Get some dark wrapping paper.

How about using a plastic tarp. They come in a variety of sizes and if you didn't want to reuse it you could cut it to fit your floor space. They are available in a dark brown with silver on the reverse side at Lowes and Home Depot. An 8x 10 is under $9. Hope you have one of those stores where you live so you wouldn't have to order it and pay shipping fees. A local hardware store might have them too but often they only have blue or green ones.
Good luck.

Craft paper from some place like Michael's. Even cheaper than wrapping paper and comes in colors. Not the plain brown which is too light, of course.

Oh, while you have something dark brown on your floor, walk on it. Track dirt on it. Pet the cat on it. See if your husband is really willing to sweep it often.

Go to the $1 a yard section at a fabric store for stuff to wrap the cabinets in. Even if it's $2-$3 a yard, that a whole lot cheaper than making such a permanent mistake with your home. For the floor, get a sheet (or two) of masonite at the hardware store and a quart or two of paint. If you can't fit a 4x8 sheet in your vehicle, they can cut it into segments. Put at least a couple of coats of brown paint on it and let it dry for a couple of days. Then put it down and walk on it. 15 years ago, that's how I discovered that the lovely walnut floors that I wanted would be an absolute disaster with my pets and housekeeping style. Floors are always easiest to live with if they are dirt colored. Whatever color dirt you have in your area, look for something that matches, and your life will be a lot easier.

Get a dark cheap sheet at Marshalls or something and lay it on the floor?

Hmm, it almost sounds like the forum is agreeing with me on this one, lol!

Great ideas! I will definitely get something durable enough to walk on for a good week or so, that's a great point. I will admit I enjoy keeping our new bathroom clean and suspect it will be easier to keep a nice new kitchen clean, but we have to pick materials that meet us half way, we are a bit lazy most of the time.

One thing to be aware of with cork flooring is that if it is not the natural color then it is usually only stained dark on the top most bit therefore scratches and damage are very apparent. Make sure to get samples of the flooring and see how deep the color is and see how easily it scratches. As well what I found with various cork flooring is that some of the different patterns are actually a very thin veneer on top of more standard cork backing. If you ever plan to refinish the cork then it may not be an option with some of the choices.

Thanks, athomeinva! I'll take a closer looks at the samples. Can you explain what you mean by patterns? The samples they send out at the nugget texture, which is what is pictured for all the colors on the website. I assume the striped one might be a veneer, not sure about nugget and traditional.

Post a picture of your kitchen as it is now and an example of the floor color you are thinking of and I will photoshop it for you.

By pattern I mean the more exotic style of cork, for some brands any cork that does not look like a standard cork board may be a thin veneer. I had tons of samples from various companies at one point but did not have any from Globus so cannot tell you anything about their tiles. A solid cork tile should have the same pattern on the bottom as it does on the top.

Does he cook alot in the kitchen? I ask because this issue is totally diff if you are the cook v. kitchen lounger. ;) Even if you make it dark, he may find he likes it, "Oh this is cozy like a den." lol It is not until you actually try to cook in that dark space that it may bother him...

DH does a good portion of the cooking and dishes, so I've been trying to pry some preferences out of him and trying to show him what they would mean in the space.

Oldbat2be, thanks for offering! I'll post a few pics and you can use whichever one you think is best.

I also have an email in to Globus about the veneer. I tried to scratch through the darkest sample I have, and it was surprisingly hard to do! Though it was easier to make dull spots that stood out. I also asked about UV resistance in the finish.

The only two pics I have with floor and cabinets, I can take another view if you prefer.

Globus cork Maple tiles, they read a little lighter on the screen than the sample, but pretty close.

Bellmont 1900 series Maple with Java stain for cabinets

Hi williamsem,

The floor is the globus cork maple, but the cabinets are just colorized.

Best,

oldbat2be

Williamson- on the road so cryptic. Do u know anyone who can photoshop ur kitchen. Otherwise, the dark sheet is a good idea. Glad ur making progress!

Ooooh, thank you Oldbat2be!

I actually do like those two together, but I still need to find something this weekend to mock it up larger scale. I just want to make sure it doesn't look like a cave at night! And see how dirty the floors look, though I suspect the swirls will camouflage some.

I did find out that the nugget texture, seen above, is a veneer. Only the regular looking cork is solid pattern. And the colors do sit on top for the most part as cork doesn't absorb liquid much. I may need to take a field trip to one of the public places they posted that used their tiles. With no kids and no pets, our floor won't get too much abuse, but I don't want to regret that big a choice later.