Thanks Judy! The other part of my dilemma is that eventually we will be replacing the orig floors throughout the house to something more updated so not sure I want to try and match them in the kitchen. So funny how 1 change opens a whole other issue

Making the opening 3' wider isn't the problem. When two different floorings meet in your line of sight it is almost always an issue. You could consider buying a flooring that you want for your entire house and only installing this area now.

It appears that your dining/kitchen are on one side of the house. If so, that doesn’t preclude using new floors in the entry and living room.

Do the same tile in the dining and living room…the 12 x 24. You will put a rug under the dining table…honestly, I just would keep the floors one.

I think you could make an amazing space…I would do tile on the floors; grasscloth on the walls…and paint the kitchen wall the same color as the grasscloth. Sorry, I get excited about ideas….

I don’t think this look would be great for your space.

Contemporary Dining Room · More Info

Yes that's what I'm afraid of. The new opening will still be cased and will have crown and base molding in both rooms. And I love grass cloth, I don't get excited tho, just stressed that I'll make a mistake.

I agree, choose a flooring that you can use throughout the home. Hardwood would be the best aesthetically.

Hardwood throughout!

I didn’t say don’t get excited…I said I was excited for your project.

lol I meant to say it's hard for me to feel excited when I'm so worried about making a mistake! I appreciate the advice, thanks!