I'm sure this question has already been answered, but I don't know the proper terms to search for. I'm new to inkscape.

How would I remove an object in a photo and fill in the area from the missing object with the same as the background. For example, I have a photo of my kids in front of the Christmas tree, but across the hard wood floor right next to them is an extension cord. I'd like to remove the extension cord and then blend in the hardwood floor from around where the cord used to be.

thanks in advance

Well first, welcome to InkscapeForums!
But unless you specifically need it to be SVG or vector, that is a job which would best be done with raster type graphics programs, ie - photo-editing software (like the GIMP).

Using GIMP might be a more correct way to handle this, but it possible to use Inkscape too.

You have to create an object over the cord and use a clip or a mask to "remove" it from the photo, and use a duplicate of the photo behind the one without the cord, but I'm not sure if it will align perfectly if there are patterns, and if the lightness will match. With a mask you can use a small amount of blurring to it before masking the photo so the edges blend more nicely.

In GIMP you can use cloning tool to apply over the cord or similar.