i did see the thread on the novalis and i did see the product at lowes yesterday and my husband just has his mind made up that vinyl is going to be a junk product so i guess that is out. i just am confused. i did notice at lowes they have some prety good brand names such as armstrong//bruce etc but does this automatically mean it is a cheaper version of what you would find in a flooring store because it is at lowes? (like for instance) a line they made specifically to be sold only at lowes? the flooring i saw was from 3-9 dollars a sq foot. my sister in law bought her hardwood flooring at menards and they have had it for years with no issues but i just am confused about which products a person should feel okay with taking the plunge with and which are actually going to be a horrible product. i found an ad with a pergo floor that i absolutely loved then i looked up reviews and everyone hated it. i am tired of reading reviews, but i have a huge room to put flooring in, and it will cost alot of money so i was just hoping to hear from many people which floor they used that has been just wonderful or horrible. thanks

Do get a really good finish whatever wood you use! And if it's not finished on site, see if it makes sense to add another coat of finish after installation (depending on what you use, it may or may not). Wood is a great choice--you'll love it over laminate even it it means you have to rethink things. I put site-finished oak in my last kitchen and it held up to all kinds of abuses and spills. And the spot I did manage to destroy was relatively inexpensive to yank out and replace. (Usually refinishing will do it, but I left a wet clay pot on a rug on the wood for several weeks as we were packing for a move--it got lost in the mess and uh...well, you know. You won't do that!) If you get something at all unusual, buy a little extra and stick it somewhere safe, just in case you do a Fori.

Hi Debbie - it looks like a lovely home! My approach to mixing wood grains is to let just one show off its grain pattern. The adjacent wood plays a back-up roll with subtle graining in a contrasting color. That way they don't fight each other. This is a lot easier to do when you can choose the type of wood itself. In your situation, I would most likely match the floor to the dark stain of the double oven cabinets. That may be way darker than you're thinking! The dark stain would knock down the visible graining of the floor. You might see if you can grab some samples of engineers wood floors in different stain colors to see how it looks with trim. You might consider painting the medium-stained kitchen cabinets to cut down on the number of wood grains competing in the space. Hope that helps! Best of luck with the project. Doug

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