Missymoo12, I meant satin, not matte. We currently have a satin finish in the kitchen and it works well there. I think it wears better than glossy, but it has been many years since we have had a glossy polyurethane finish. I'm leaning towards satin, but I did ask the flooring contractor his preference, and both he and his partner said they prefer glossy. That is why I am looking for opinions here. Thanks Missymoo!

Well first that looks great Bonnie!! I love the doors!

I don't know if this will be much help but we have a matte finish in our kitchen/dining room (Brazilian walnut by Bellawood from Lumber Liquidators) and glossy everywhere else (Oak Home Depot's Plano Marsh by Bruce). I love the look of the matte, it's beautiful but it shows scratches easier. The glossy is definitely wearing better but in our house that's not saying much because it's just the two of us. We don't wear shoes inside and I also keep our dogs nails trimmed. Both floors are pre-finished and were installed in 2006 and really both have held up beautifully.

Lukkirish, Thank you for the feedback. It's funny but having had both satin and glossy over the years, I tend to think the satin shows less scratching. Hmmm...now you've got me thinking. I am leaning towards glossy at this point, just for a change. The floors are site finished oak (the living room floor is original to the house, built in '64). We had the kitchen, which is also site finished oak done less than 10 years ago. We wear shoes and have had both large and small dogs, as well as cats. I would really like to have a "no shoe rule" inside, now that it's just DH and me. Might have a good reason to try it once the floors are refinished! Thanks again. Off to ponder....

Bonnie, I think the difference is that ours are prefinished. If you go to Home Depot, they still sell the oak flooring we installed. We got the prefinished because we did the floors as a big DIY project; no way did I want to deal with finishing. Everyone said the prefinish wouldn't wear as well but I'm not exaggerating when I say that this Bruce Prefinished seems to be bullet proof. My husband can be careless and has dropped heavy stuff on this floor without so much as a dent. The Brazilian Walnut is supposedly as hard as cedar and while the finish has held up beautifully, it does dent easier than I think it should. Yes, shoes off helps, and clipping the dog claws. We have two cats too but that hasn't seemed to be a problem.

The one thing I would consider now that I didn't have my radar on originally is the glare that the glossy finish seems to cause. Our living room is like yours, long and rectangular, (12x23) We have outside light coming in from both ends of the room and often times there is quite a bit of glare. We laid a large rug down and that has helped considerably. I hope you repost when it's done! I'd love to see how it turns out!

I have matte, which has worn really well despite hordes of kids, dogs, bikes inside (yes, I know).

Thank you Lukkirish and nosoccermom. I will reconsider matte. The trim and doors are primed (thanks to DH). The addition of the doors was a compromise: I wanted an opening without doors; DH wanted an opening with French doors. Now even he is liking the look of no doors. I'll post when it is finished. It is amazing what a difference it makes to see that side of the house!

Oh I like the doors a lot. I think they add interest and character.

My library floor is a glossy oak and it wears like iron. When we did wood floors in the living room, breakfast area and kitchen I chose a matte finish and it always looks dirty except for right after the cleaning lady cleans them. I am seriously considering having a gloss coat put on them.

Hi Holly-Kay, Thank you for weighing in on this. Our family room floor is glossy and has still looks great after 15 years, 3 kids, cats, dogs- heavy use. I think area rugs have save the main passages from extreme wear.

Is it normal for there to be no drywall behind the baseboard heater?

No, it certainly is not normal! That was an in-progress picture, and as you can see, there is dry wall in the first picture, but it was not complete yet. The radiator had to be cut back from the fireplace to create the doorway. It has all been patched. We wouldn't leave it that way!

Here's the beginning:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3392619/i-can-see-clearly-now?n=5

Update:

Doors are painted and hung. Scope creep, now I want a smaller kitchen table and new light fixture. The floors are not done yet, because we have to empty the living room and go away for a few days. The thought of emptying the room is daunting.

We are enjoying the ease of access to the living room:

Very nice

I really like that you added those doors instead of just having a walkway. Pretty! It adds more interest!

Love the doors.