread I started about our adventures in cabinetland...I mentioned the counters/backsplash and also asked for honest opinions. One person (OK, several...) strongly encouraged me to rethink the light/dark combo - and consider a darker counter (such as soapstone). I LOVE soapstone! (LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!) But, I'm concerned my galley west-facing kitchen will be dark most of the day if we go w/dark counters...(Lighting should be more than adequate - pendants over windows, lots of recessed lights, undercabinet lights)...but still concerned and don't want a dark kitchen....(We originally wanted a white Christopher Peacock-like kitchen, but that wasn't in the cards.) I like the contrast. I don't like the busy-ness of granite. For about a minute, we considered Formica 180FX, but I think their samples are WAAAAAY too busy....I like the simple white counter with a little activity (if you get close). I think it looks contemporary and clean without totally committing to a contemporary look. Wow. I need more coffee this morning, as this post seems rather confusing.... Suzanne