I think that because you have carpet on one side and the hardwood continues from the kitchen into the dining room (which will now be opening visible with the pass thru), it might be a lot of materials going on. If you have the budget for a heated tile floor, I would take that and refinish the existing floors, and update the countertops. It will change the whole look and feel!

I would agree with Immersion Design... If you have multiple entrances to the room, you might end up with too much going on between flooring. Especially since your hardwood continues into the living room. Just be aware of "hard" transitions between the rooms. Heated flooring is amazing if it works in the space and budget. That looks like a lot of area to cover with a heated floor product... which can get pricey depending on what product you use and labor involved i.e. additional electrical.

I would keep the hardwood. Look into insulating the ceiling of the carport to keep the floors warm. There are some good renew products on the shelves that will help hide the wear and tear until you are ready to refinish your floors.

well, the two separate surfaces might be a strange transition, especially if one is heated and the other one is not. I would say the current floor looks in harmony with the kitchen furniture that you have right now, the lovely contrast really makes the white of the furniture stand out. and wood generally is a warm material... the costs that would come from a heating floor...besides think of the moments the heating system wouldn't be on... the tiles get really cold then, colder than the current wood floor. so it would be a hard and expensive decision to make..

Thanks for the reply :) We are replacing all the cabinets and countertops (and appliances etc) and there is hardwood (no carpet) throughout the kitchen / dining / living room. In addition to the cool feel of the floor there are wider gaps between the boards in the kitchen area - we would have to have that part of the floor taken up anyway as we're expanding the U a bit - maybe they can improve the insulation in the subfloor somehow to control the expanding / shrinking if we go that route?

OOps! I was slow to reply there - thanks for the other responses - I think you are right - although we have cedar on our carport roof so not too easy get at from that side

We have a heated tile floor in our en suite that my husband loves so when the contractor suggested taking up the floor and adding insulation he jumped on the heated tile idea. I think your suggestion of keeping the floor and adding insulation make the most sense. Thanks!