Skeeter: We do want real wood but the reality is that we are on a budget and are trying to look ahead some. We could do real wood and have a 1.5 inch height difference w/out raising the other floor height but that wouldn't work well over all: we don't think it would work right and if we ever move in either of our aging parents then it becomes a tripping haazard. We could raise the level of the other floors but again that isn't really cost efficient unless tile can be raised that much using thinset mortar which I don't think can. Engineered wood floors seem like our best option. I like the look: some of the better ones look no different than solid wood. I've read that they wear well, too. But again we would not be able to use the nail down type or we will end up in the same situation that the solid wood floors would pose. We are going to have to find a good quality glue down or floating engineered floor.

Thank you all again for your feedback. I think we decided to go with tumbled travertine in a white/beige color for the backsplash instead of the brick. Couple questions: - For a small space would you recommend small brick shaped tiles, brick shape and size tiles, or square tiles? We don't want to do the real thin tiles. -We are thinking about square porcelain floor tiles, placed in a diamond shaped pattern because we understand that will make our small kitchen appear bigger. If we do a square tile backsplash would you place them in a diamond pattern as well to match the floor pattern? -We are thinking of a medium beige color floor...the floors we have are original to the house and have to go! We can't do wood because of the way the kitchen is laid out with the rest of the house where we already have wood. Thanks in advance!

Thank you for your candor, I appreciate it. I had maple in the kitchen when I made the decision and I am disappointed that the floor didn't come up in discussions with the designer. I wanted a wood stain v paint and was wearing horseblinders to that bc it looked fine on the maple. But, they are here and pretty and I'm hoping for the best. The cabinet picture is in the original post and the floors can be any color I want. We are down to the subfloor in the kitchen. We will do rift/quarter sawn to calm them down and I do think they look ok. (Agree with you, though, not ideal.) The pic in the post right above yours is just in a showroom where I brought my cabinet sample. So do you rec we just do a 2 1/4 red oak like the rest of the house (and color as we want). Do you have experience with a medium brown and grey that gets most of the red tone out? I really would like it not to be too dark. But ok with something like jacobean with a grey?

Have a look at Capri Limestone from Silestone. Medium colour that looks like it would play well with the veining in your floors. Or maybe Yukon Blanco, also from Silestone. If you go with a white, you'll want to make sure it is the same family of white as what is on your floor - ie cool white or warm white etc. I'd be tempted to go with something different like Silestone Charcoal Soapstone. I think it would look great with your cabinets. If there is a darker colour in the veining I think I'd look for something like that. From Caesarstone maybe something like London Grey. Off-White background with some subtle grey - you'd have to check if it would work with the flooring. Maybe just plain white quartz is your best bet. That floor is beautiful but i feel like it might really limit your choices to go with any pattern especially because of the waterfall design.