What's your Favorite?

We are re-doing our Kitchen shortly and I have to make some decisions regarding flooring ... what color do I pick?  I am the person who agonizes over and over on things, as well as second guesses herself at every turn.  Even though I do this for a living, it is easier to give advice and recommendations to someone else, rather than myself.  

Here are the two final options:

Materials Shown Above:  The dark Cherry "Mocha" door is for the perimeter Kitchen Cabinets.  It is the color, but not the door style.  The painted wood chip sample is the color of the Island.  The Countertop color is Wilsonart HD laminate in "Cosmos Granite".  The floors shown are both vinyl plank (not your typical sheet vinyl).  This way it looks more like real wood and also a plank can be removed if it is damaged and replaced with a new one.

Option 1 Flooring is pictured above ... 

It is a traditional looking floor, which my DH says will go best with the house.  It does pick up some color in the Countertop & Cabinets (which I have on order already, so they can't be changed).  

Option 2 Flooring is pictured above:

This is more of a "grey-ish" modern color tone than the first floor.  I'm worried that it may be too modern for the house, although I like how the colors loook together ... it blends nicely with the greys in the Countertop.  But then, I still have warm wood tones in the Living Room, which is open to the Kitchen.  

This is our front entryway (the door is off to the left).  At this point, I'm keeping the stair riser and handrail stained, but I am going to paint the rest of the trim white.  Gasp!  Yes, don't paint old trim ... there are people who say this (like my relatives), but the back of the house has painted trim, the living room has a different color trim (you can see on the doorway) and I just want it all to blend.  The Entryway has original hardwood floor, with a beautiful orange tint (blech).  There is a spot in front of the dresser.  I know people don't like to cover up old hardwood, but I'm considering putting the vinyl plank here so it ties in this area with the Kitchen.  It is either that, or I stain the floor a different color.  What would you do?

This is an antique dresser I have in the entry.  It is my younger brothers, as it is on "loan" to me until he has a place to put it.  The flooring choices against the dresser make me think the floor on the left (Choice #1).

Here is the Dining Area as it is across from the Kitchen.  Notice the trim here is painted and is not "original" to the house.  Well ... the baseboard closely resembles original trim.  I showcase my new-to-me Craigslist Table and 8 chairs.  We can use 4 chairs at the table and 4 chairs at the new Island - saving me money on bar stools.  Score!

A shot of the existing Kitchen.  Note the beautiful baluster rails separating the Stove from the Refrigerator ... the beautiful soffits ... the ceiling fan ... the cabinet handles in the middle of the doors.  Oh, I'll miss it all.  :-D

Here you can see DH posing for all you ladies out there ... I told him that I was taking pictures for my blog, so he'd better move or pose.  So pose he did!  :-)  The Cat calendar is the side of the Wall Cabinet, with a wall behind it.  If I moved the box of diapers with red bag on top, you could see that the Countertop wraps around from the sink to the peninsula where the bar stools are.  You could also see that there is no Dishwasher and only 2 usable base cabinets (I use the term usable lightly).  Whoever built the Cabinets didn't take into account some corner clearances, so not all the Cabinet doors open.  Also, the Refrigerator door doesn't open all the way, as it hits the peninsula Cabinetry at about a 75 degree angle.  We are removing the wall with the Wall Cabinets and extending the Cabinets on the sink wall out to the end of the dropped ceiling / play cubes on the sink wall.  Then we will create an island at the same spot the two chairs are at, but increase the length so we'll have two more chairs.

This is the view into the Living Room. We love the open space, as Luke has a lot of room to run and play, and with the new Kitchen layout, we can keep an eye on him more when we are in the Kitchen.  Remember that I'm painting the trim on the windows, as the trim in the back is painted.  

This is a view from the front door back towards the Kitchen.  You get the full effect of some of the mess we have here.  And ... I did not decorate the walls, as I knew we'd do the Kitchen as soon as we could after moving in.  We have all of our Kitchen things ... plates, bakeware, food, etc in the bedroom on the main floor, so we wouldn't have to move stuff twice (I'm trying to be smart about it.  Haha!)  So we've been somewhat "camping" since the middle of August when we moved in.

THE NEW KITCHEN LAYOUT:  A Bird's Eye View

Here you can see the overall layout for the Kitchen.  The Refrigerator relocates to the Sink Wall.  The Stove slides down from its original location.  The island creates better traffic flow, openness and more countertop space.  Yay!

P.S.  The island will truly be one color ... I couldn't get the computer to show off the Cabinets right ... but you get the idea.  :)

Now that you've seen the plans for the Kitchen ... and seen what the rest of my house looks like ... What's your vote??  

Do you prefer .... Floor #2 (on the left) ... or Floor #1 (on the right)???