Just a fellow consumer here, but just went through this same evaluation a couple of months ago. Two kids (13 and 11) and a dog (1 year old lab). We have laminate in the family room and it's pretty bullet proof. But we were replacing everything else down stairs and went through the wood/laminate/tile evaluation. We eventually decided on Adura tile from Mannington for the kitchen and powder room (tile look not wood) and Mirage engineered wood in the foyer, living and dining rooms. Actually swayed back and forth between laminate and wood where we eventually installed the wood. In the end it came down to wanting real wood in those rooms and we'll just have to see how it goes. My wife and I were just talking about this and had a laugh that we should have gone laminate because when the wood was just installed I had what you would call "new car" syndrome. Don't skip on the floor, don't place that on the floor, and donÂt even breathe on the floor. The anxiety issue is passing with time and we're happy with the decision and the look and feel of wood. When we get scratches (not if) we'll deal with them. Unfortunately you can't run this through an analysis and come up with an exact answer. In the end if you really wanted wood the laminate will probably be a disappointment. But, if you can't deal with the anxiety (at least initially) of wood not wearing as well then laminate may be the better choice. Our dog romps more in the kitchen and family room so that won't be seeing wood floors. We're not the most indecisive people but this took a while to finally come to a decision. A rather long post without any real direction but your not alone. Dom

We have gone back and forth on this as well- we are doing a major dining, living, kitchen remodel. We have decided to go with a beautiful wide plank engineered hardwood (French oak) from Bella cera called “Monza” bivio. It’s just light and natural and I think will look beautiful with our white cabinets. It’s a wire brushed engineered hardwood which I like more than the rustic hand scraped ones. It was very affordable at less than $4/SF. We have had a few people try to discourage real wood in the kitchen but my parents have had knotty pine floors for 30 year and they’ve held up fairly well and have been refinished twice. The only thing with engineered wood is the top layer is fairly thin with plywood underneath, so you can’t really refinish them but most wont need to be since they have a 25-50 yr residential warranty. I chose one that had some knots and grains and looked like it’d be forgiving. Some of the new lvt is more expensive but really pretty, I can just tell it’s not real wood and it feels a little plasticky and I just like natural materials. My friend has it in her yoga studio and for that application I think it’s great. The only thing I am nervous about is not being able to steam mop my kitchen and having to use wood cleaner with a microfiber mop. But I like rustic and genuine surfaces- we went with granite and are refinishing Saltillo. It’s not perfect but I’m just a natural materials person. You really can’t go wrong! But I think wood floors are always better for resale personally. The new vinyl is great though, and I would def do it in a bathroom, playroom, mud room, but don’t love it throughout the main house. Laminate is ok, but I don’t like the clickety clack sound when you walk on it, and I can almost always immediately tell something is laminate vs wood.

Thank you everyone!! This is extremely helpful. You all had the same opinion. I really wanted to go with hard wood floors, to keep the cabin feel, and with all of you agreeing, I feel a lot better about my decision. It sounds like I should go for a lighter color wood for the floors. Now I need to choose the trim and baseboard. Would you keep that wood as well? Thanks again for all of your help! This is amazing!

Hard surfaces (like hardwood, drywall, glass, etc) allow noise to bounce around = echo. That irritating 'hum' that is there all the time even though there is no one around. Carpets and soft coverings (wall tapestries, heavy drapes, large upholstered furniture, etc) absorb the 'bounce' and reduce the echo. I liken noise to a jar of marbles being released onto a tile floor. It bounces and bounces and clatters and makes a racket. It rattles down pipes (plumbing and heating) and gets into everything. Until it meets carpet. Then it sticks and never bounces back up. You have a two story opening to a mezzanine area that opens into another area for bedrooms. There is nothing to stop the noise in the air (voices, TV, kitchen, footsteps, etc) from reaching the upper level - except the carpet. It is reducing your noise levels by 1/2. As soon as you add in hardwood (or anything that is solid) your home will get TWICE as noisy. As a cork flooring expert, I would suggest cork as a noise reducer. It works very much like carpet. But buyer beware. Cork is a finicky product to live with. It fades, it dimples (dents that pop out after a year or so) it scratches. All of this can be corrected (except the fading) with a little TLC. Cork is one of the few flooring choices on the market that do what carpet does = keep the noise levels down. Rubberized flooring (extremely expensive) is the other. Cork and rubber are the only products that mimic the noise reducing properties of carpet. If you are unsure as to go for hardwood or recarpet, you do yourself a favour by removing the carpet RIGHT NOW. Live on the bare subfloor (yes slippers will be needed) for several weeks (6 weeks should be enough time to figure this out). You will find that every flush of the toilette, every TV noise, every phone conversation will be clearly heard throughout the two levels. Compare that to what you have now. Only you can decide the level of noise that is livable. I'm someone with sensitive ears. I'll take a quiet floor covering (yes...even carpet) over the noise increase any day of the week. How quiet do you find your home right now? Is it acceptable to you? Can you handle it if it DOUBLES in noise?