Even if you cannot do it right away you must have some idea of what you would like for a countertop. I think you should try to imagine that before you choose tile. I prefer the look of D but I would like it in a warmer gray.

I'm thinking a dark, solid quarzite for the countertops, but I'd take suggestions on the whole package too. I know the cabinets are outdated but don't like destroying something that is still functional. I'd rather not paint the cabinets because they have a beautiful grain and I always feel a little sad when that gets painted over.

B and C are the calmest, so most likely to go with any future choices.

Try placing the samples under your kitchen chairs--I think B would look best with them.

If you are planning to eventually stain the cabinets darker, then I would plan on a solid light countertop, and fairly light floor. Find a tile with minimal variation that will blend well with your wood floors and eventual color of your cabinets. I think you need a tile with a little bit of warmth, like A and D, but not that busy.

So, in the meantime,yiu are refinishing the kitchen cabinets? And what are the plans for the stairway, and the rest of the oak?

It doesn't have to be done at once, just need to know the eventual plan.

Wow, so it appears like there are two camps: The A&D camp and the B&C camp. Unfortunately I'm now a little more confused than I was to start out with! Sophie - I really do like slate but was afraid the dark would be too much for the kitchen to handle. Anyone have other thoughts?

Why don't you post some pics of inspirational kitchens you love and the overall effect you want to achieve? I understand the need to replace the flooring now, and you want everything to be cohesive. So lets start big picture and then choose the smaller projects, starting with the flooring.

Personally I like A - hides dirt and is neutral.

A and D are way too bust. I'm in the B C camp.

I agree extending your hardwood would be great. But if you are set on tile I would go with one with less variation than all these in a warm gray. Large rectangular tiles in an offset pattern would be my preference to square. But that"s just my personal preference. Go with your gut and good luck!

After looking at your pic again, have you considered painting the cabinets a warm white? Then you could do the slate floors you love.

I really like this kitchen... do you think it would work for me?

Very nice inspiration picture. I too would go with A or D for the floor. They would not show the spills and dirt so jaringly. Good luck!

That kitchen only works as an inspiration if you remake all of the rest of the home now. It is a ''landed from Mars'' look plopped into the surroundings of the rest of the house.

Your choices need to integrate with the existing home's elements.

I think the inspiration photo of a good start. You like clean lines, warm wood. So A or D would work.

Tile A is the closest to your inspiration picture, and will look even better when you darken your cabinets. Try the tile up against your hardwood to be sure it looks okay there, also.

Alright folks, so after four rounds of going to the store and picking up sample tiles of various shapes and colors, I think I'm really liking this dark blue/ dark grey/black limestone - particularly the way it feels. I like the contrast that it provides to my cabinets. Thoughts?

An alternative is a square slate (16*16 or 12*12), with slightly lighter greys and blue tones. (I didn't put these tiles out in the kitchen for show).

wow, these are really different from the grays you started with!

I like the last photo, in part because it's a bit lighter, and in part because it has nice movement -- if you're likely to go with solid colors for cabinets and counters later, then this would be a beautiful floor to go with that approach.

Is the lighter slate like D? I can't say much more without more photos around.

I like the bottom ones

C but you need to change the wall colour too .

SO MANY PROBLEMS!! DO NOT USE TILE!! any flooring you choose needs to go under your dishwasher, fridge and stove. Otherwise when you try and pull them out they need to go over a lip. Tile is thick. If you don't put it under your dishwasher you will not be able to get it out to change it without taking the entire counter off. If you take your dishwasher out now to put tile under it you will not be able to fit it back under the current height of counter. The only other alternative is to remove all your lower cabinets, tile under everything, then put them back. Your house looks quite old and beautiful. But with that you may want to ensure that the subfloor of your kitchen is in good enough shape for a new floor on top. There is also a good bet that your floor and joists are not even strong enough to support the weight of tile. And unless you know about structural engineering, you need to pay for a professional opinion. I suggest you look at vinyl planking in lieu of tile.
Furthermore you really do need to go get some gel stain, do the minimal sanding required and decide exactly how much darker you are going to make your cabinets. Because the gel stain is going over your existing colour it will not come out the exact colour on the can. Without a final cabinet colour you are making an expensive stab in the dark you are sure to regret. And you cannot possibly make a good decision on a shade of flooring that will flow from your reddish oak to unknown new darker cabinet. While the work of a reno can be piecemeal the overall plan must first be in place. And in this case the plan begins with deciding on final cabinet shade. Living without a kitchen floor is no hardship whatsoever.

A. It goes with your wood, warm tones

D

I agree with quarks. Until you are ready to do the entire kitchen top to bottom, I wouldn't do tile floors. What's the time estimate on that? Maybe do Vinyl as a temporary solution for the current floors, so it's easy to remove later. We did a temporary floor in our main kitchen area, which will not be redone for another year. Our new house is old and need a lot of work, so we are doing one section at a time. The kitchen floors were horrible and although the were in semi good condition, we just couldn't look at them anymore, but not ready to do it all just yet. So we just used a temporary fix for now over the existing floor.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion. Just as an update, I went with the black limestone tile and love love love it. I understand that it's a little dark for some tastes, but it suits us! Sophie - I went with the white countertops as suggested and am glad I did.

It's always nice to get an update, thanks! I'm glad you're loving your new look :-)