Depends on where else the floors are. If the dark floors work well with your living room furnishings...do that. If a lighter tone works with the rest of the house...there you have it. Please do something better than the sample with the backsplash, OK?

Entire main floor will be hardwood. Furnishings are all pretty much neutral colors. Wide open concept floor plan and there will be a large stone fireplace. I just wanted something that went with the cottage/woodsy theme. I guess its just a personal preference, I've seen everything on Houzz from very light almost white washed to really dark walnut on the floors for the "cottage" look. Thanks.

Beautiful cabinets. Wait and see what designers say. I say stay with a color similar to the cabinets. From many pics on houzz I have seen where cabinets and floor match looks great. Otherwise other choice would be a very dark color, not cherry.

Lighter will be a bit easier to care for. They will show dirt and dust and footprints much less than a darker shade.

I usually wait on the color choice on the hardwoods until the cabinets are in. Have your builder put samples of stain on the floor next to the cabinets so you can see how the light in the room affects the floor and cabinet color. When deciding, remember that the hardwoods will be in more areas than just the kitchen. I would try to find a color that compliments but don't try to match the color. Another idea is to have your builder install a couple rows of a hardwood in the openings between areas that will be stained a different color to be used as a transition and then select a new color for the adjoining room. for example ... Natural stain on white oak in the kitchen, couple rows of Brazillian Cherry between the kitchen and the next room stained natural then a different stain in the next room (Provencial, Early American, etc). Just be sure to have a definite color difference between the rooms.

I think I'd go quite light for the floors with those cabinets.

A natural finish on oak or a slightly darker a stain would give a nice contrast with the cabinet color. The dark cabinets would compliment the darker grain and the knots of the natural oak.

If you decide to go with a darker floor than the cabinet color is, the floor will be start to get pretty dark. If you have a large kitchen that could work. I would then go with lighter counter top and back splash for contrast.

Thank you Ginger25! It may be lighting, but I think mine turned out darker (see below) they were custom cabinets from Spradley Cabinets in Ashland, AL., and all the paper work says "custom, distressed and glazed" but I know the floor color they said would match was Min Wax Provincial.

Remember that other than natural or very dark, a stain on oak floors will create a lot of motion with the enhanced grain. Have you contractor use a filler or pre-stain sealer to reduce that effect, then you can chose any complimentary color.

Very pretty cabinets.

Your cabinets look very similar to what we put in last year, both in style and in color. We didn't do hardwood, went with porcelain tile. Not only the cabinet color but the counter and to a lesser extent the wall colors and backsplash will have an impact on how dark the floor should be. We went with a tile that is a lighter color than the cabinets. I would tend to lean more towards a lighter stain on the floor. If you do decide to go darker then the amount of lighting might need to be adjusted upward to keep the room from getting too dark.

The house is deep in the woods, so we wanted to go with a slight rustic look. I would have preferred just natural oak floors, but the husband wanted something really dark, so we compromised the floor is a little lighter than the cabinets. There are not many kitchen cabinets and the 7ft island and the sideboard are a like an olive green color, the room is over 25ft in length, so I think it works.

I like the look of the 3 colours together: mid-tone counter tops (I assume that is a polyurethane/urethane finished counter top) + stained cabs + mid-tone/light oak. I've seen country homes in Europe with this style kitchen. Very chic/casual.

Thank you! The sideboard is the only thing that has a wooden surface - it was the cabinet builders idea to make it look like a piece of furniture rather than a built in. Everything else has a neutral brown/black granite w/iridescent flecks in it. The builders wife was suppose to be the "professional designer-decorator" ... that was a joke! I did the best I could with the help of everyone on Houzz. Excuse the mess, the Sideboard is off the pict to the right, still need a table and cushions for the banquette.