Our kitchen/den is one long room. The den half has 1.5" red oak (original to the house); it was refinished just a few years ago when we ripped out the carpet. The kitchen half is laminate, the snap-together kind that looks like tile; there is subfloor underneath but the hardwood does not extend into the kitchen. The flooring is laid longitudinally, so if we put it in the kitchen it would be end-to-end with what's in the den. We have put new site-finished 1.5" red oak in other parts of the house, and though it is not a 100% exact match with the 60 year old floor, it is so close that I would not be concerned about any difference in the look between kitchen and den. My question is: if we ever do extend the hardwood into the kitchen, is it possible to leave the den floor alone, or would it HAVE to be refinished again? I am guessing the answer is that we would have to refinish the whole shebang... just hoping not...

While I am here, any opinions on water- vs oil-based finish? Our original floors are essentially bulletproof and we never see scuffs, or maybe the wood grain just hides them. Our newer floor does show a lot of scuff marks and the finish doesn't seem to hold up quite as well. I remember some discussion about oil vs water-based finish at the time we installed it and am pretty sure we went with water-based. If we do the kitchen, do we want to get an oil-based finish? (We have little kids with possible respiratory concerns, so in general I don't like oil-based anything if I can help it... it is a question of how long they would need to go stay with their grandparents while it was being done.)

Thanks!