Flooring aesthetics

[LadyTang2]

My Husband and I are planning a new build. We have real hardwood floors and I'm concerned about damage over time and so I'm considering having the flooring immediately around this peninsula tank be a nice vinyl or tile.

But how can I make this transition from dark hardwood to something else look good? I would prefer it be subtle but fear it will look weird. Anyone have ideas or better yet pictures of flooring that transitions to something different near the tank that looks good?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Are you on a concrete slab, have a crawl space or a basement?

Having had a major 180g tank leak, I consider myself lucky we are on a concrete slab with tile floors. If I had a basement or crawl space, I'd consider the expense of doing a small 'dropped' floor of a couple inches around the tank and install a drain line. It isn't cheap, but then a big leak on a hardwood or carpeted floor is also expensive. And if you have a finished basement below it... yikes!