[houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] this last photo seems to be the reverse of your choice - darker cabinets, medium floor, but it gives you the idea of the 2 colours together. But for myself, I would prefer the lighter tile - unless it has a bit of pink tone in it (that could be my monitor), in which case the sandier tile. I don't think any of the choices are wrong - just whichever appeals to you the most. If you have a feeling that all med/dark hardwoods will be too dark, then make sure your space is well lit.

Go ahead and get the furniture that you like. You will most likely be using area rugs to help define areas. Area rugs also help to separate one colour/tone from another. The grays you are showing seem to read "beige" on my monitor....which means there is probably quite a bit of warm tones in both the floor and the wall colours. You can pretty much do what you want with this space...it is beige-neutral all the way. In fact...throw down some red rugs...get some colour going. And red looks AWESOME with light blond wood (very Scandinavian Modern...so much fun!). Feel free to substitute your favourite colour for "red". Red's my go-to colour when I find a space is neutral/boring. If you like green, go green. If you like blue, go blue. Have fun. Light wood with a bold accent colour/rug would certainly work in this space.

Agree - solid oak in the kitchen is great. My mom found hard wood in her 1920 house when we were kids in the 50's and 60's. in 1998 when we put her house on the market, we had to replace some of the floor in the dining room and no one could tell the difference - the 78 year old oak floors throughout the house looked just like new. (These were the days before family rooms and we lived in our home - children and animals always welcome throughout the house) Through the decades, neighbors renovated their kitchens an used different flooring, including expensive tiles (If you ever cook holiday meals - oak floors are more comfortable (especially on old knees) AND they looked great no matter what the style over many decades. I had to add oak floors in the kitchen in my home (knowing I would love them for decades. BTW we always had a houseful - Mom was the go to house for family and friends who visited.

Can you post photos of your floor?