Thanks for the info Palimpsest. I hadn't thought about it, but you're probably right that toes would be safe (the fridge sticks out a bit, and we don't kick that ;-). I found some photos of the kitchen that might help. Some are during the remodel, so many details are not complete. None of the quarter round or baseboard is in place in these pics. Just a little more info. The stained quarter round perfectly matches the floor and is a very close match to the cabinets (ignore the stained quarter round next to the brick chimney in the old pictures below, it has been replaced). The dining and living rooms that you see with carpet will soon be floored with the same laminate. Those rooms have white baseboards and I will be using white quarter round. Here is the bar wall taken from the dining room opening. Here is an older picture of the bar area, taken standing beside the refrigerator (the bar wall wasn't complete yet and the baseboards aren't in, but everywhere the wall is green now has white baseboard and quarter round. Here is the front side of the peninsula; you can just see the end where the quarter round is needed to hide the flooring gap. If I ran white baseboard and quarter round along the back part of it, might it look disjointed?

Hi Dirtymartini. I don't know, "awful" is such a harsh word. I'd probably go with "interesting", as in "That was very interesting, Marty", Lorraine's wonderfully tactful comment in Back to the Future. You ask if you should even add crown molding at all? Good question, and to answer, let's stop & look at history. In traditional houses--Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman, even up to postwar Cape Cods, crown molding was expected. Fancy houses had elaborate designs in molded plaster or carved wood, but regular middle class houses had crown molding, too, the only difference being that the stuff in those houses was cheaper & smaller. But it was still there. Even no-frills Victorian-era workers' cottages had it, although it was pretty meager. But houses--respectable houses-had crown modling for the same reason that women wore gloves when they left the house. It was expected. It was proper. The Modern movement came along and banished fussy crown moldings along with the trim around doors & windows, on the theory that unneccessary applied ornament harbored vermin & dirt, and if you've ever popped off the trim from around a door in an old house & seen the black soot streaks underneath, you know how right they were. But that aspect--health & cleanliness--wasn't the real reason the Modernists banned trimwork. No, it was all about aesthetics. And at first, the clean, stripped-down Modern look was very expensive. Actually, it still is, if you do it right. One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons has a designer explaing into a potential client, "Yes, of course we can do Minimal--but not on your budget." But once plasterers & drywall installers got with the program & learned to do neater work--no more gaping, drafty holes between walls & ceilings, or around doorways--they didn't have to rely on the trim carpenter to come along & hide their crummy workmanship. And once they got that skill-set mastered, it was just a matter of time before budget-driven developers (who cared nothing about aesthetics) eliminated all the trim they could eliminate in new houses, leaving only the baseboards & some vestigial ranch-profile trim around doorways that had actual doors, which, with the rise of open plan houses, were getting fewer & fewer in number. It was Modernism by default, not choice. That was then, but this is now, so let's look around. Today, with the resurgence of interest in traditional design, most new houses again have crown molding. Unfortunately, a lot of it is often way out of proportion for the rooms where it's used--either too big in small-studded rooms like yours, or woefully undernourished in double height rooms--and lots of people living in otherwise handsome, clean-lined Mid-century houses & later open-plan houses are sticking it up in places, where, stylistically, it doesn't belong. Just because a thing, in itself--or in one particular context--looks good doesn't mean that that same thing will look equally good in another place. The demure white gloves that look so natural on Grace Kelly & Betty Draper would look out of character on Carmela Soprano. How about broad horizontal stripes? Great on some people, but disaster on others. But here's what's weird: people understand that concept of appropriateness when it comes to their clothes, but they don't realize it applies to their homes, too. Will adding crown molding work at your house? It's hard to say. Maybe yes, maybe no. So, instead of deciding one way or the other based on what you saw at the neighbor's house--or based on what we, who don't know your house, say--why don't you ask your house what it wants. It will tell you: all you have to do is learn to listen. The mix-'n'-match look? That question's easier. No. Sure a lot of people do it, but a lot of people use their cell phones while driving, too, and a lot of other people jaywalk. Doesn't make it right. Magnaverde Rule No. 5: Stop, Look & Listen.

Find unfinished hardwood and have it stained to match. Should come in around $18/linear foot = all said and done. That's if you go to a door and moulding shop with a sample of your floor and they CUSTOM match the colour for you. Give them two weeks, pay them and then take home your item. A flooring professional can source this for you (same as above) or you can find a stain that is "close enough" and do it yourself with HD prefab mouldings/trim, etc. The installation instructions clearly indicate: T-mouldings required through all doorways. "In field" expansion gaps are required for: Runs greater than 12m (36ft) across the LONG edge of the plank Runs greater than 8m (24ft) across the SHORT edge of the plank https://d18178273alp6b.cloudfront.net/production/bdsellerassets/laminate-flooring/toklo-by-swiss-krono/pdf/toklo-swiss-krono-installation-instructions.pdf With a purchase of 1000sf, I'm going to guess you will need T-mouldings and some quarter round for the fireplace. For stains: try looking at Ebony, Jacobean or dark walnut. If in doubt, go a snick darker...which is why the Ebony appeals to me. Use white oak to get the cleanest stain and a clear coat so that you do NOT add orange to the colour. Good luck. Count up your doorways (3ft each) and see how much quarter round you have. You can DIY this pretty easy for just a little bit more money. This happens all the time...that's why Home Depot has an entire back wall filled with moulding - unfinished and waiting for stain.

Sigh....I know. Everyone is in love with a transitionless floor. It is a beautiful look that belongs with a permanent floor, not a floating floor. So things like carpet, glue-down-hardwood, tile, sheet vinyl, etc) all get the "transitionless" floor. Anything floating needs transitions through doorways. You win some, you lose some. I'm someone who recognizes a good deal. So I weigh the cost of transition strips ($15/linear foot = $45/doorway) vs. the massive cost of laying glue down hardwood (tens of thousands of dollars) and I make my decision from that (I'll take a $45 t-molding over a $15K labour bill or a ruined floating floor any day). If the installation instructions mention them, then you have to do it to maintain warranty. Those people who chose to "ignore" or "Do what I want in my own house" find out rather quickly what happens when they ignore the manufacturer's advice. Good luck. It sounds like you are on the right track. If in doubt, return to the installation instructions. You are safe so long as you stick to the manufacturer's requirements.