Did you look at any cabinet samples in the new area? I thought I wanted walnut cabinets, but ended up with oak.

Yes I have had cabinets doors out in new area, problem is I like both in room, have even thought bout dark on bottom and light on top as have seen in pictures, but that may be a little too trendy for me. More of a traditional look is what I prefer.

Very dark floors, like very light floors, are harder to keep clean and show every speck.

Some pics of the space and what you are thinking would help...also what is your countertop?

We had darker hardwood floors and hated how quickly they showed dust.

What do you want to be the star of the show? For us, we wanted it to be the granite counters. That drove all of our other color choices. As we looked through warehouses full of slabs, DW kept being drawn to the same granite (Crema Bordeaux), so we decided that is what we should go with. Once that was selected, it was easier to pick out a cabinet color that coordinated well with it. The backsplash, wall color and appliances choices were easier to make once the counters and cabinets were settled upon.

Hi, Leennp. I never heard -- what layout did you decide on, and how open will the kitchen be to the living room's nice beams and built-ins?

If it can be well seen from the living room, I'm thinking it should continue the general look, and the finished wood is a very strong element. If mostly just what is seen through doorways, then, of course...

The idea of light for uppers and wood for lowers isn't working for you. Given the size of your kitchen, have you considered, or are you doing, a nice stretch to work at with no upper cabinets? That's always a great way to open up a look, and in the case of dark cabinets lighten it up too.

Back to the floors, whether you go light or dark on the cabinets, how about doing a two-tone floor? You, for instance, could do a somewhat lighter brown floor with dark insets to coordinate with the other room.

This is, of course, an area where people can get very creative and have almost unlimited options, very subtle contrast to very strong, quiet traditional to wow. This one below is marble, but it would be easy to find a dark ceramic-type tile with some color variation in it to disguise the usual between-sweep accumulations.
{{!gwi}}

Since kitchen and living/dining are so strongly related, how about setting the tile diagonally so its lines point the way invitingly for people going both directions?

Are you committed to tile in the kitchen? Why not continue with your hickory?

No not committed to anything yet for flooring, countertops or cabinets. I did not want to continue the hickory into the kitchen because with 2 kids and 3 dogs, I want the kitchen floor as bullet proof as possible, don't want to worry I missed a spill, dogs water spilled, kits did not want to say the they spilled on floor, etc. Just don't want to stress about it, the kitchen will connect with great room on one side with 3 ft cased opening, on other side of fireplace it will be a 4 ft. opening, so not truely open between rooms due to huge brick fireplace, but more open than what original layout was. We had planned to put granite on the counters, but no decision on color and maybe that is problem. I have gone around to granite yards in town but have yet to find one that "speaks" to me, so hard to plan rest of elements when the most noticeable part is kinda up i air.

This is basic layout, but the counter bar area will most likely be a wider shape and both sides of fireplace will be consistent, there is currently a return air chase there, space is currently gutted, looking for pictures I had put in my prior thread.

I thought hickory was one of the toughest wood species out there?

If it were me, I would continue the wood floors into the kitchen. I love the way they look, and they are a lot easier of the back and feet, and I find them easy to care for. Tile goes out of style and will eventually date the project. Hardwood is always in style, and can easily be buffed or refinished. I would do a creamy painted finish on the cabinets with a soft glaze to pick up on the floor. I would suggest changing the hardwood to a diagonal in the kitchen. We have a similar layout to yours, and we did that so the kitchen did not look like a bowling alley.

Take a look at SaltLife's kitchen for a traditional look that incorporates white uppers with walnut lower cab's and a lighter tile floor.
I raised two boys with soft pine wood floors in my 100 yo victorian, but I just didn't worry about the floors, knowing that someday I was going to replace them. I've had wood floors in every kitchen since, but I do understand the not wanting to stress about them part.

I think with the size of your kitchen and the light sources you have it would be a mistake to go with all wood cabinets. They're beautiful but you would end up with a very dark space.

Here is a link that might be useful: SaltLife631'sKitchen

You might be surprised to find that hardwood in a kitchen is not as horrible to keep up with as you think. PO in this house had hardwood in the kitchen, family room and mudroom and carpet everywhere else. I couldn't believe it, the 3 rooms that would be my last choice for hardwood are the only rooms that have it. My hardwood has worn surprisingly well in the kitchen- and I am really a total slob. I do wipe up water if I notice that I've dripped (most of the time, dh is much more vigilant than I am), but I'm sure that the 2 kids don't. And we have a dog too. I put a large washable rug in front of the sink and dishwasher and that really helped for those dripping wet hands reaching for the towel. It does help that we have a medium golden brown type stain and not highly polished, so it doesn't show dirt and dog hair and doesn't have to be glossy to look good. I have been pleasantly surprised by how the hardwood is holding up to our abuse. And happy not to be cleaning stains out of grout.

Well let me ask this question then, our current house is at 1930's raised over crawlspace. So have original oak floors throughout except for kitchen. Of course 80+ year old oak floors are not the same as the site finished you have available to choose from today, or at least that is my impression. Also, the house we are remodeling is a 1970's house built on concrete slab, have been advised that with concrete slab in Louisiana, you should only put down engineered hardwood, not solid, thus a site finished floor would not be possible, are engineered hardwoods that basically all have that beveled edge between each plank as durable in kitchen as site finished hard wood? If we put down tile, all we are considering are rectified and will have small grout lines, so not so worried about grout cleaning. As for dating the house, lets face it, it was built in 1976, people will always think it is somewhat dated despite the complete gut and remodel we are doing!

I have hardwood floors in my kitchen and I love them. I wish I had gone with a lighter color as they are so dark that dust etc. shows quickly but as far as babying them...I don't!

I started out wanting tile for my kitchen, too, and had concerns about how it would be with the wood floors in the adjoining rooms. I finally opted for wood in the kitchen and I'm glad I did. There are a few dings, but it can be refinished some day. It is very quick and easy to clean. I think wood is easier than tile because it doesn't have the grout. I have a medium stain and it doesn't show dirt or dust. I have 4 kids and they aren't easy on any surface of the house. The floors aren't perfect, but they look great.

If you aren't getting a lot of natural light because of the trees, a lighter cabinet would be best. I would also go for a lighter countertop to reflect more light. If you go with a medium gray, which looks great with white or off-white cabins, you can have some contrast without going too dark.