In the past twenty years (four homes), I have had hardwood all through the house…including bathrooms and kitchens. No problem at all.

You can speak to a flooring specialist, but my suggestion is to do engineered in the kitchen (and throughout) because it holds up better in damp situations. Another suggestion is to have factory finish.

Some one will say you can't refinish engineered, but that isn’t totally correct. The depth of the top wood layer is what determines if it can be refinished and how many times. Some products are as many as three times. You won’t live long enough to refinish your floors 3 times.

Just because it is one of my favorite, look at Homewood, Hickory, Saddle stain. Gorgeous.

I would probably run hardwood through the whole house. If the dogs are already walking on it in other rooms it's not like they'll be doing more damage by walking on the wood in the kitchen. Try to find a stronger, moister resistant wood like bamboo or buy some extra planks for any future repairs.

Wood. 100% It isn't as delicate as people make it seem and adds to a home's charm I think. And on the faucet, be careful about a kitchen faucet with two handles (hot and cold). It is better to be able to control the temperature with one hand when you are handling pots and dishes, etc.

I would suggest running the hardwood throughout as well.

Hey there, mjammjam.

I have a 70 pound American bulldog and hardwood throughout the first floor. Your dogs definitely will scratch up your hardwood.

I understand your hesitancy over the hw floors in the kitchen. Whenever something spills, I wonder if hw in the kitchen is the best idea. When water drips from my hands when reaching for a towel, I wonder if hw was the best thing for my powder room.

We have placed large rugs inside our doors and mats outside to catch dirt and such. Our house is smallish so changing flooring types would only make it look smaller and might becreally obviously. However, I have seen homes that have a small tile area near entrances and then hw over the remainder of the floor. If your home is large enough and is not entirely open concept floor plan or is designed in the right layout, you could change flooring in the various areas.

I also agree that plain porcelain in a white kitchen is boring but you have a lot of choices in tile these days.

Mind you, I’m not saying skip the wood and grab the porcelain but you have a lot of options.

walnut scratches so easily. you will have to resign yourself to live w/it. since your kitchen is so open to the rest of the rooms, it would look best to continue the wood. but man, walnut?? lol. gorgeous floor. if you have no kids and no pets. maybe make a landing spot near the door from tile or have a runner there. get a runner for the kitchen floor too.

Your kitchen is open to the other spaces. If the ref wall and the sink run don't end in the same place, a floor across that span will look terrible. I think there is only one option here. The cabinets come so far to the end of the wall , it just won't look right to do a different floor. Learn to love the bumps and bruises wood floors get - it will be happening around the house anyway.

Debbi nailed it - if you don't have somewhere where a distinct change in the flooring materials makes sense, then it will look odd. The inside wall with the wall ovens and cabinets extends further into your living space than the cabinets on the outside wall do - so no, it doesn't line up. Quarter sawn white oak with a walnut stain should be reasonably sturdy; it's considerably harder than walnut. It will get the odd dent when things get dropped etc. but the good thing about oak is that the grain will tend to help hide blemishes. We have maple in our house, including the kitchen, and yeah - after a year, there are some dings. But it's warmer, easier on your feet and will make your main floor flow nicely.

Note: the most important thing you can do to protect your floors from damage is take your outdoor shoes OFF in the house. (not looking to open that silly shoes off/shoes on debate from a philosophical view again - but grit and dirt from outdoors is the enemy of hardwood flooring.) We wear slippers in the house. And my kitchen floor is just as clean as any tile floor - it's natural maple, so it's pretty obvious when it needs mopping. I don't think tile is intrinsically any cleaner than hardwood. ;)

ah, thanks. my bad. just read the Walnut. If it's the oak stained in the walnut, then I think you'll be fine. it will look nice in the kitchen w/all of the white.

I'd still do the runner by the door though!

We very often use wood in kitchens because it's easier on the legs/feet and also on dropped dishes. If the kitchen is open to other rooms- then you really should continue the wood floor. You might want a Chilewich runner at the sink.

The lower faucet is much more suited to your cabinet style.

I say wood. Should be gorgeous!

And, the second faucet is much more attractive, but I agree to consider a single lever. ;)

Better????

Better. ;)

I like both of those, but I think I lean towards the first. I like the simplicity of it. (I love simple)

I'm not wild about the spray lever sticking out on the second one. But it's still a nice looking unit.

Pick the one you love. ;)