You could also try a straight line from the upper right corner of the perimeter counter, underneath the island bar and over to the fridge to keep the wood continuous into the dining room.

I would love in the dining area. But I still have two little ones & they spill from time to time. I think they will be the two using the island seating the most, too.

Ugh, this is frustrating.

We have wood flooring in our rental right now & our kitchen table is on the wood. There is a rug & they do have spills, but the wood floor finish is very durable, so they haven't damaged it (well, & I clean up their spills immediately when they happen). However, our flooring will be site finished in the new house, so I am worried a bit more about the durability & finish.

Have you thought about the tile that looks like wood? Comes in different colors and I think it would be complimentary to hardwoods but it will have the durability of tile. Just a thought.

Slob here also, with kids who are also slobs.

Wood with a good finish is fine. A little patina has to be expected, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Agree with doing either all wood, or pushing back the tile line into the island. I would not like a dining room with that tile, nor a rhythm of wood/tile/wood.

Don't plan finishes that are expensive to change based on having little kids. Use an inexpensive rug under the table. They will grow up. It's also not a bad idea to have things that are not indestructible around kids. It teaches them how to take care of things. Kids I knew who were surrounded only by things that were hard to damage are hard as hell as everything as adults too, they never learned to be careful with anything.

What about something like this:

All excellent points! Thank you! Maybe I will keep the wood & just line the floors with heavy-duty plastic when I cook big holiday dinners! :-) Kind of like Bee's (I think it was her) lining the marble with plastic wrap!

You might be able to get away with doing something different directly in the area between the range and the island.

Localeater - the part you have outlined in wood is the part I think I will cause damage to the most!

If I do all wood, I think I will just keep a super absorbent & lined rug under the sink the majority of the time & plan out my big meals better so I am not wreaking havoc I there. Or just get those meals catered!

Palimpsest - excellent idea! That may be the answer I was looking for! It won't be readily visible but will serve the exact purpose I need! Now why didn't I think of that?

We are slobs and hard on stuff, have a kid, two stinky doofus dogs and cook a lot from scratch, and we love our wood floors, which are 4" white oak, nothing special. However, we didn't poly, they are oiled and as it's a "living" finish, it can be touched up if need be. We have had a few dark spots around the butcher block and stove, but a light sanding and reapplication of oil and they look good as new. Having had oiled floors I would never go back to poly, they scratch too easily.

Good luck.

sandyponder

wishi,
I actually have a house with a similar floor plan to yours and faced the same quandary, though I was more concerned with our entry way, than the actual kitchen. I am not a messy cook, the opposite actually, but I do have a husband, sons, dogs, and annoying chickens that wander in if I leave the door open. The picture I linked is one I had saved as a possible alternative to doing wood in the kitchen and entry. I also couldnt find a may to make it work.
Here is a link to a post where I posed similar questions and got great advice and ideas. I am actually going with something very similar to leelas4's picture toward the bottom of the link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Localeater flooring help

You guys (gals) are awesome! Thank you! Who needs Xanax when I have you all to lean on?

Local eater, those beams are amazing! Can I come stay with you for a week? I dream of having "annoying chickens that wander in"! What part of the country are you in?

I have wood floors and have for years. In my former home, I had white oak and in this house I have hand-scraped hickory. I have loved them both, but I will tell you that the hand-scraped hickory hides any flaws, spills, blemishes, whatever, that may occur. I think you will be happy with something with a less smooth finish. They are beautiful and very easy to care for.

I have pine floors which are very, very soft. I've put an indoor/outdoor rug between the range and island. You can't even see it fro mthe rest of your house. If it gets messy, we can take it outside and hose it down. The ymake some great indoor/outdoor rugs these days. You want to consider that for the dining room.

I would do all wood. The oak will wear alot better than my ine and get some type of gel mat for those heavy duty cooking days.

I have a polypropylene rug in our dining room now. It was a cheap (but nice) Overstock find. It is awesome! I think I may just consider doing that. In that space & see how I go with it.

gharborwa - I have a strong preference for the smooth white oak, but thank you for the suggestion!

We also have an oil rubbed floor (Brazilian Cherry) and I love the finish. We have a 70# dog (with a beard that holds and drips water) and two busy boys and although it does scratch you can barely see them - like sandyponder said you just rub with oil and they blend right in. The finish was distinctly different as laid but I am used to seeing no shine now and I really love it. It's an option if you are worried about that kind of wear.

I don't have wood(tile) in the kitchen but how about old reclaimed (barn) hardwood ? Looks great no matter what unless you are looking for a more formal kitchen.

What about a tile in the kitchen with a tile border, to imitate an 'area rug' look? I just saw it done where the homeowner was trying to merge two different types of flooring, and it created a nice intentional-looking border. Let me see if I can find a pic...ok, see below.

In this case, it was two types of tile, but the idea is the same.

Edited to add: I think in that case you could end the tile wherever you want to, so it could cover your whole kitchen floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tile rug with border

This post was edited by kristinbw on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 21:50

We are very messy cooks, and find our wood floors (natural color site-finished oak with poly finish) to be pretty sturdy. If you are worried about the sink /stove area, we use a 60' bathroom runner in front of our sink/dishwasher. They type with waterproof, non slip backing..... It catches all kinds of mess and water and we throw it in the washer regularly. Cheap and easy. In your lay-out, it wouldn't even be seen from the family areas. We do sometimes hide it when entertaining.

Easy peasy. Go with all wood (definitely more comfortable than standing on tile) and place a runner along your island in your work zone - between the island sink and the cooker.

that's exactly my setup and I drip like crazy! a Target runner that runs about 8' works perfecty! Blends in w/ my decor, is slightly more comfortable than standing on the wood floor, and it catches everything. A quick vaccuum with the carpet head and it's good as new. $30/runner and I'm fine to replace if I have a major smelly spill.

My friend put a pre-finished rustic hardwood floor in her very fancy, smanchy house (I had serious doubts when she did this) and it looks wonderful!! She actually didn't put it in her kitchen and used tile instead because she was afraid of the same things you are.

Fast forward 7 years....her tile is horrible, grout has cracked numerous times, etc. She found her same hardwood and is going to replace the tile with it because it holds up so well and looks great. The best part of it looking rustic is that most "accidents" blend right in and add to the patina and character.

If you are using finish on site hardwood, one trick that our friend (who is a flooring contractor) suggests is to change direction of the wood when entering a new room (in your case, approximately where the green line is drawn). That way, he says, you can more easily refinish a room, if needed, without having to refinish the entire space.

I think you'll regret anything but wood, and, like phylhl said, runners are cheap.

We installed a natural hickory floor throughout the main part of the house. It is not hand scraped, but has the knots and light and darker wood. I am sloppy in the kitchen and have a mat in front of the sink, but never even opened the one I bought for another area. I simply look the area over after I'm done cooking and cleaning up & make sure there are no "big" spills on the floor. It's been 6 months and I haven't had a problem. We do have scratches from our 2 dogs, but they are only visible if there is a glare on the floor and only because I know they are there. I love having continuity between the dining & kitchen area. Previously we had carpet in the dining room and vinyl in the kitchen & I always hated the transition. I would think a lighter oak color would work too.

I qualify as a S____ in the kitchen - Hardwood floors but does have a poly coating on it. Everything just wipes up and looks brand new. We kept our floor with the remodel and multiple responses on our lovely new floor and that was before the latest sanding/coating.
Not my mother's hardwood floors....