....it all depends on the look you want! How's that for no help at all? Very dark floors are very popular right now and might work if you have a dark countertop. In my last house, I had reddish maple cabinets and just a natural stain on my red oak with a black countertop and Monet blue walls. It was stunning! The floor and cabinets were similar but not a 100% match. My personal preference is to keep the floor that timeless, mid-tone range (as in natural or a touch deeper).

Well....dark floors with white cabs makes my heart go pitter-patter. That's the pics I was drawn to every time during the design process. While I didn't go with ebony floors, I did choose a dark brown. The contrast is lovely, and it has that old house look to me.

Kim,,,it's very solid. just make sure the glue is spread to completely cover the plank. I have a few spots (like under the kitchen sink) where they missed the corner and it squeaks. They've held up great. I don't have dogs, but I have cats and have heard their nails burning rubber across the floor they go off on their tangents. I've spilled water, cleaned up their barf, spilled food, whatever, it all cleans up very well. as for dents, only if you drop something very heavy. but any wood floor will dent. I vacuum w/a Dyson, and then I use Bona wood floor cleaner on a mop. in the kitchen, i'll often take the scrubby brush and watered down Dawn to clean up spills or oil stains. no problem. no, I don't baby them. I don't wear shoes in my house though. I love my floors. just make sure on install they clean up all the glue residue. my guys were messy and lazy. had to call them back w/special glue remover and rag and go over the entire floor.

HI everyone, thank you all so much for your thoughtful input! The overall theme I'm seeing is to not refinish the hardwood just for the sake of doing it - and definitely not for the sake of matching the LVP. For some reason, I didn't realize this was an option (lol) - I have been getting so bogged down in needing to take action (a la my husband with the kitchen floor), that I didn't even think to take a breather and let it be for a while so we can re-gather our thoughts :) And since the hardwood will be getting done in the next year or two anyway, it feels almost like a weight is lifted off my shoulders with not having to add one more thing to our current To Do list! @kempek01 your suggestion is spot on and made me laugh out loud! Truthfully, the mismatch didn't bother me as much until I thought of what my in-laws would say at our housewarming - and really, all of them are homeowners, so I'm sure they understand the concept of a work in progress ... AND if anyone does comment, I will say "Thanks for noticing" and chug my wine (while mentally throwing it on them)! @Patricia Colwell I like your idea of having the same wood species laid down in the kitchen and all of it matching! Or the idea of vinyl tile ... honestly, I was thinking of anything besides the LVP my hubs came home with! Lol! but having the same species of wood all the way through the house would be a very charming look! @dan1888 thank you for your words of wisdom! you're right, no need to sacrifice the rest of the house's hardwood to coordinate with a not-thought-out temporary fix :) @SJ McCarthy you make so many good points ... we're also in the middle of a total bathroom renovation and a light second floor renovation (which will then be further renovated down the line anyway), so the last thing we need to be thinking about now is moving our furniture from room to room, or to a storage pod, so the floors can be refinished. And, while we know we want to refinish them, we haven't nailed down a specific stain yet, so it would be more rushing, potentially leading to more regret! Your suggestion of sitting down and storyboarding each room is soooo incredibly wise ... we will definitely be doing that, starting over dinner tonight! @Fori thank you so much :) we think it's super cute too! It really is charming, and in keeping with the style of our house. It's so funny you say that, because my husband (he is a darling) EVENTUALLY wants to gut the whole kitchen, knock out the back wall, and expand the whole kitchen/dining room area!!! However, that's a big expense and still quite a few years down the road - plus, I think the house is kinda sweet the way it is - but the lack of dishwasher does plague us when we have guests for dinner! Ha! Anyway, I guess there's no point in paying twice for a temporary kitchen floor (and staining the rest of the house to match ...). Phew! I feel like I've been talked off several ledges today!!!