I think it all depends on your tolerance for "close enough." It would be hard for me to live with two floors that were almost the same, but not quite. I also think it depends on how open the involved areas are. I know you just refinished the other floors, but if hardwood is what you really want for the kitchen, I think refinishing it all to match would be the best route. I did have one other thought that might help, but after looking at your floor plan, I'm not sure if it would work with all the angles. In any case, you might consider doing some sort of hardwood border around the perimeter of your kitchen, but in a darker color than your other floors. Then I think you could get away with trying to match the wood inside the border with your existing floors. If it were really close, I think the eye would see it as the same wood.

I would draw this out for you if I were on my laptop, but hopefully what I wrote makes sense. :)

Thanks, worldmom. I think I know what you mean about the border. That's a good idea. But, you're right, I'd need to think it through as to how it would work with the angle and shape of the floor. I'm usually not a fan of "close enough" which is probably why I'm having some difficulty with this decision.

I am thinking that you are on the right track. If your other floor is only a year old and you can get the same wood and the same finish, they will be identical in a couple of years, if they are not when the new one is installed.. I think the angle will trick the eye enough as the floors age together.

Personally, I think doing the floor at the angle in the kitchen will only draw more attention to it. I'd just go straight our from the bar with the divider piece and then back to running the floor the same direction as elsewhere. Assuming you can get the same thickness and width in oak floor to match the existing, you should be able to get the same company to refinish the kitchen to match very closely. You could also do something with the hutch to minimize the change if that isn't carved in stone yet?

Thanks for the ideas.

Jabelone, what I don't like about going straight out from the bar is that the line would hit toward the center of the hutch, which I feel would be odd. If I came out straight from the outer edge of the hutch, the divider would be under the area where chairs were constantly being pulled in and out from under the bar area.

Trailgirl, I need to clarify that the existing floors are actually 30 years old, not one year old. They were sanded down to the bare wood and refinished a year ago. They are red oak with a natural finish, no stain. The natural red oak samples we've seen so far are slightly different in color. And, yes, we can get the same width.

Isn't it helpful when we all give you conflicting opinions? ;o)

DW

I would suggest first having this conversation with a veteran flooring professional - have them check what you have currently installed & inquire if they have suggestions as to how to best match existing conditions. This will help drive your final decision.

You may have a pleasant surprise

gl

Jejvtr has a great idea. Call the floor guys in to have a look. Maybe they can match or have another idea.

A good floor guy can match the colors. You will be amazed.

Check them out first and if they can't do it, then we can
all brainstorm on some ideas.

No worries, we can help you make your space gorgeous!
~boxer

I see why you want to start the floor at an angle so it doesn't start or stop in the middle of any elements, but personally I'm not a fan of diagonal floor boards, especially in an otherwise rectilinear space and in an old house. The only other thing at a non-right angle is the sink, and that doesn't line up with your proposed floor. It may be worth the trade off to you, but it always bother me.

We just put natural maple in our kitchen instead of trying to match the old oak elsewhere on the ground floor. Luckily the transitions were at two doorways where a change at the threshold made sense. Your space is much more challenging. Whatever you decide, you could always use a rug or runner in front of the hutch to minimize the visual impact of the transition if you wish.

Thanks, all for the feedback. In spite of the differing viewpoints, you've helped me think this through a bit further. Mnerg, your comment about the angle of the sink really got me thinking. I kind of knew that might be an issue, but hadn't really thought it through carefully. Your comment caused me to look at a scale drawing and see how things would play out. I've added a link below.

I've already had a flooring guy look over the situation. He acknowledged that he can come close with matching the existing floor, but couldn't necessarily be exact with the color.

We had talked about the angle idea and had come to the conclusion that we didn't like the pointy triangle of existing flooring that would result from making the diagonal transition on a 45 degree angle (green on the scale diagram below), which would be the common angle for laying flooring. So, we came up with the angle illustrated in red on the scale diagram. We hadn't considered the fact that the sink WILL be on a 45 degree angle.

I definitely don't like the colliding angles that would result at the sink area. So, maybe the best option is to go with a straight divider (illustrated in purple) and continue the kitchen flooring either the same direction as the adjacent floor or on the same straight angle as the divider.

That still leaves me with the color issue... be happy with almost the same and hope that as the new floor ages it looks more like the existing floor, or abandon the hardwood idea altogether... decisions, decisions...

Here is a link that might be useful:

I would be tempted to come straight out from the bar and straight out from the wall cabinets and where they intersected put a 45 angle of some determined size. Then run the kitchen floor at a 90 degree angle to the existing floor.

What about a border?
Something tinted lighter or darker. So you can not see
the two floors do not match perfectly.

Or the last picture below shows two different directions.
It could work.
~boxer

{{!gwi}}

Thanks to all of your feedback, I think I've discovered a solution that will make sense (see link below). We could either run the wood in the kitchen on a 45 degree angle or perpendicular to the existing wood. It seems like such an obvious idea and came as a result of don92's suggestion. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful:

Well, after all of that analyzing and planning, the hardwood transition "situation" ended up determining the path we will take.

We found a pre-finished hardwood that seems to be a very close match to the existing hardwood and purchased it. I was pleased with that.

Then the kitchen construction began. The old kitchen ceramic tile was removed, revealing that the subfloor under the adjacent hardwood was not the expected height. That means that there has to be a slight height difference between the new kitchen floor (which will be ever so slightly higher) and the old hardwood (which will be slightly lower).

I guess Mike Holmes on HGTV would have said, "We need to tear all of this out and redo everything," but that wasn't in the budget. If I had known about the height difference before we bought the hardwood, maybe I would have selected a different surface. We don't want to return it and pay a restocking fee,... so the design of the transition gets even more complicated.

Now the transition will be comprised of two hardwood planks that are both slightly angled to adjust from one height to another. And, the kitchen planks have to run in the same direction as the existing hardwood. I just hope it looks OK when it's all done.