I had the same dilemna. I have golden oak floors throughout the rest of the house, but I wanted a darker floor in the kitchen. I would have loved an rustic, wide plank wood floor. This floor would not have matched the floors in the rest of the house and I was warned that the transitions from one floor to the other would not look so good by the saddles. In the end, I decided to go with the wood look tile because it works better with radiant heat than wood. I am so glad we did. Between the children and dog it was a good choice for us. I still have to stain the saddles at the two doorways that lead out of the kitchen, but it will be fine. If I used any floor other than golden oak, I would have the transition issue anyway. Love my tile floor! So easy to maintain.

Hi, I just found this thread, I don't know if you've made a decision yet but thought I'd offer my two cents. While building our home my husband and I debated heavily over real slate, he wanted it for the "look" of natural stone and I didn't want it because of the maintenance, and the problems (flaking, staining, and the variations in thickness of the tile, etc...). After a lot of serious consideration we chose to go with the real slate because it fit the style of the house. I have not regretted it. It looks great and after having moved in a year ago has been holding up well. We went with Brazilian multi color slate that I found through a local tile distributor. It was professionally installed and my tile guy used an impregnator to seal it. I believe the impregnator is available at home depot. While shopping for the slate I found a huge price difference between two local distributors for what was essentially the same thing, one offered ungauged and unsealed 16"x16" tiles for around $5.50/sf and the other offered the same size tiles but gauged and sealed for more than double the price. I opted for the ungauged and unsealed knowing my tile guy would apply sealer anyway. The tile turned out to be extremely consistent in thickness, very durable, and was easy to install. We've had no flaking as of yet. I have since learned that Brazilian multi-color slate is a favorite of architects because it is much more even and less prone to breakage than many other types. As far as cleaning, it hides the dirt very well. I've found sweeping with a soft broom the best way to keep it clean. If you are quick to clean up spills with hot water and a little dishwashing liquid it will hold up against staining however it is porous and will tend to absorb spills that are left on it. That is all part of the look and also gives it character with age. It is installed over radiant heat which is quite comfortable. We have about 500 square feet of it on our first floor, I don't find it hard on the feet at all, and I rarely wear shoes in the house. I don't know how to upload pictures to this forum but if you'd like to email me I'd be more than happy to send you some photos of it. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks! As for period appropriate, I think given the size and origin of our house (ironically built for a steel co executive in 1927) stainless may just be ok. I will share some pictures, it is a beautiful old home with incredible detailing and materials. We were lucky to have the chance to live here! Yes, stainless DW with be by the sink. We were thinking carrara marble. Had not considered wood around the sink because of water concerns. We use the kitchen a lot! We often eat late after kids' activities and dirty dishes wait on the counter or in the sink, sometimes until morning. We are not pristine kitchen people! Pictures are from real estate listing before we moved in. It's furnished and lived in now! Current Butler's Pantry (will still be blue, slightly different shade, new lighting, subway backsplash, refinished countertops darker wood, flooring will hopefully be original wood refinished, german sink to stay, new cabinet hardware.) You can see the a bit of current kitchen through BP and the orange wall with horrible track lighting is the nook where the sink will be. Current 1980s kitchen, very bad layout, very narrow aisles, unusable counter space. The double oven wall will become the range wall. Approximately where DW is now is where counter height table will be. Foyer entering from front door, all the way straight at the top left the orange wall you see will be the sink wall. LR is immediately to the right, the other room on the right with light common through is DR. And just to see some other original materials, upstairs bathroom: Thanks!

"...Its not just the money to buy new cabinets, its also all the time it'd take to install everything and all the time it'd take to figure out the layout and stuff like that. If I updated the kitchen, it would be to decrease the time it takes to rent the place. But, any time I saved in doing so would be more than lost by all the time it takes to remodel a kitchen with new cabinetry and layout...." It would only increase the time for the first renter, not subsequent. If you wait 2 or 3 months to update it and get a higher rent, won't that offset the loss? Renting for an additional 2 or 3 months at a lower rent may net you less in the long run. And then you'll be faced with the same decision as now. . Regarding the door that replaced the trash compactor - it's not that it's an IKEA door, it's that it doesn't match the rest of the doors and is full-height (like the others should be), so it sticks out like a sore thumb. In addition, it does not appear to have been installed correctly (it looks like it doesn't close completely - but that could just be the picture.)