I really like walnut. It is a beautiful and active wood with some dark and some light areas to it. I think it would be pretty with a lot of oak. If you have existing oak floors, you can have them refinished in a darker stain.

Alison Besikof Custom Designs -- We have oak cabinets in our kitchen, which also has oak floors. The floor continues into our foyer, where there's an oak baluster and handrail on our carpeted stairs. Our kitchen cabinets are staying (good height, well-made), and we upgraded to granite counters. We are planning to re-finish the oak 3" plank builder's floor -- it desperately needs refinishing after 15 years, but are torn on color. I think the walnut stain you suggest above would look great in the kitchen with the oak cabinets -- our granite has a mix of dark tones and our knobs are darker now also. My concern is if the walnut will look ok in the foyer with the oak baluster, handrail & spindles. Currently the steps are carpeted . . . we are going to replace the carpeting (or maybe replace with a runner and some staining on the exposed treads and risers.) We were hoping not to replace the handrail, spindles and baluster. Any thoughts/suggestions?

I really like it a lot -- thanks so much . . . any sort of ballpark for how much that might cost, like $500-$1000 range? I don't trust myself to do it as a DIY, but I think it's a really sensible idea. Thanks again.

My pleasure! It is hard to say how much it would be. It can vary so much by painter, region, size of project, etc. Do you have a painter you trust? Most painters would be happy to give you a free estimate for the project, so you can get a couple bids and decide from there.

We have the same color cabinets and are thinking of redoing our floor. Love the idea of darker color, but my question is would we need to replace all of the trim too? (It is the same color of the cabinets and is throughout the entire house.)

If you are darkening the floor and you currently have golden oak baseboards and whatnot, you do need to address them in the kitchen. Have you considered painting them white? It adds a bright, fresh, contemporary feel.

How deep are the cabinets--They look 14"

They are normal 12" deep cabinets. The photo may be a bit of an optical illusion because the window area is recessed.

Hi, Allison! We moved from the Chicago area 14 years ago into a wonderful, large house with light oak doors, trim, and cabinets. Our large kitchen has an island with a Swanstone teal top and blue-ish counters. The floor is an aqua sheet vinyl and walls were papered.
We are trying to downsize and have painted the walls a darker bluish teal and are looking to replace the floor. We can't afford to replace the counters. Might you have a recommendation for type of floor and color? We are trying to get the most bang for our buck. (photos are before and the new paint.)
Thanks in advance!!

When you say you are looking to downsize, do you mean you are going to be selling your house? Without knowing what comparable homes in your area have going on, it is hard to give you a great recommendation. What are the floors in the adjacent rooms? How much are you looking to spend?

They make some really lovely porcelain tiles that are very cost effective and hold up to a ton of wear. I like the idea of using one of the faux woods in a walnut color, which is a littler darker and tends to have some lighter oak-ish tones running through it. http://www.thebuilderdepot.com/redwmahog6x36.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAoJmlBRCxjKeizPHVs1ESJAC6cxjUD0urin49KJgeXLpeiKsT505V0yzopdQNCfx8RwUq6xoCl9Pw_wcB

Another nice option is to use a porcelain tile that has a warm tone ground color with faint lines of gray and blue running through it. This is a very common tile and is made by a dozen manufacturers. http://www.builddirect.com/Porcelain-Tile/Coconut/ProductDisplay_6933_p1_10081259.aspx This will pick up the little bits of blue in your kitchen but still provide a neutral base. I like either the 12x24" size or the longer planks. It is much more current than squares.

Hope that helps!

Thank you, yes, it does! It does mean we are welling! We live in a more upscale area all built about 20 years ago. The adjacent LR and DR are real Brazilian Cherry and the hall is a boring and impractical white ceramic. We wanted to be on the market in a month and are quite pressed for resources. Thank you for your help!!

You're welcome! With the cherry in the adjacent rooms, I would definitely go the route of the other porcelain tile. It is a good choice for kitchens because it holds up to spills and dropping things. So much nicer and more upscale than the vinyl you have now as well. Good luck!

Can you please suggest a hardwood floor color that would go well with oak cabinets? I am looking for a timeless color. Also, I am looking to update the counter in either quartz or granite and don't know what color to choose that is also timeless.

It depends on what kind of wood you have. If it is also oak, I would recommend Dark Walnut or Jacobean. They will give you nice contrast from the cabinets and because they don't have a lot of yellow or orange, it tones down the orange-ness of natural oak. For the countertops, it depends what you like. I tend to gravitate to whites and grays, but if you like warmer tones, you can go that route. Maybe a white with chunks of taupe or gray?

I really like your kitchen remodel. I have the same color cabinets. We are planning on switching out the countertops with Avalon White granite. We are going to update Appliances and change the flooring. I see where you recommend doing a walnut or Jacobean stain floor is there any other colors you could possibly recommend. My kitchen floor meets up with our slate foyer. I feel if we put hardwood or laminate in the kitchen we would need to change out our other laminate in the hallway and living room.

I would still do the darker stained wood with less orange in it to tone down the orange of the cabinets and in this case it would pull the darker brown tones from your entryway.

I really like you Kichten. I just got a house have the oak cabinet, baseboard build in shelves. I would like to change the countertop and backsplash for my kichten and replace the floor as well. Would you mind get me some suggestions for counter top colour and floor colour? Thank you very much!