I think it might be overwhelming, but would depend if she is planning on staining either of them. Some of the dark hickory stains I have seen completely eliminate the color variations. We have natural hickory floors and Cherry cabs in "sunset" very similar to the color of crazyhouse above, but the cherry has even less grain. Natural hickory is verrrry busy. Beautiful...but busy!

I have been so back and forth with kitchen ideas. We had a plan originally to do alder cabinets in a darker shade with light countertops, but we have 2 toddlers and think alder is to soft and also decided that Alder isn't modern enough looking. I have seen some natural hickory and birch cabinets, shaker style that look more modern. We like the look of a "concrete" countertop without the maintenance issues....hence quartz. Also thinking of a slate and glass mixed backsplash. Would love to see pictures, hear suggestions.....kind of like a rustic/modern vibe. Thanks!

Your kitchen is really beautiful but that is a lot of wood. Whitewash might create more texture but maybe a milk paint or actual paint could lighten up the space and make it a little more country modern. If it were my kitchen I might keep some of the wood and update countertops and maybe the ceilings. It certainly is a beautiful space. Here are some kitchens below that use the wood but add some areas of light or paint. Just ideas that might help think about the space. Here are a few ideas that come to mind. update without paintpainting cabinets never again this one looks like white wash I love the wood but the ceiling and counters help balance the space

the floors in the dining room are staying? For sure do not choose a wood look laminate to gonext to it. Between those and the real wood cabs, wood look laminate is going to look horrible. do a tile. you can get a 24x24 tile with minimal 1/32 or 1/16 grout lines. not sure what having dogs have to do w/grout. do a urethane grout that is stain resistant and a good porcelain tile and you should be fine. see? like these. minimal grout lines. you could do a warmer creamy beige like this (these are from Tilebar.com) or a nice charcoal or black which looks great w/your wood tones natural honed basalt tile. basalt is cooled lava. it's very durable. here's how a black would look w/your cabinets and other flooring if you liek the hex do that. with a darker grout. and you can lace it into the existing wood like this I notice you have backsplash tile laid out? are you getting a diff countertop? putting those tiles on top of that current 4" green backsplash you already have is a mistake.