roygbiv, this was exactly what I planned on doing. I have had the HARDEST time choosing between cream painted cabinets or the cherry... but for now, I am saying Cherry (but I so love cream too!!) and I will do the island in cream. jejvtr, thanks for all the links.. I got "stuck" on the rate my space, and spent a couple hours on it!! (of course, 2nd guessing myself again!) I did have hardwood in the kitchen in our last house, and I did really love it, however, I only lived there 7 months - barely enough time to settle in. The flooring is a Spanish mahogany, so it is a different wood species, yet I am not sure if it has enough of a contrast, or if it doesn't really matter much if I am going with a lighter (either in the gold or beige) granite and doing the island in a cream glaze.

I did my wood to tile transition without strips (in order to make my place more handicap-friendly.) They just have to make the top surface of the tile and the top surface of the wood be the same height, I think I have about 1/8th inch difference at most between kitchen and living space, no difference between hallway and bath, and 1/8th difference at most between master and master bath. Back at my old home, I had a transistion strip between the dining area and the kitchen - it made it horrible to move from the linoleum of the kitchen back out to the wood of the dining area when I had a broken ankle and was on wheels. Plus the strips really do look ugly. (PS< the wood transition strips look fine, but mine were metal strips... but neither are necessary.) Others have pointed out you can have hardwood throughout, I just simply didn't want to do that. (Actually, my wood floors are broad beam pine, which is soft, anyway.) My build is semi-open, so I had the option in the kitchen to do tile, and so I did.

I'm not fond of a wood transition between two tile floors. Of course it is an easy install...ahem...easy on the installer that is. The Schluter system is correct. It has been used hundreds of thousands of times (should I say millions of times...who's to say the number but it is A LOT!). If a slab that has concerns with cracking/movement (and they all have SOME sort of movement whether it be a little or a lot....so be aware) should have a decoupling membrane. And just to be clear carpet HIDES some HORRIBLE substrates. I mean *GASP* SPUTTER* HORROR* type concrete. Why you ask? Because BUILDERS know that carpet hides HORRIBLE workmanship. Ergo a carpeted slab will be MUCH uglier than a slab prepared for tile. Here's what you are looking for in a tiling professional: https://www.tile-assn.com/ You want to WRITE OUT the contract so that it states: "To be installed per NTCA Specifications AND per tile manufacturer's instructions." And a 1 year labour warranty is standard stuff in the building industry. You are looking at a substantial installation (if we estimate the labour alone will be $10-$12/sf and the tile/materials will be EXTRA) somewhere in the range of 500sf - 600sf (or so)??? Your quote MAY NOT include "subfloor preparation". If it DOES....please ask for the guestimate they have provided for the subfloor. If they have estimated $0.50/sf for concrete work, then they are too low. If they have estimated a MAXIMUM of $4/sf (not to exceed this amount without your written approval) then they are more in keeping with reality. I would stick with the person who is well acquainted with the NTCA guidelines, if not a member, the person who INCLUDES the cost of a decoupling membrane, who INCLUDES the high-priced estimate for slab prep as part and parcel of his quote....and then the person who includes the Schluter system as part of the transition between floors. Please notice how the transition is FAR down the list. Right. There are some more important things that need to be dealt with other than the final look. And Schluter has DOZENS of transition options which work with floors AND/OR wall settings. The appropriate option will be looked at before anything is laid.

added pic. couldn't do anything while at house [no wifi bad service lol] i am searching for the idea of a liquid metal caulk.... I'm thinking I could blend it so it looks like a thicker transition? better than a big gap... ideas anyone? hubby is trying to get the tiler to come out but he blames us ? [how?] but really you should check all work before contractors leave. so lesson for others. luckily hubby hadn't done the wood in the other rooms yet so he was able to butt the wood perfectly against the metal transition as they should have done with the tile... guy claims he thought we were doing a wood transition...why would I have given you metal transitions and shown a picture even? grrr.