wow, thanks for all the help! I can see that the different adjacent woods look good in your posted pictures only because they are quite differentn from each other, not sure that I want to go too light on the new wood because it would be to "blendy" with the white cabinets. A border is an interesting idea but my kitchen might be too small to be able to pull that off, I have an approx 10 x 13 U shaped kitchen with an adjacent 10 x 8 breakfast area. I appreciate the comments to consider that the lighting in the kitchen might be quite different from the hallway. That is true but I did not think of the hallway as being dark until we had the flooring changed and it surprised me how much darker it was after the flooring change. I'm going to find some dark brown tarps to put on the kitchen floor and see what that feels like. thank you!

If you want something that is waterproof, they do make AquaGuard or NuCore laminate flooring that is made with recycled rubber. You could also go with a wood look tile option. But you could never really go wrong with a hardwood floor to increase the value of your home. Just throwing a few options into the ring. Check out Floor & Decor if you're interested in a waterproof LAMINATE. - Woodruff Floors, LLC

The wood in the kitchen is Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry). It is an exotic hardwood that has TWO different colour schemes: orange/brown/fiery OR pink/purple/mud-brown (yes...purple...I kid you not). The FUN part of Jatoba (tongue firmly in cheek) is it STARTS OUT life looking like a tame looking 'walnut' brown. It will look NOTHING like the existing floor. And then the COLOUR fires up and BAM! You have colour galore. Jatoba is photosensitive which is a big word that means 'it gets darker/stronger in colour' Just when you thought all the excitement was OVER...your floor turns purple. Not the orange/red/fiery colour of your EXISTING floor...Nope...you 'lucked out' and got the purple option. Go ahead and google 'pink brazilian cherry floors'. You will find dozens of this type of colouring. Buyer beware. Your stunning wood floor *might not be so easy to match. If it were my house, I would remove the wood and the carpet and start again with a wood you want....not one that you inherited.

M., sorry, this isn't mine. just using some pics to show you examples. the 2nd photo is a red oak, completely sanded and done w/a natural finish. You'd be surprised at how beautiful old wood floors finish up! Call in a professional wood floor refinisher and get some estimates. it won't be an issue to match your existing solid wood flooring. https://www.svbwoodfloors.com/blog/wood-floor-faqs-whats-the-difference-between-a-lace-in-and-a-header/ here's a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDqi5NAnTKk look at this before and after https://adamsfloors.com/installation