Anyone?

One of the main reasons most pros do not recommend wood in the kitchen as there is really no sure fire way to protect it.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Thanks very much for your input.

It was a tough decision. It's an open concept kitchen attached to a dining/living hall area that covers half of the apartment. The dining/living/hall area already had hardwood. When I wanted to increase the footprint of the kitchen, the best option was to continue the hardwood into the kitchen so that there wouldn't be a flooring transition where the old kitchen footprint was.

Having wood in a kitchen of a half bath comes with the risk of potential floods.

Theres not much you can do to protect yourself. If theres a small leak you can sand the area and refinish but a major flood youre going to end up ripping it out. You could finish all 4 sides of each plank b4 installing.
But it doesnt matter if you have 1 coat or 10 coats of finish. Wih enough time any standing water WILL penetrate the wood.

Water alarms under the sink DWand fridge, flood safe supply hoses, and brand new high quality 1/4 turn shut off valves that get exercised once every couple of months is about as ''preventative'' as it gets for keeping water damage at bay.

Thanks for the input folks :)

Great ideas hollysprings :) . Dh installed new quality valves, and we will use a water alarm.

Done lost of solid hardwood in kitchens...it works...it looks great, but you just have to love the concept and realize that usual floor cleaning methods have to be adjusted.