I can't imagine having the wood floor go in after. Our wood floors are 100 years old and there are old stains left over from various cabinet placements that have come and gone on top of them. The floor has remained the one constant. I tried to work in as much flexibility into our kitchen as possible for future changes and putting down a full floor would have been high on the list (if I had to put one down.)

I also wouldn't want to make my cabinets vulnerable to the carefulness of the floor installers. And I wouldn't want my toe kick space decreased by the thickness of the floor. I would imagine any savings in cost in the flooring materials would be counteracted by the increased labor in carefully piecing the floors around the cabinets.

It depends on whether it's solid hardwood or floated, engineered wood, I think. Regular hardwood has to go under the cabinets, but the floated kind goes in afterwards.

Like Zelmar, I have 90-year-old full wooden floors, and when we remodelled you could see where various cabinets have been installed and removed. If it's real wood, it can be sanded down for infinite remodelling choices, which is a huge plus.

I also agree that what you might save in materials, you'd more than pay for in terms of the floorlayer having to fit his installation around the cabinets. I doubt it would be more economical, and would also pose some risk to the cabinet finish.

Yes, you have to be careful vis-a-vis the DW when you float a floor only up to the cabinets -- I think it's standard practice to put matching-height plywood under the DW space in that case, so that you don't create an inaccessible hole for the DW.

If you want lower counters, I'd definitely think about getting shorter cabinets! I wanted mine slightly higher, so my carpenter built my toe-kicks a tad higher -- although this was with custom cabinets that were built on top of freestanding toe-kick bases. But even with standard pre-ordered cabs, this might be an option for you when you have them installed (have your guy/gal shorten the kicks a bit)? :)

Our hardwood was installed after the cabinets (on a new subfloor) and was finished on site. The cabinets and island were shimmed to match the height of the floor when they were installed. The hardwood was installed up to the cabinets and in the spaces for the DW, range, and refrigerator. All went well. Base shoe around the cabinets hides any gaps and it looks terrific. There was a small amount of savings on materials.

Just a comment regarding prefinished vs. site-finished hardwood. Finishing of the raw floor generally takes place after all cabinets are installed--it was the last thing done here other than final trim. I know there are arguments both ways regarding prefinished hardwood and finishing on site, which you'll find on other threads. I didn't have strong feelings either way, and am delighted with our floors, BUT site-finishing can mean that your cabinets will get dinged by the finisher. Our guy was super careful, but he managed to chip the edges of some toe-kick material and scuffed the baseboard with his sander. Nothing major, but it can be irritating when everything else is shiny and new. Just an FYI.

I appreciate each of you taking the time to post.

The floor is cumaru hardwood also known as Brazilian teak. You don't stain it but you do apply finish coats on site. I have thought about being tied to one floor plan and it's not very green or kind to the next owners. I have never remodeled a kitchen much less renovated several areas at once. This is most likely a one time deal in my forever home. The timing is finally right and the economy tanks. I'm trying to make the best decisions with the funds available b/c I can't put this off, my current kitchen is falling apart. The 'right' way to do this would be to go with slightly shorter cabinets but the charge is too much. I may have a compromise, have a shorter set of cabinets made for the island only and put flooring throughout. If not, my GC would be an installer on both projects so I know great care would be used.

We took out the bottom cabinets, put the hardwood down wall to wall, then painted and reinstalled the original cabinets. There was not a height problem though because we took out two layers of vinyl flooring and one layer of sub-floor before the hardwood was installed. We also took future remodels and/or future owners into consideration when we made our decision.

I would do the whole room but I also understand budgets. It may also not be a new homeowner who needs a different sized appliance slotted into the space you have for the dishwasher or fridge and it may look weird. I am doing a full floor in my kitchen. It is actually easier because they will be less cuts to take into account.

Good luck!

Thanks to rhome (different thread) I have come up with a solution. I will do the whole floor as I chose a reasonably priced floor. This floor covers the mud room, kitchen and dining area in the great room so it is quite a large space. I am just changing the 6 cabinets that make up the island so finally height with counter will be 34" and no, it will not make the toe kicks shorter. They remain the same, the rest of the cabinet is modified. I wouldn't have known to ask that, so thanks for mentioning it circuspeanut. (I love saying that name!) The perimeter cabinets will remain standard height.
My uc 2nd oven will be 2" lower but I'm only 5' and I gain the advantage of chopping veggies and baking at a more comfortable height on a daily basis.
Once again you GW's have helped me find a solution that works within my budget. Thanks everyone.