Hi codo, which did you select, light or dark wood floors? We have dark wood floors and they do show dirt a bit easier but I just love the look too much! Interested to hear what you ended up choosing!

...... sometimes even the ugliest just needs to be cleaned. A contractor turned us onto a product called Rejuvenate http://www.rejuvenateproducts.com/ This product can work miracles on anything wood. Can be purchased at Walmart to Home Depot. Read directions carefully and try on a spot first (closet floor) to see if this solves your problem. I used it on "hopeless" floors in a 70 year old house - hubby thought I had new floor installed while he was gone! Same applies to cabinets. Just sayin....

providing engineered flooring is laid correctly it will not lift. It will move but not enough to notice anything which is why it was designed with a ply back. Tiles are best for spreading heat but they also cool down quickly. Engineered flooring keeps the heat for a bit longer. There is not much in this its more the look you want?

Why don't you have an L shape and use the area under the window also for your sink and a couple of extra units? you could add shelves on either side of the window? Not sure why your fridge has to go at that end? might be best at the other end? As Sarah, suggests, get full height cupboards, and put the microwave in one of those, so that you're not losing so much space. Extra storage is probably more useful than having the microwave on display? It can easily be put on a shelf within a cupboard. (Our isn't even in our kitchen, but then we only use it once a week or so... so really depends) I'd also suggest drawers to the bottom of your units instead of cupboards.