You didn't ask for this suggestion, but I'll make it anyway: You can paint the slate floor any color you like. My front foyer is irregular-shaped slate that was multi-colored (the stack of left-over slate is still in the basement - in shades of orange, grey, green, all ugly). It was painted black when we moved in, and we honestly thought it was black slate until we found the pile in the basement when we moved in, then removed the baseboards in the foyer and saw the paint for ourselves! That was 16 years ago! Anyway, my foyer is a very busy place - we have six kids and six gkids, and this is our main entry. There was no hint of wear and tear on the paint in all those years despite dogs, cats and a whole passel of friends. I repainted it with high gloss black floor enamel this past spring, but only because I also painted the walls and woodwork. Almost no maintenance, either, so, well, I just thought I'd mention it. Sherry

Thanks so much for your input, hollysprings and nosoccermom. I understand what you're saying, and when we decided to stay in the same footprint I immediately thought we'd keep the floor. Then I started googling images of off white cabinets with slate floors to get an idea of how it would look. That's when I realized that while I prefer the multicolored slate with stained cabinets, I was drawn more to the solid color floor with painted cabinets. So, it was both the color and pattern of the current floor that I was questioning in our remodel, since now would be the time to make a change, if any. I thought using a slate in just one of the colors from the ledge rock in the fireplace might work better with the off white cabinets and still complement what we have. I'm glad to find out that my floor doesn't "need" replacing though, just based on aesthetics. It has been a great floor - hides the dirt almost too well and easy to care for. Here are some pics I found of white cabinets with multicolored slate floors - all very nice, just a somewhat different look than the solid slate. I'm not sure I found any pics of painted cabinets with the diamond pattern slate floor. Maybe I'll be posting my own soon :-) This post was edited by juddgirl2 on Sun, Jul 6, 14 at 16:24

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!

pattisue-oh I love leathered with some color and movement. That looks AWESOME. Old house we had polished stone and did a matte slate backsplash. Liked it This house I have leathered stone and I am doing a polished/gloss splash. I think the contrast will be nice. If you haven't had leathered before oh I do love it. Have you seen tiles or pictures that you like? Try to find some pics and see if that helps you make up your mind.