Hello, I have a 5" plank prefinished white oak from the Garrison collection. We had it installed in our dining room, kitchen, nook and family room last Sept. I just love it! Will probably do 2 bedrooms in it this summer. Most of my house is oak except my new kitchen is Cherrywood (not real red) and the floor goes well with it also. I bought the flooring off of eBay for $3.42 sf + tax and delivery. My installer said he could get it for the same and less on the delivery charge. I think Garrison is connected with Old Master. Here is a picture of it against my Cherry cabinets.

About all you need to do is get a dishwasher made to take a panel ("integrated" models) which come, as these things so often do, with a surcharge, although in essence you're getting less for the money (they come with no front at all). The literature will tell you the exact dimensions of the panel you'll need, and it screws on very easily (I did it myself with a friend to help hold it). You can just pass on the dimensions to your cabinet company or carpenter. There are also a number of independent companies that make panels in a zillion styles and materials (Frigo, Heartland, etc).

I'll have to find the picture of Tony Shaloub's house. Especially in a kitchen, I'd be sealing the wood because all that cooking vapor etches the wood, puts grease into it. And that will gradually make it darker and darker. Like Shades, I am a light lover. I like lots of natural light coming into my house. (Frosted? no, not the right word.) (Antiqued? no....) Whitewashed?....hmmmm. I love your gas stove, and I think the room will be delightful with a 9 foot ceiling. When we put the loft into my Teahouse, it had these exposed big beams holding it up, with one post in the middle of a 25 foot span. I like the solidity of the space now. However, to point up the beams, it would be good to have them contrast to the wood beneath them. At least a little bit. THE WORD IS PICKLED!!! PICKLED WOOD. And I love the way it looks. Still wood, but not hidden. Then sealed. I created an album of 12 photos private because they were not my pics, and I can upload a few here. If you want to see all of them, let me know and I'll send you a "friend" link to it. This is Tony Shaloub;s dining room look: These beams are further apart, which keeps it from lowering the ceiling height so much. Open rafter not beams I suppose. I think this was Lavender's vision too. Very rustic, a Florida cracker style porch ceiling, I think it was one of Sandy's pictures. And here we go with natural beams and infill of plaster painted white. Really old old kitchen space with log beams. See, I think after a long time the place gets dark so they end up painting at least part of it. Here is one I think the DH might like. It has heavy natural beams, some cross beams natural but the infill is white. Note they are further apart and contribute to a feeling of higher head room. All painted, very sophisticated, nothing left natural. A peaked up ceiling with open beams across the open space, stained dark probably to counteract all that white kitchen look, the floors are also dark wood. If you are gonna have wood ceiling, floors, beams, etc, you will have a wood cave. So paint something. Here it is reversed. They painted the beams, left the wood natural. This is a nice compromise. Also, the beams are far enough apart to leave the feeling of higher ceilings. And that's all I found in my files. Hope it wasn't too much.

Such wonderful kitchens. My husband and I had decided to go with a maple merlot...and now it appears under the two layers of vinyl there is most likely maple floors covered by a thin layer of old linoleum with tar paper...and possibly asbestos. I am going to get it tested...but now I love the merlot maple and the contrast with the birdseye maple in the other rooms on that floor!