UPDATE: EMBEDDED PICS START AT COMMENT 26

_________My photos will not attach. I followed the instructions in the FAQ. No luck. Suggestions? TY

I don't think that I would do a solid black although in the right setting it could be dramatic. A lot of people with dark floors hate them as they show dust too quickly. What do you have in the rest of the house? Would it be better to continue that flooring type through the kitchen? Also a lot of people dislike tile to stand on because it hurts their back. Have you considered all of the flooring choices?

GLad you brought that up, because my first choice is a rich dark faux wood floor, but I have a light cherry faux wood floor throughout my condo (excluding the kitchen, barthroom, and vanity area). I suppose I could continue that light cherry flooring,similar to this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Shaw-Native-Collection-II-Natural-Cherry-8-mm-Thick-x-7-99-in-Wide-x-47-9-16-in-Length-Laminate-Flooring-26-40-sq-ft-case-HD10200154/203560474?gclid=Cj0KEQjwnKzABRDy2pb7nPSazdsBEiQAI4lZQApZMzl4JrOfMkoyoAWPI7uZTBAB3xp8FhPAO28hQdIaAjOX8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have an event this morning thru the afternoon, but when I get back I will add my pictures to photobucket and post links. For some reason, I still cannot get the pics in this thread. Thank you for your help so far practigal!

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Sorry for the links, but I could not imbed pics.

Floor / Cabinets

You can see the black counter tops and white walls and white cabinets. What I was thinking was to do the floor in black tile or dark faux wood, like a dark stained oak. But the faux wood would most likely clash with the light cherry faux wood that is in the dining area and living area. YOu can see this wood at the bottom of the first link. Is there anything I could do to create a break between the light cherry wood in the dining area, and where the kitchen begins (if I decide to do faux wood in the kitchen)? If not, what color and style tile would you recommend in the kitchen?

The cabinets would take a long time to paint. So I was thinking of painting the wall instead. Medium to dark grey, depending on what I put on the floor. Any comments or suggestions about that?

Cabinets cont.

One thing I could change about the cabinets is updating the knobs and doing some touchup paint in certain spots. The microwave will be taken out by the way, so that will open up some space, not sure for what though.

Better view of current floor, and walls

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Also, I am going to change the sink to stainless steel in the next month, and eventually the dishwasher and oven as well, so that will be the theme for appliances in this kitchen.

I think a black floor and dark walls would make your kitchen really dark.

Have you looked at alternative flooring like cork or linoleum? I think a two-tone cork floor that pulls in a similar color to your current floor adjacent to the kitchen and a darker color would look great. Perhaps a diamond pattern or a wide stripe that widens the space.

A lighter backsplash would brighten the space and neutral walls.

I'm thinking more of a light to medium grey tile or tile equivalent floor now. The kitchen is pretty dark now as you mentioned.

I think that I would try to continue the flooring because it usually feels much more expansive to have the same floor throughout. I would also consider the cork recommendation. Cork comes in quite a variety of colors so you may in fact find a gray.

If this were my kitchen, I'd continue the faux-wood floor into the kitchen and laundry, do a backsplash with a pattern (a geometric black and white of some sort?), and install undercabinet lighting. Then I'd think about new cabinet knobs/pulls. :-)

Thanks guys for the idea to continue the flooring. I think I will do that, however now I am thinking about replacing the floor to this lakeshore pecan faux flooring:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Lakeshore-Pecan-7-mm-Thick-x-7-2-3-in-Wide-x-50-5-8-in-Length-Laminate-Flooring-24-17-sq-ft-case-35947/205349795?MERCH=REC--PIPHorizontal1_rr--203315038--205349795--N

Replace the cherrywood with this pecan - not just the kitchen, but the dining, living, laundry and hallways. basically everything except the two bedrooms and bathroom. There are doors to each, so that's a decent break, yes?

It's about the same quality as what I have, and is inexpensive so I feel I am within budget, even though I did not originally plan to.

Do you still recommed an off white paint for the walls, or is grey a good fit?

Also, can you give me pics or visuals on the geometric backsplash and undercounter lighting? Having trouble picturing that.

Great idea! And my kitchen definitely needs lighting especially on the counters

Yes! Lights!

If possible and within budget, consider the Pergo Outlast for your kitchen. It is water resistant, most laminates aren't, and you can find something to coordinate with your existing floors. Don't underestimate the effect having a single flooring throughout your home will have. It'll look like a new place and unify the space. I think it's a winner for your kitchen.

For the backsplash, I'd remove the 4" strip of counter material and consider a geometric tile in a neutral scheme, grey and white perhaps. What is your tile budget in $/SF?

If we are talking about single flooring throughout the house, probably $1.50 p square foot max. I found the lakeshore pecan flooring for $.80 (link above). This is more of a 5 year update rather than a 15 or 20 year. I don't plan to live here more than another 5 years.

Well then, I would just change the kitchen floor to match unless there are floor issues elsewhere.

So you would not recommend the level of flooring I am thinking of putting in? Is it due to the quality, or the issue warping and other water issues from it?

There are no major floor issues in the rest of the house, but the floor is no better than the .80 p sqft I am looking at using.

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm looking into the undercounter lights, and still thinking about the flooring. :)

I guess .80 p sq ft is seen as too cheap? Admittedly I wouldn't even be considering to do new flooring everywhere in the house except the bedrooms if it weren't close to my original budget for just the kitchen / laundry tile and a few incidental spots elsewhere.

I don't think the flooring is cheap, it's just that I've seen what happens to laminate when it gets wet, and in the kitchen (and laundry) you have to expect that it will. There's no point paying for a floor you know is going to get ruined. Unless you want to buy extra to have on hand should you need to replace any flooring for resale.

I really don't know if there's anything you can do to protect against water damage. I guess you can use area rugs, but if you have a sink spill or your DW overflows, or you have a fridge problem, you could end up with this:

Or maybe you'll have no issues at all. Who knows?

UPDATED WITH EMBEDDED PICTURES:

Thanks again, eam44. Is the buckling between the boards from the water damage as well, or was that an installation issue (not enough space cut for expansion/contraction) at the wall?

I am thinking about putting 20" x 20" tile on my kitchen floor. The tile pictured above is 12" x 12." Will probably only have room for 2 and 1/4 tiles or so. What do you guys think about bigger tile in a modest kitchen?