I have engineered wood in the kitchen. It has a natural/honed finish. The finish will last as long as it does for regular hardwood before you have to sand and refinish. I do, however, have a jute rug on top, mostly for sound deadening but also to keep spills off the floor.

I think it'll be difficult to match or blend the two different woods in the flooring.

I think you are a bit confused about the difference between engineered wood and "solid" hardwood.

You can get factory finished solid hardwood and you can also get site finished engineered hardwood.

The durability of a factory finish will depend to some extent on the quality of the engineered wood or the solid hardwood.

Engineered wood is used for certain conditions in which you can't use solid hardwood.

Higher quality engineered wood has a thicker "wear layer" which theoretically allows one to refinish the floor more times than a thinner wear layer.

I have engineered wood throughout my condo including kitchen - except for bathrooms which have marble tile. The finish is fine after four years but I am probably more careful with it than I might be with porcelain or vinyl tile but no surface is impervious to abuse. Even porcelain tile will be problematic if there is a flood

Sabrina, Our contractor says the acrylic finish has a 5 year guarantee. In another apartment we have solid wood that has an oil based polyurethane finish that has lasted about 25 - 30 years. Is that how long the engineered wood lasts? I think our budget would cover the kind that has a 1 mm wear layer, which is not sandable. I never would have considered a rug for the kitchen, but I think a latex backed sisal rug is a great idea.

Dan you are right - It will be really hard to coordinate the two different woods.

Engineered wood can be unfinished/site finished or prefinished. It can have a thin veneer or a thicker one that can be refinished multiple times. It can have a peeled veneer or milled veneer.

It would take quite a bit of writing to compare all the products. What's important is how hard you are on the floor and how much care you want to devote to it. If you have a highly active kitchen I'd recommend something other than wood. I only do wood floors and my kitchen has real slate. The dog barfs on it, I drop stuff while cooking and sometimes kick dropped ice cubes under the fridge. I've pondered replacing the slate with cork tiles at some point but it would require a much more diligent maintenance routine.

If you still want wood, factory finishes are most all more durable than site applied, but eventually you'll experience wear and impacts and another coat will have to be applied, in your case, a waterborne finish.

I tell customers that their kitchen will generally receive 5 to 10 times the wear of other areas in their home. Keeping it free of grit and protecting heavy wear areas where one stands and spins can lengthen the professional maintenance intervals. Choosing a floor that has the right balance of texture and smoothness is important. More texture can hide wear and damage but can harbor grime. A smooth floor is easier to get/keep clean but shows more wear.

As someone who sells wood floor but isn't crazy about it in kitchens, I usually have customers compare all the aspects of their options. Ceramic can scratch or crack, often looks fake, has grout to contend with and can be hard for some to stand on, though it's more durable and resistant to moisture.

I don't know what the warranty is on my engineered flooring, but it was new when we moved in nearly 7 years ago, and it still looks great.

"We are hard on our kitchen."

"I think a latex backed sisal rug is a great idea."

These two statements should not be coming from the same person, about the same room. I think you'd be quite disappointed with sisal in your kitchen.