Most people suggest colors in the green family which is nice but I'm a big fan of sunflowers and decided to use a soft yellow instead. We put it in both our kitchen and breakfast area and like it alot! Not only does it give the kitchen and dining area a very warm and cozy feel and it also has a very pretty glow when the sun is shining in! Not to mention it matches our honey oak cabinets perfectly!

I don't think it would be weird at all to paint the whole wall white (or any other colour) including the chair rail (that's the line of trim around the walls. The idea is that it protects the walls from being marred by a chair being pushed back from the table). Of you don't like the chair rail you could check under the one on the dividing wall; if the wall under it is nice you could probably take it right off with no problem. You might have some nail holes to fill but that's pretty easy. I really like white walls with oak trim. There are a lot of nice examples of it here on houzz.

Before you get your heart set on hardwood, I suggest that you go out and get an idea of the installed cost. I had my heart set on hardwood throughout my “new to me” house, but I did not want laminate, was disgusted by the quality of engineered hardwood floors, and could not get solid hardwood at a reasonable price. Sadly, I had to settle for new carpet. I hope you have better luck than I did. It may be related to materials availability, labor costs and labor availability in the Pacific Northwest. If I were in the Central or Eastern U.S., it would have been much easier to get hardwood.

If you think the foot print of the kitchen will CHANGE when you renovate, there isn't much that can be done right now. I would replace the tile with an easily removable product (such as vinyl plank) and then make your decision about tomorrow, well...tomorrow. If you don't like the idea of having to replace the flooring once more, then use your own money to purchase the kitchen TWICE. Yep. Measure the kitchen's foot print (wall to wall...not cabinet to cabinet) and purchase (with your own money) that amount OVER AND ABOVE the amount the insurance company will cover. Now you put that flooring in storage for future use. If you go this route, you will IGNORE the wood tones. Yes...even if it clashes. Why you ask? Because you would be locking yourself into the 'colour circular argument'. That is to say the look of TODAY'S kitchen will dictate TODAY'S flooring. And TODAY'S flooring will then dictate TOMORROW'S kitchen. Oh dear. If you REALLY WANT a new kitchen (gutting it and getting what you really want) then pick a floor you LOVE and will LOVE to build around in the future. That means living with a clash for a few years. That's fine. It will motivate you to get the kitchen reno done as soon as possible (I hate colour clashes...they drive me to drink!). But only you can make that decision. If you want to make nice with oak trim (which may sound nice but is probably builder grade) you will be locking yourself into a colour palette that will NEVER vary. If you are OK with that, then have fun. If you are NOT OK with that then ignore the oak and get what you WANT to work with.