This is the "before reno" photo, included so you might have some idea of my taste. I actually like the original cupboards but find them awkward & hard to keep organized. The floor (lino squares) used to be nice but it's been 16 yrs of kids & dogs... etc. It's an old house and I tend to try to make decisions consistent with the era of the house (1937) -- with some forays into modern contrasts. The specs of the new kitchen so far are:

- White-ish grey painted maple shaker cabinets. (One feature cabinet with opaque pin reed glass)

- Dark grey (sort of "wet cement" looking) Caesarstone quartz countertop.

- Some open live-edged wood shelves

- Stainless appliances

(So basically fairly simple, white, and plain).

I am changing the layout -- and have gotten some great advice about that here -- but what I really need help with now is the floor. So many options!

- groovy patterned vintage tile? (It's a relatively small kitchen -- is this still ok?)

- single coloured sheet Marmoleum in some peppy colour? (I like this stuff but hear its hard to clean?)

- Marmoleum tiles in diamond pattern to give it that kind of 50's look?

- plain grey tile accented by a cool Moroccan rug? (contractor says this means a raised floor higher than the adjacent floor... too annoying? )

- refinished the fir underflooring (my contractor says bad idea due to the fact that water will run through the floorboards. Is this really true? Can it be mitigated?)

- painted fir underflooring sealed with polyurethane?

- buy and lay down oak flooring (expensive) that matches the old oak floors in the adjacent hallway?

* My only "no go" is that I am not a huge fan of floors that pretend to be wood but aren't. Works in lots of spaces but not in my old house.

So, you see that I have been giving this lots of thought -- but have not come to any conclusions. Interested in your answers to any of the above questions -- especially if you have been living with one of these options for awhile. Give me the pros & cons if you can.

Also interested in your first impressions of what would look nice on the floor.

Cheers!