Also, Kate,I have been searching out info on floors. I am also interested in walnut and am trying to figure out the finish....can you tell me why you chose waterlox and the benefits of this over a different kind of finish...also did you use any stain? Any other info that might help? I love your floors, your kitchen, your house!!

thanks for the compliments!

motherof3sons: i don't have links up or floorplans. just the pics, sorry.
gharborwa: i chose to use the waterlox finish since it does not give the kind of "plastic-y" appearance that you get with polyurethane. i was teetering back and forth but couldn't really decide either way. it was especially difficult to make the choice since i hadn't actually seen a floor finished with waterlox IRL.
then one day i visited a friend in her "new" old home she had just purchased. many of the floors had been replaced and poly coated. but when we went upstairs i noticed the original, 100+ year old pine floors. they were truly stunning. such a difference from the new floors downstairs. since they were in great shape the flooring guys convinced her to keep them and they simply buffed and waxed the finish.
while reading through the waterlox product pages i came across a section that mentioned a waterlox floor will give the appearance of a more antique finish. so in the hopes of having my new walnut floors somehow mimic the look and finish of my friends, i called paintsource and ordered waterlox samples. i tested a few floor boards with the waterlox and also a satin polyurethane. there was no contest. i can't tell you how happy i am to have taken the time and effort to try out the waterlox. now, just the thought of using the poly makes me a little upset! definitely get the samples and try them out.

another big sell for me: if you scratch the finish on a poly coated floor you cannot "spot" treat the area. the entire floor must be sanded over again. waterlox is absorbed into the wood and the different coats applied during application meld together. it doesn't "sit" on the surface like poly. scratches are less noticeable and if you do need to recoat, you can simply spot treat without having to redo the entire floor. sanding in between coats is not necessary so the newly treated area will blend in. see the attached link for a great video on the benefits of waterlox. you can order samples through them as well.

my floor is not stained. i chose walnut for it's color and tonal variations so i would never consider staining it. waterlox contains tung oil which somehow brings out more amber hues. the color is noticeably richer with this one additive. the samples i coated with poly were lacking in richness and merely coated the wood. -but if you did choose to poly coat your floors, you could also add the tung oil.

good luck and let me know what you decide!

Here is a link that might be useful: paintsource.net

Thanks so much for taking the time to explain all this to me! I love the look of walnut, but keep hearing that it is a softer wood and will need a little babying....but I sure do love it...I will let you know what I figure out.