I think that hardwood in the kitchen would look great! especially if it is running through the majority of the downstairs. I like the dark colored wood with the paint color on your walls that you have. It will add a great contrast. Maybe even a mocha color. Good luck with your project.

Thanks for your input. Any ideas around thin strip wood or a wider plank? My contractor suggested a mixture of both.

I'd say stick to the original character of the home (which is beautiful BTW!). Maybe do a wider distressed plank in the kitchen area to camouflage any damage that might occur being in a high traffic area. I'd be tempted to explore perhaps a nice natural tile like slate in the kitchen...could we see some more pics. of your beautiful home please!

I think I would explore wider plank thru out including kitchen. I am very sensitive to trying to maintain the historic feel of a home however sometimes it nice to rewrite history! How lucky you are to be the keeper of such a wonderful old home .

Wide planks look amazing -- fewer "seams" and more wood. The problem is that the wider the slat, the more likely it is that the wood will buckle. To get the really wide look and to avoid warping, the sales people will try to talk you into the composite floor with a veneer of wood. I wasn't interested in paying all that money for a veneer, so I went with a medium width solid hard wood. For color, if you go with dark stain, make sure you use a really hard wood like oak or bamboo or a wood that is natuarally dark without a stain. I know from experience that cherry gauges easily and then the lighter color shows through. Yech. Also, it is ridiculous how much more the dark stain shows the gray dust and crumbs.

Oh thanks everyone. What great input! I am attaching a pic looking from our living room through to the dining room and back into the kitchen that is about to get a huge reno. I like the focal part being the stone wall and will try and pull colours from it. As far as "hdrubert's" comment about wood salvage from an old barn......I found it and it is 160 years old......gorgeous but holy smokes expensive!!!

I love wide plank wood floors (have lived in older homes with both), and I think there is nothing as wonderful as wood floors for kitchens. I'm speaking from 30+ years experience with wood floors in my kitchens, even though I grew up with tile. Plus, tile floors look dated after awhile because tile styles change rapidly. Wood is classic.

My current project has maple flooring in the kitchen and oak everywhere else. I am finishing the maple in a natural tone, with a water borne finish to avoid yellowing with age. Maple makes a really good kitchen floor because it is very hard. Because it is reclaimed vintage wood, the material is absolutely beautiful with a very close grain and even coloring. Because it is so dense, maple doesn't take a stain well so most of the color is in the finish, not the wood

I love salvage wood but to be affordable, you have to do the work yourself or at least hire the labor and supervise. Check out demo sales and teardowns of commercial buildings also,,,I've even seen bowling lanes and gym floors for sale recently. You'll have to look carefully to find an installer who is willing to work with the reclaimed material and expect to pay a premium price as it takes longer to install,

Also, be careful with reclaimed material. We had to discard large amounts of wood which had already been sanded the maximum amount. We also had to spend time cleaning the edges of the wood so the tongue and groove would fit tightly together.

I think the floors really depend on the style you are trying to go for. I personally really like the modern or contemporary style. I think its so great being able to take an older home and make it look new. I think that a darker color for the floors would accent the stone wall more and provide more contrast. Also I would go for the wider planks for the wood.

Most of our Wide Plank Floors are installed in older homes in place of thin strip flooring. If you are concerned with warping we suggest going with a Quarter Sawn product. Quarter Sawn White Oak looks incredible.

Did you decide yet?

I'd recommend wider planks (or a mix of wider and slimmer), either solid or engineered, not prefinished, and for goodness sake don't "distress" them - let them mature naturally, like the house itself!

If you're in southern Ontario, you can't be prohibitively far from Logs End in Ottawa, who make solid and engineered flooring from old-growth lumber, originally cut a couple of hundred years ago, that they're salvaging from the Ottawa River. Gorgeous, all-Canadian, and not shockingly expensive:

http://www.logsend.com

You could also install a cheaper plank (you can even mill it from plywood) and paint them, which is also age-appropriate for the house.

Take a look at the houses in Upper Canada Village for inspiration!