Unfortunately we dont have the funds to install hardwood throughout. So we will either install carpet or vinyl next to the kitchen honey oak floors. we will remove the existing carpet upon closing on the house and need to install floors asap to move in. Im trying to make a decision but of course everything I read says wood + vinyl is awful. How do I make it less awful?

Wood + vinyl is not awful. My first floor is oak excep for the kitchen/mudroommud room/half bath which is Mannington Adura Manhattan in White Iron. The The kitchen openings are against the wood into the living room and dining room.

I really like homes with hardwood throught out and then vinyl or something different like tile in the kitchen! I wish that was our scenario honestly. I should have clarified that LVP + hardwood seems like a controversial topic with many people saying to avoid.

Wood look LVP doesn't look good next to real wood. That accentuates the artificiality of the LVP. Vinyl like cathi33 is referring to can work because it's not trying to look like wood. There is vinyl that is meant to look like tile. Would something like that work for you? For instance, in a MCM or rustic home, a slate look would work. In FL and the SW tile is commonly used throughout instead of wood. Or - carpet doesn't last very long in high traffic areas, so maybe you could install carpet for now and save up for hardwood when it's time to replace it in 5-10 years (your mileage may vary)?

As long as the fake flooring doesn't try to look like wood, it's fine, but I agree that real wood makes fake wood look even more fake. So maybe just go for carpet again, and try to get something durable. Natural oak goes fine next to a host of colors, so you could do gray, or tan, or olive, or a nice blend...

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you're right, real wood next to wood-look LVP does look horrible.

Since you are on a time crunch, (do you have the funds ? can you save for the funds?) I'd do a cheaper carpet for now to hold you guys over until you can do it right.

don't waste money on the LVP. take those funds and keep adding to them until you have enough to redo (or, just scratch the kitchen floors altogether and get whatever wood floor you want)

The oak floors in the kitchen are fine. they have yellowed w/time because of the topcoat.

If you want to keep them and try and add on to the rest of the flooring, you need a good floor refinisher to come in and sand it all down to raw wood, lace in the same species and size in the other room, and stain it all at once so it matches. This newly done floor should last you 50 years.

So look at it like that. yes it's more money, but you will never have to redo your floors as long as you live there. and it will always be in style. (unlike the LVP which has a short lifespan, and will be the Formica of the 60's.)

lacing in new oak w/old oak.

if you can't do exactly the same size, you'd get as close as possible. they'd run a transition to seperate the two so you wouldn't notice

they you'd pick a stain color

This is an older red oak floor refinished. older wood refinshes beautifully if done correctly

Or, if you like the LVP, then take out the old wood in the kitchen and use the same LVP there, or do some type of tile.

Or save up for all wood.

those are basically the best choices

Replace with carpet - if you can swing it to save the funds for all hardwood in the next 5 years, you can go with a cheaper carpet. Your oak floors would look great with many browns, sages, warm greys, combination carpets...the selection is almost endless.

Based on the kitchen cabinet details that are peaking through, I'm guessing your kitchen (if not the whole house) is from the early 1970s.

There is a chance that you actually have hardwood flooring under the carpet. If you do, then you want to refinish the hardwood if you can afford that.

That floor should be easy to have installed in unfinished and site done to match. Haste mkes waste always and in this case slow down and do it right and the kitchen is fine as wood.

I would love to stumble on to surprise wood flooring under the carpet. But I get the sneaking suspiscion that the kitchen and foyer are wood because they couldnt affoord to do the whole house in wood flooring. To be honest, with the amount of work this house needs and the current housing prices, we may never have the funds to floor the entire house in wood flooring. My husband likes carpet so its not a terrible alternative but I do like the ease of cleaning lvp!