Wolfgang, The house you lived in sounds quite lovely. I have heard how cold tile is on bare feet from my DH. He is a carpet man! I am sure I will have gel mats or throw rugs between the island and the cooktop and by the sink. I am a very messy cook, and spill something making every meal. We have a dog and cat, who would be rather hard on wood. My dog sloshes water at a great rate. I think tile will hold up pretty well. I understand your preference for disguised appliances. I thought about doing that. I have seen some striking kitchens with appliances hidden. Our kitchen is an amalgamation of new and old. If the kitchen were truly period, it would make more sense to hide appliances. But our kitchen is designed to be compatible with our 1892 house rather than replicate an original kitchen. Hiding some appliances are budget busters, and we will keep the existing refrigerator. I had the KD check into hiding the oven behind pocket doors. It takes too much cabinet space; it required a much wider and deeper cabinet to be accomplished. I don't have room to spare in the kitchen. As long as one appliance is in its natural state, so to speak, the DW may as well be too. A paneled DW doesn't seem like it would wear very well, either. The MW and a small convection oven are in the cabinet to the left of the refrigerator behind pocket doors.

Hi there, Congrats on the remodel! Your choices so far look great. As far as hardwood flooring goes, Bruce and Armstrong are great name brands. We've installed many of these floors with long lasting success. If you want a "darker" floor, I'd suggest you stay in the cool tones (away from the oranges and reds you dislike) and don't go overly dark just because we don't want the space to look smaller than it is. Bruce has some beautiful pre-finished darker hardwoods for you to choose from. I'd suggest one with some texture, mainly because kitchens are high traffic areas and the darker the floor, the more you see on it. But with some hand scrapping, etc, it will eliminate a lot of the every day wear and tear that may drive you crazy. Bruce - Dark Solid signature scraped hardwood The link I added is from the Bruce line, and I think that this color, along with the light grey counters and the white cabinets would pair really well... It's also not too too dark. Whatever you choose, I'd suggest something with a bit of texture. This is a solid red oak, not refinished, but its a nice medium color, and the busy graining of red oak act just like a textured floor would when it comes to hiding discrepancies. This is another one I found which has a nice medium tone for your space. Good Luck The Couture Floor Company - Flooring Blog

We did provincial and and thrilled with how it came out!!!!! It wasn't too dark but some of the wood stained just perfectly to tie in the beams. Working on painting the window trim white so that there is less of a wood look in the room. Overall so happy with the richness. Comments from above were so helpful and all considered. Once we saw each option on the floor the flooring guy really made the final choice.

I always tell my clients to wait before doing anything major like flooring in a new house . How that kitchen functions for you will be a huge deciding factor IMO . I don’t see the whole space so can’t comment on the layout but honestly a non functional kitchen will make you nuts in no time .Do you love the cabinet color is it something you would have done if you had the choice? I know its a pain but flooring is a huge investment through a whole house so take your time.