In my previous house when I did the kit I ended up with maple stained cabs. I brought the finisher a small table to match. One thing I never paid attention to - it was the same color as our oak floors. I was always disappointed and wish there was a contrast.

I think there should be contrast. How stark you make that contrast is up to you, but I don't think it should blend too much. Makes the room look blah, I think.

try and find mixed wood inspiration pics that feel right to you, and go from there.

I did one kitchen with very light floors, very light slab doors, generally very light palate, and it looked beautiful/fresh. I have also seen higher contrast rooms heavily clad in wood of varying finishes that also were pleasing to the eye but a completely different mood.

start with a few pictures.

thank you all for your feedback!

heidihausfrau, I LOVE your kitchen's hickory floors so much! I also love the way your kitchen looks with the rich dark cabinets with the lighter beautiful counters and that stunning hardwood floor!

Thank you so much, Lynn! You know, I never did a full reveal--just a picture here or there as part of a post. But I really love how everything turned out. Pictures don't do it justice.....

Heidihausfrau, Would you be able to tell us more about your floors? We would all love a kitchen reveal! I initially was going to go with dark wood like your kitchen but I have no window over my sink in my kitchen and I felt I needed light in the kitchen for that reason.

I am replacing my Brazilian Cherry 5" wide floors in my house and I was going to redo the Brazilian Cherry. But now I just saw your beautiful floors. Can you tell us a little more about them (Width, solid or engineered, stain's name, brand, etc.)?

There are over 10,000 photos on Houzz under the kitchen category with "alder" typed in the search box. The ones that were appealing to me had some variation in color in the planks. This pic has maple floors.
Love the hickory floors, heidi.

We went a shade darker than the cabinets on the oak floors. I love how it grounds the whole space.

This post was edited by Majra on Sun, Mar 2, 14 at 2:56

We used Chelsea Plank flooring from here in Michigan. It is a 3,4,5 inch pattern. The stain is called coffee and they come prestained from the factory. I hope that helps!

Heidihausfrau, I love the varying widths! Thank you!