What became fairly obvious the last time we were up at the farm was the pressing need to put down the finish floor in the kitchen. Typically such projects would be cast aside since they areĀ finish and thereforeĀ critical to form–not function. But here the case is a bit different. Since we want the kitchen cabinets to lay atop the flooring, we need to get it down before the cabinets can go in, before the plumbing can be finished off and before anything can be moved into the kitchen in order to make room in other areas.
So what flooring to get? Tile and linoleum, while both wonderful flooring materials and would go well in a kitchen installation, were put aside due to the condition of the subfloor. The kitchen annex uses rough-cut planks and even though they work wonderfully and sit well, we would need to put down another layer of subfloor under either tile or linoleum to form the rigid substrate that tile needs and the flat substrate required by linoleum. As much for the lack of alternatives as for the ease of installation, we opted to go with a solid pine floor.
Pine is certainly not the hardest of hardwoods and will give into scratches and wear, but the farm is, after all, a farm. We came upon just what we wanted at a local stone and wood supply 
store, Stonewood. The Knotty Pine came in a variety of widths; and based on the old farmhouse look we envisioned, we purchased it in 10″ with shiplap groove. While shiplap may be more work than tong and groove flooring, I felt that it was more traditional, offered more options and tighter joints. Only time will tell us how my predictions yield.
With any luck I will have some photos of the floor laid down within the next week. From there we will also need to consider the wide variety of finishing options that are available for pine including paint, stain, stencil, etc.