It is best not to try and use products outside the standard products used by hardwood flooring professionals. Not because they will always not work, but because the products designed for this industry are optimized to deal with the challenges of coloring and protecting hardwood floors based on decades to centuries of experience. For example large planks get large gaps in between, not because they expand or contract more, but the that expansion/contraction is distributed over fewer gaps, so the gaps in the winter of a 9" board will be 3 times the size of the gaps in a 3" board, possibly over 1/8" this is why 1.5"-3.25" are the typical widths installed. Even old growth, quartersawn boards will have similar problems only 10-20% less, still unsightly. Finish-wise there are considerations that are unique to the floor coating industry. Firstly floors take tons more abuse than furniture or cabinets so need more protection, as a result floor finishes are more durable than other finishes not intended for floor applications. Secondly stains designed for floors are designed to be taken evenly because you have one large continuous area that make any uneven-ness very noticeable. My recommendations are to use straight-grain yellow pine 3.25" inches wide, maybe 4" or 5" but that is really pushing it and coat with duraseal products. However if you really want a specialty finish look for Pallmann Magic Oil, it is a hybrid wax/catalyzed oil finish.

dianalo: Thanks for your questions. (1) Wearability/Finish: The cabinets will be two years old in May. They've held up beautifully. Not a mark on them (knock on wood). As a precaution, I had paint mixed to have on hand in case of scratches or mars, but have yet to use it. They wipe down with a clean sponge; I do dry them to prevent spotting or streaks. Once , while I left the door under the sink open, I banged the adjacent plate drawer into the sink cabinet handle; not a mark on the drawer front. (though if you choose large handles like mine, they do create some issues that you might want to consider in your planning). One minor issue with the finish: Ikea furnishes little self-adhesive cabinet door/drawer bumpers; they seem to move around over time on this slick lacquer finish; requires readjustment by just moving it to where it was originally. (2) Assembly: I'm a life-long stay-at-home wife who will never see 50 again. I assembled all the cabinets myself; though I did need help on the tall pantry cabinets (they are very heavy). I used a power screw driver when possible. It is a lot of screwing. I don't remember how long it took to assemble them; it does get very quick since it is just the same steps over and over once you learn the process. I know I was easily able to do several a day (3) Installation: My brother installed the cabinets for us. I was the helper, when necessary. He had never installed any kind of kitchen cabinets before (though he is a tile contractor and has installed bathroom vanity cabinets). He loved the Ikea mounting system. At the time, this kitchen was a big leap of faith, mainly because of the long distance aspect of using Ikea -- 5 hour drive one way. But in the end it was definitely worth it. Also, if you are considering an Ikea kitchen, you must visit the IkeaFans website; it was started by Ikea posters here and is invaluable for anyone considering Ikea. Best of luck.

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh (restful sigh) finally got the little one to sleep :) Patser, thanks for the link. I like 5 the best. Stucco is tricky. I think stucco looks best in stone like colors. I chose this green because it looks gray and green in different light ... stone with a little something extra. It's funny you mention terra cotta - last year I was certain I wanted a terra cotta house with green trim. I don't know what changed my mind, but it's like my tastes changed. Lindy ... THANK YOU!!! I always wondered if I should add shutters. I like the look. I got some samples and will try to get some paint on those walls this weekend. DH is happy the fence is back - HA!! We needed to put it in the front yard. I always miss being able to see the porch when driving by. But with a 4 year old and a busy major road and the dog ... it just had to be done. After seeing the pics I found ... do you think this color scheme could work on my house, or is the general feeling my house is too simple? Thanks again for all your input!! I am excited :)

Thanks so much Pillog for the feedback and the philosophy. Saying to DH last night, wouldn't it be nice if the world worked more like the gardenweb? :-) Everybody helping everybody else... I really like Eliz's kitchen, because it seems countryish, and at the same time, sophisticated and somewhat eclectic. The cabinet choice is similar to mine; the soapstone was my first choice but thought the green granite a practical substitute; and it looked like the colors would work well in my house. However, there's alot going on in her kitchen that would be difficult and/or impossible to acheive in mine and you articulated many of these things very well. Though a white kitchen is what I envisioned being "authentic" in my 1936 home, I guess my biggest fear was that the white (even cream) wouldn't flow with the colors in the rest of my house. Thankfully, you've eased my mind about that. However, when you say my stone is medium to medium dark, are you looking at the actual samples I have shown? The two on top are the granite, and the one below soapstone that was oiled, sanded, and left kind of a mixed bag. To me and DH, the soapstone seems pretty close in color to the blackish green granite samples. If my granite is darker that you seem to see it, I assume it goes with creamy white? If so, creamy white it is and on to obsess about other choices! Grazie!