Thanks so much for sharing about your floors Debbi. "I feel like it's almost bullet proof" - I'm hoping the white oak will be just as durable. My current red oak cabinets have been very tough and have stood up to lots of abuse and neglect which is what made me choose oak again for my new cabinets and floors. :) When I first started the search for HW flooring, I thought all I'd consider was solid. Then I saw some high quality engineered floors and was sold. I think the extra stability from the engineered core of the will make the floors more durable. The floor I'm likely getting also has a 4.5 mm wear layer. It's like a thick slice of wood. It can take up to 3 sandings (or so I'm told) so I hope they'll stand the test of time and last for decades. "Everything is expensive, but when we are buying, we're hoping to only have to do it once." That is how I'm justifying spending the gobs of money going into this reno...! I've been selecting higher quality materials that are (I hope) quite timeless so that this kitchen will only have to be done this one time.

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. There is obviously a clear preference here to keep the hardwoods. Just to clarify a few things: - We can't ditch the dining room, though I understand the sentiment there. Formal or not, our house is small and we don't have an eat-in kitchen so the dining room is the only place we have to eat and, unlike many families, we use it every day. - I agree that the two existing wood floors in the do ing and living rooms could easily be refinished. My concern is the dust, the fumes, the pain of having to be out of the house for days while everything dries. If we did refinish, I would want to find a better, more matte coating than what is on there now. - The wood floors can remain untouched, even if I hate looking st them every day. there is no pressing need to replace or refinish them, other than wanting consistency if we do the other floors. However, not ripping out the carpet and worn kitchen flooring is not an option. Both are so old and dingy (they were here for years before I moved in) that no matter how much I clean, vacuum, or shampoo, it still feels dirty. I can't in good conscience allow a baby to crawl on that, which is the impetus for replacing the floors to begin with.

Your cabinets are quite warm in tone. I worry that a "cement gray" wood is going to clash with the kitchen elements. You've already stated that the original hardwoods have faded. You MUST expect the same to happen to the next wood floor you install. This fading tells me the windows do NOT have the UV blocking protection needed to prevent the fading. So... you may want to pick a floor that looks good as-is as well as what it will fade to over time. Sadly (in my case) the gray will stay true to colour much longer than any other of your choices. The mid-tone brown will probably lose as much as half it's colour. The SUPER DARK floors (ebony, etc) will maintain most of their colour as well. For these reasons, I would highly recommend a natural colour (no stain) white oak or even European Oak (which will turn silvery-gray over time) over any of your choices. Your windows will give you headaches with mid-tone stains. Only SUPER LIGHT (like the gray) or SUPER DARK (like ebony) will maintain their colours. That's quite limiting. So the suggestion for a natural finish (I would stay away from maple as it turns a STRONG margarine-yellow) is a great one. If you want a floor that is more modern, then have a look at European Oak (it naturally turns silver-gray when exposed to sunlight). It is the SUPER START of hardwoods right now.

So many ways this could go wrong without a problem with install. The colour of the wood is highly variable. It has lots of knots!!!!! Mineral streaks = one plank with 3 different colours. And the knots could be deep, which can be tough with engineered wood. The thickness of the plank is THIN. Everything on this product SCREAMS out imperfections. You could buy 4 times what you need and STILL have a hard time finding enough planks to match your version of 'acceptable. This company is going to GREAT pains to point out the BIG variations in this floor. And oh the knots! You will expect DAYS of YOU picking through the wood pile. The acceptable appearance of these planks = anything goes! Don't expect some poorly paid sub to pick through the wood. The mill clearly states this stuff is going to look like a patchwork quilt. The amount of warnings (about appearance and knots and HEAVY variation) tells me the manufacturer has had enough complaints to fill a dumpster! How do you feel about a floor that could look like it was scraps of wood? Your questions tell me you carry concerns. I will tell you right now, you will not be happy with this level of variance.