The Big Reveal

I've finally gotten all the pictures together for this post:) Here are some before pictures:

The area in the kitchen was used as office space for our first few years,
since our table was in the dining room

but since we never ate in the dining room
we decided to move the table into the kitchen.

The ironic part is we moved the table from
hardwood floors to carpet.

So thanks to tax return money,
a closeout deal on engineered hardwood flooring
and parents willing to install it,

we now have wood instead of carpet:

They do get lost a little because of the paneling.
We're not sure what to do about it.
The previous owners painted the kitchen white, so it is possible to paint.
I just think it would take a lot of sanding.
Plus I think to go all white might be too much.
Any suggestions?

Pictures of the process:

Under the carpet we found a layer of lovely yellow linoleum

stuck on top of the original hardwoods.