Hi, I had a Spotted Gum Timber Floor ( 10mm Real Solid Timber Single Planks ) in a penthouse apartment for 8 years . It was pre-coated in high gloss clear from the factory . When it was laid it was necessary to have a noise reduction 3mm foam under layer ( apartments underneath building noise requirement) . This method of installation actually made the floor very quiet and it also made it a little softer to walk over . When it got any scuff marks, they just easily wiped off with a damp cloth. When I sold the penthouse, the floor was in exactly the same condition as the day it was first laid - first class. It was only ever cleaned with a steam cleaner , no chemicals whatsoever . I would certainly recommend the pre-coated polyurethane gloss finish on the real timber planks to anyone, it was great ! You can just see a glimpse of the kitchen floor in the attached two images. Good luck with your specifying . High quality surface finishes normally stand the test of time . I have added a couple of extra images of the penthouse for interest. We did the interior design fit out after buying the shell from the developer. It was a stunning sky home . Cheers LAADP

I realise this is an old post . I am wanting to do the same thing and weathered boards are not thin enough. I was also told by the distributer weathered don't guarantee if you stain them dark. What did you use in the end?

you can't beat white, it goes with everything, clean and crisp looking, my choice would be fridge top and freezer bottom, better still two separate side by side, if there's room, keep a thermometer in both to check on temp, as the ones in the appliance are usually not accurate,, and check the lights, mine are always flickering on and off when i open the door, buy one with wheels so that you can pull it out to clean

The fading black I have seen has been on manufactured plywood type cladding. It does not look good as looks uneven and patchy. When building we changed from the cheaper cladding to solid recycled hardwood shiplap. So glad we did, as it is now greying off beautifully.