I'd match the floor shown..kitchen? looks like 2 1/2 inch oak. for the new- pick a shade or obtain unfinished and strip and restain the kitchen to match the new, whatever shade you want. Plan B is put down new carpet for living /hall [there are good carpets/pads these days] ....and anything you want on the stairs.

no matter what new product...hardwood or carpet you place in living....that kitchen floor is going to look worse than the somewhat visible wear its showing to the surface....thats just how replacing things works..... when you look at the older area , projects expand because you gotta freshen up that surface to the kitchen floor you will find.

carpet is a logical thing for a living space adjacent to hardwood... but beware what kitchen floor will then look like...maybe its okay for a time.

3235 Discovery bay drive · More Info

Sounds like you already put the grey LVP in the bedrooms? Is this your ‘forever’ home or are you at all concerned about resale?

The reason I ask about resale is the grey is hard to pull off throughout the whole home…but if it’s your forever home don’t worry about that and best to just continue the same LVP even into the kitchen. It’s not a good look at all to have that grey LVP butt to real wood. Your better investment is to keep, continue and sand and stain the wood throughout which is/was totally doable for you. Maybe you’d consider doing that in all the public areas and then someday doing the bedrooms as well? It’s worth it to price it out both ways (new LVP or continuous wood) as you may be surprised that the LVP is not such a bargain if you have to redo subfloor, etc to do it.

What was under the carpet you pulled up in the bedrooms? Did you LVP over hardwood?

What is under the carpet in the living room, hallway, stairs? Hardwood?

You've got thin strip solid oak flooring with an oil based yellowing clear finish. You could sand it and refinish in a water-based non-yellow finish like Bonna Nordic Seal two coats sanding between and a couple topcoats of Bonna Traffic HD with hardener. It can be matched by a good flooring contractor to new solid oak flooring the same width. No one uses that today in new construction or for resale. Engineered flooring allows 7-12" wide planks like the lvp you show. And the oak you have has a prominent dark open grain. No one is using that because of the grain. Instead, you'll find every flooring store has European Oak, a species without the open grain that can be finished pale with the current water clear finishes. The wide planks show off the structure of the wood to give an attractive pattern.

Your oak floor in the kitchen is absolutely worth keeping! Last summer I ripped out LVP to put in hardwood in all our living spaces (some day I'll replace the carpet in the bedrooms).

The gray LVP does not look at all good next to the real wood, and trying to match real wood to a plastic floor (vinyl is plastic) is never going to look good.

A good flooring contractor could match your existing wood; refinishing the kitchen floor at the same time will tie everything together.

It won't be cheap, but you'll never have to replace it (LVP has the same lifespan as carpet).

I have LVP in one of my homes. I like it just fine - it offers far more utility in that beach town location that "real" hardwood did.

However even knowing that I like LVP just fine...I'd pick real hardwood over LVP in most houses in most locations.

I can't in good conscience ever recommend putting that grey LVP next to the nicer hardwood that you already have. The grey LVP doesn't go with the orange-toned hardwood. At all. The added challenge is that LVP in any color is just not going to look great next to hardwood either.

I'd put new hardwood in everywhere and call it a day.

*Editing to add the following details*

-What is under the carpet throughout the home, is subfloor.

-This may not be our forever home, but we have no plans to sell soon.

-I bought and installed the grey LVP in the bedrooms only so far, assuming the wood stuff was crap(a mistake I admit), and I was preparing to rip it up. There is extensive wear and tear in front of the sliding glass door, so I'm not convinced it was ever properly maintained.

-The carpet is beginning to tear and fray, with years of stains and has been through multiple families with pets. The thought of replacing the carpet with more carpet, makes me itch.

-I definitely recognize that the grey next to the kitchen would not look well, which is my reason for being here :)

-The only hardwood is in the kitchen/dining area; here is a better picture.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to comment, I appreciate your feedback!

First, please forgive me for saying that your LVP choice was a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, they make mistakes in multi-million dollar homes too. I’ve made mistakes in my house. I totally get that you were driven by the desire to be rid of filthy carpets in your bedrooms, but now you’ve taken a pause to think, and you have the chance to do better. I can’t really tell from the image but that looks a little like an engineered hardwood, or maybe a pre-finished hardwood in the kitchen. You may be able to refinish it, it depends on the thickness of the wood.

Your best option really is to remove the LVP you just laid in the bedrooms, and lay a flooring that matches what you’ve got in the kitchen throughout the house (except for the bathrooms). I agree with Ally, just get hardwood if it is in the budget. If it is not, go for something that matches what you are keeping.

I wouldn't go so far as ripping out brand new flooring - even if money was no object, I hate to see that kind of waste.

I also feel like bedrooms are separate from living areas, and can have a different flooring. The bedrooms are probably just fine.

I agree with AnnKH. Leave the bedrooms, they are separate from the other living space, and then get your beautiful hardwood refinished, in the rest of the house. The hardwood, is in great condition, since it was covered, and if it were my house, I would just clean it good and keep it just like it is. Its much nicer than any lvp, you will put down, even though, I do like lvp and see many using it, and it looks nice, but, it will never last as long as that gorgeous hardwood, you already have. I dont think the gray lvp matches anything in your house when looking at your pictures. It would go in my house very well, with all the black, I have on trim, and in other areas, but, it would stick out and not in a good way, in your house.

OP, thanks for clarifying.

If you can swing it, matching the hardwood will unify your house. (Very cute house too, by the way. 😊) The thought of tearing your hardwood out to replace with grey LVP makes ME itch. 😆 That grey won't match your cabinets either and will create visual tension.

If you can't afford to match the hardwood....I suppose a similarly toned lvp may work, but it isn't going to look great next to the real stuff. I personally would do carpet over lvp up next to hardwood...but that's me.

I suggest you sand the kitchen/dining hardwood floor and install matching wood for the living room and hallway. Then stain all flooring in the same colour.

One option is to remove the kitchen and dining room solid flooring and use matching engineered wood flooring for all the space. Wide plank flooring would be the logical choice if it was new construction. The cost of sanding and refinishing the existing floor makes replacing it less than you think. Diy the removal.