As far as butcher block goes, you can either seal it or treat with tung oil. Your best bet would be to use an overmount sink with a standard bead of silicone under the edge to seal it. Wiping up spills immediately will help preserve it. As far as floors go, you may want to have a mat near the sink to stand on but other than that, the floors should stay in good condition as long as you care for it properly.

You can also use Salad Bowl finish :-) its food grade.

Thanks for the fast answer :)

Is the butcher block O.K. as a countertop for a built in gas cooktop or does it get damaged by the heat being so close? Thanks!

The heat from the gas cook-top is contained in each burner and should not effect the counter at all.

Thats some flooring wisdom right there :-)

I was told that I would not like my finished original wood floors in my kitchen--had them refinished six years ago and I still love them. Easy to care for and shows less dirt than any other flooring.

Do you need solid wood to make a butcher block or it is OK to use laminate wood? Sorry if the answer is obvious. I live in a country where it is not common to have butcher blocks. They use here marble or quartz or other stuff, but almost no one uses wood countertops in the kitchen. That's why I need to get all the information on my own. I asked about solid maple wood here, and it looks like it is very expensive, but there are blocks of laminate maple wood at reasonable prices.
Thanks a lot!