I would choose tile over cork. But, have you considered just making it even and matching the rest of the floors? Make it one huge room?

Thanks for your comment Jeannie. I had considered doing red oak to match the rest of the floors, but my aunt who is an interior designer said it would look like a "fix" and not match well enough.

The red oak hardwood was just refinished and I think it would be difficult to match it, no? I suppose if we got unfinished red oak and then used the same products it should be pretty close.

We had a company come in and do the main floors. They did a good job, but it reeked in the house for a over a week even though they said they used low VOC. They even said we didn't have to leave but I'm glad we did because it made my eyes water.

After lots of reading blogs and forums today, I leaning back towards using FLOR carpet tiles, but less expensive ones than what I had originally been looking at.

What do you think?

I would try and replace it with hardwood. Hopefully the company that did the refinishing would be able to give you a good match. You could place an area rug in the new area and I think it would be lovely. The same flooring always looks best and makes the rooms flow and the area appear larger.

It diesn't have to match EXACTLY, since the seating area is sunken, or am I seeing the photo wrong?

I would try to continue the hardwood. If you get the right craftsman on board, it will make all the difference. In my years of remodeling and building my personal home, I've found that some workers suggest the easiest fix, first.

We had hardwoods added to two rooms that butted up to two other rooms. There is no problem matching stain or wood. Individual pieces of woods are always unique so an exact match isn't an issue. A good installer/finisher will work with the stain to get it right.

Otherwise, you'll have the same patchwork quilt effect that you have now...hardwoods are the best option to make your space flow.

Thanks for your replies everyone. I am having the floor refinishers come by next week to give a quote on extending the hardwood into the inset area. He said that will have no problem matching the color. Just hoping it's not too expensive!

I would choose another carpet unless you live in a hot climate, then tiles are good.

We're in Colorado so it's both hot and cold.

chookchook2, can I ask why you think another carpet is best? Just curious because everyone else thinks it should be hardwood. I'm totally open to all points of view.

All hardwood, and then covering it with a rug, is just another trend that sheep follow. If you want sheep, just get a wool burber. Otherwise, do what is most comfortable to your feet, or whatever suits your taste.

Depends on what you would like. If you are selling in the near future, put hardwood, but get good references for the matching. Otherwise go with your personal taste. For elderly and disabled, continuous hard flooring is best. From an environmental , passive solar point of view, sunny areas can be used as a heat sink by using stone, thick tile or brick paver floors, which can be continued outside for an inside outside look that visually expands the room. The masonry acts as a heat sink during the day which releases the heat for a while at night, reducing heating bills. In Summer, shading is necessary on the windows. Some architects are using internal masonry walls for the same reason. Thing about floors, there are so many options out there, have lots of fun choosing!

chookchook2, never thought about stone or tile floors acting as a heat sink! Very cool.

Been looking into stone. I think Travertine could look nice in there, plus would be acting like a heat sink as chookchook2 pointed out. It also has a warmer feeling under the feet than most stone.

Are there any other stone or tile options that I should be considering?

Lightly considering a penny floor too but I am wondering if it's a fad and people 20 years from now are going to say, "What were they thinking?" I do think they look beautiful though.