What a hard decision. I would like to have hardwood everywhere but my DH would be concerned about hardwood in the Kitchen. So, if it were our house, we would do the tile in the Kitchen/Dining area and wood in the Living Area.

(This is just what I would do; I would hate to influence someone else with such major decisions!)

I'm sure that it will look great either way!

Good luck,
Necia

Wood everywhere. We had it in our last house - in the kitchen too - for over 20 years. Three kids, pets, etc and no problems.

I'm not seeing travertine/tile with your brick.

I love wood everywhere - warmer and softer look/feel. My wood floor in kitchen has held up wonderfully through tons of dropped items from kids (& me!) and it's just standard oak.

Wood everywhere. You can always use an area rug to section off the living room. I agree that tile might compete too much with your brick.

Thanks for the responses..I'm going to go with wood everywhere which was my initial idea. Now for color choices..I'm thinking Sandcastle with my Knotty Alder cabinets just a little darker than floor. Granite is New Vene. Gold and last is my rooster that is going behind my Thermador rangetop.

1. Sandcastle
2. Onyx Oak
3. Integrity

Definitely wood everywhere, IMHO it is better to stay consistent with flooring in more open floorplans. We have a handscraped 5 inch hickory everywhere on the main floor (kitchen included) in a stain with a reddish tone similar to the Integrity (unless its my monitor, but it looks a bit red to me), but we have cherry cabinets, cream/gold/black/bronze flecked granite and copper sinks so it ties in. If your cabs are alder, I might be more inclined to go with Sandstone.
As for a wood floors durability? This floor is indestructible. We have never had issues with scratches, nicks, marks, anything. I have pulled large furniture over it (oops!), dropped numerous items, various children have abused it, large dogs, etc. still looks amazing, plus hides dirt when people track in:)

Love the Integrity Brown. I hate to throw something else at you to think about, but have you seen the tiles that look like wood? They look just like planks of wood. They are beautiful and very easy upkeep! They come in several colors!

Different monitors do indeed present different colors. That in mind, I personally prefer Onyx or Sandstone. Note that Integrity appears to be a much warmer golden with subtle reddish highlights. If your decor is going to be in warm tones -- gold, oranges, warm beiges, brown, etc, it would look better with Integrity. However, if your primary decor will be in the cool tones [blues, greens] then Onyx would conform. To me, the Rooster looks best with Sandstone first, Onyx second.

teach2007: Are you talking about the Metroflor Vinyl Planks?

Yes, the Ingegrity has more reddish tones, I have been leaning toward the Sandcastle.

Thanks everyone for your input..it really helps to bounce ideas on people other than DH: he has no decorating ability.

I like the first or third and love, love, love, your rooster. Beautiful.

Intergrity Brown. Viewing your choices on my monitor, I personally prefer the red tone to the yellowish tone of the first. It also seems to have the nice dark highlights of the 2nd floor.

Amfritcher,
No, what I'm talking about is not vinyl. They are ceramic tile planks that look EXACTLY like wood. A friend of mine has them in her house and she LOVES it! Several people are putting it in homes in our area.

I vote Integrity, too. Your rooster is gorgeous!

I am too for all wood, what a nice layout. I like the integrity but I would make sure the wood matches the brick/ grout over a preference of like. That way it all flows. Good luck_nice rooster!!

Integrity brown is my favorite. My New Venetian Gold has red garnet flecks in it and I assume yours does too. Any gold or red tone would be beautiful

It looks like you are getting prefinished wood. Read the manufacturer's recommendations for using it in a kitchen. If it is just a wood layer on top of a compressed wood product, then it is not supposed to be used in a wet area because the underlayer will warp if it gets wet (i.e., water seeps between the cracks--water doesn't have to be on the floor very long for that to happen) and the underlayer won't flatten out when it dried out. We have site finished hardwood floor and had a leak under our kitchen sink. Although the leak only left a 3'x2' puddle on the kitchen floor, the water got into the cracks and the warped area was really 12' x 3'. Since it was a solid quarter sawn oak floor, the wood flattened out when it dried (it took at least 6 months for that to happen), but if we did not have a solid wood floor we would have had to replace a big chunk of it. Good luck.