A satin or semi-gloss sheen would be good for a kitchen. Either sheen is very washable and provide a durable finish. The store or site should offer samples of sheen to help you decide. Michael

Bona Traffic - two coats - semi-gloss Bona Cherry stain on refinished white oak floors. The guys "popped" the floors before putting the stain down. "Popped" means they lightly dampened the bare wood in order to raise the grain so the stain would penetrate better, adding a deeper color. (Floors were Bruce prefinished.) Love the Bona finish! It has been about 3 years since we did it. We have 2 active Golden Retrievers who have left indentions in the wood, but the finish has not been scratched or penetrated. Dog nails typically do not scratch the surface of wood floors, but they depress the wood due to the pressure. From Refinished floors From Refinished floors

Your son's not gonna want to spray polyurethane; it makes a miserable, sticky mess. I'm gonna put in a plug for Fuhr 355 waterbase acrylic, which is available in a range of sheens and is easy to work with -- especially good if your son is inexperienced with wood finishing. Look up Fuhr and see if you can find a local distributor that will sell you a gallon. Waterbase finishes require a larger spray-gun orifice than is typical for automotive finishes. I don't know what sort of equipment he uses, but a 1.7mm - 1.9mm tip is appropriate on an HVLP conversion gun. Sand to 220, shoot a sealer coat, wait 45 minutes (or less), sand again at 320, shoot a heavier finish coat and leave it alone.

I used Salad Bowl Finish on the butcher block on my island. It was recommended over at Ikeanfans.com, and I bought it from Rockler Woodworking - it was very easy to apply (sand the butcher block; wipe on the oil with a piece of rag or kitchen paper; let dry; sand; repeat). My initial treatment was about 4 coats overall, I think. 2 years later, I still haven't needed to reapply, and the surface gets treated pretty roughly - I roll out and cut pastry on it, scrape it with a palette knife, and so on. Still repels water beautifully. My sister did linseed oil on her butcher block - my BIL applied something like 9 coats, and it looks incredibly shiny. She too has never re-applied over the last 2 years. Here is a link that might be useful: Salad Bowl Finish