My small kitchen in my small 75 year old home is getting a new floor along with the new layout, lighting and cabinets. This is a smaller budget project which adds to my dilemma. I have contemplated materials like:

1. Duraceramic (ruled out until/unless I find it for less than I've seen so far ($7-8 sf)
2. prefinished hardwood (red or white oak)
3. prefinished cork

I would like to avoid standard vinyls. The cabinets will be shaker white, the counters hopefully solid surface.

My question for you is, what do you think is best in choosing a floor visually compatible with the older flooring in the house? Trying to match the stain as closely as possible, going with a compatible but different color, or going in a different material direction entirely (ie cork)?

Although the kitchen is a separate room, in this small house the doorway is visible from the main living area and would butt up to the red oak dining room floor. That was refinished about 12 years ago, and was not stained a particular color but has aged to a nice warm shade -- and a shade that will not be quite matchable in the prefinished colors available (it doesn't see to have quite the red undertones of all the samples that I've brought home).

It also has the defects of an old floor that likely wasn't top grade to begin with (my house was an early version of pre-fab) so varying gaps between the boards etc.

so, I have been thinking that it would be better to go with either an oak floor in a brown shade, not quite as dark as chocolate, though, because the kitchen is small and only 1.5 windows. Or, cork, if I can find a pattern not too swirly or bulletin board like in a medium brown or dark golden.

I do worry whether a new prefinished oak floor, even if a different color, will make the older floor look bad.

What say you?