Old fashioned kitchens had old fashioned linoleum. If you want wood, you want a real protective modern finish.

I just researched this as I was hunting for a natural looking cabinet finish. A couple alternatives to check out are Rubio Monocoat and Loba 2k Invisible Protect. Both are hardwearing finishes that have great track records but rely on a really good installer. Good luck!

@Pam A, thank you very much for those recommendations. I'd come across a few of those products but got nervous because of what you point out--the need to work with a really good installer. We're new to our city, with few friends who've remodeled, and I've had some dodgy contractor encounters in our short time here. So I'm hesitating to go that route because we'd be putting so much of the final floor look into the hands of a possibly competent and possible incompetent installer (who may or may not work with that particular product, on that particular wood, etc.). But I'll keep looking for someone well-recommended, and will check out the Loba, which I hadn't heard of before. Thank you!

@GreenDesigns, thank you very much for that recommendation. Do you advocate a prefinished floor versus site-finished--and even then, how much info can one get about the different companies' finishing techniques--or are they pretty much industry standard for prefinished these days? Also, just out of curiosity, what did people use in kitchens before linoleum was available? Wouldn't it have been wood? Thank you!

GreenDesign, could Waterlox be used on the birch floors (in the kitchen only)? Would that give a higher degree of protection?

A B , your wood flooring project is going to be the best researched project of the year on Houzz. :-D Lots of excellent questions. I really like the Euro oil finishes. If I were going to be applying a finish in only one room like the kitchen I may consider a similar looking low gloss poly finish like Bona Naturale' only because it will be a little more durable to spills and stains.

The Achilles heel of any oil, wax, or lacquer finish is water. They do not resist water very well. Look for the many posts regarding damage from dog bowls and dog drool on the hard oil finishes on floors. Look for the posts on cabinets coated in lacquer that are quickly damaged by moisture. Look for the posts on painted waxed furniture projects getting “glass rings” from drinks being set on them.

Floors with a site finished UV cured coating in a soft satin will be the most durable. It’s difficult to find. If maximum durability and low maintenance is your top concern, it’s worth seeking out.

Other than hardwax oils, most oil finishes made for flooring can be coated with a urethane after they cure. Hardwax oils have a small amount of wax that might affect adhesion. Some rework from wear and stains might be required but you should be able to avoid a complete resand.

Johnson Flooring Co Inc , have you heard of any warranty issues with that type of application. I know clients that have done it but I'm always concerned about how finish manufactures will respond if there is a problem.

All manufacturer warranty claims regarding site applied finishes will always be thrown out due to installer error. Always. Because it’s always installer error.

Plus setting the wrong expectations. Hard wax oils are far from low maintenance. They are a constant maintenance in a room like a kitchen with kids and dogs. They aren’t even truly “protective” since they are so subject to moisture damage. Most complaints are about those two issues, and being misled about them.

""" Most complaints are about those two issues, and being misled about them. "" I'm going to agree with you. Yes oil can be touched up but you may end up always touching up if you have kids and pets.

Yeah, most people don't think easy to spot touch up should mean taking a weekend once every month or two to do just that. They want to put them down and forget it.

Your grandmother was never happier than when getting rid of that old floor buffer that went with all of those "old fashioned" finishes.

Thank you everyone for your incredibly helpful replies and comments. I'm a stubborn Luddite and arch-Romantic so I may take the traditional-oil-based-flooring plunge nonetheless, but at least I'll now be doing it wide-eyed. Really appreciate your time and expertise.

We are very interested, though, in the idea of doing Bona Naturale only in the kitchen (especially since we'll have already threshold pieces where the flooring meets the dining room on one side and the hallway on the other).

We're also talking with Livos, the company that makes the linseed-oil derived product we like (Kunos 244). They've got another coating (Kunos 243) that apparently can go on top that they say improves water resistance.

Anyway, happily creating problems for myself and then spending hours trying to solve them. Grateful to you all for chiming in.

We did linseed oil in our last house, (built in 1894) for all the fir floors. I did about 5 coats originally and touched up, literally with a rag just before we put the house on the market. We happened to get back into the house after 10 years & the floors still looked great. The buyer we sold to had a small dog & he sold to a buyer who had 2 small dogs. I doubt that either of them did any touchup. We didn't want the look of a modern finish. The floors look warm & rich. Didn't put wax on them as I didn't want the hassle of polishing.

We found the original fir floors in the kitchen under layers of lino & tile. They had never had a finish put on them. They had some water marks but they sanded out easily. I am not a messy cook & wipe up spills immediately. I loved those floors.

Oak & Broad I haven't heard of any issues but frankly I am quite insistent on educating (aka discouraging) people who want me to do something that I know is risky. Three of those things would be 1) putting oil finish on a kitchen floor, 2) putting oil finish on a kitchen floor and agreeing to coat it with urethane later, and 3) coating urethane over an oiled floor done by someone else.

That said, my Pallman rep says he's heard of people using their primer product over hardwax oiled floors successfully.

Frankly I don't see where this would be a warranty issue. If a person decides they think oil finish would work in their kitchen, against most advice, it's not up to the finish company to guarantee performance when a product is used to try to remedy a mistake. Sorry if that sounds harsh but I fail to see where the finish maker bears responsibility.