Our friends have vinyl planks (wood look) in their entranceway & love it. We had Pergo professionally installed in a staircase about 10 years ago, and it did not hold up well at all. When DH put in laminate (wood look) throughout the rest of the house (including kitchen), a different couple insisted that we were lowering the value of the house. They said we should put hardwood (we couldn't afford hardwood throughout). They have now had their hardwood refinished, less than 5 years after their install, because of scratches from pets. P.S. love all the pics posted - beautiful homes.

We have LVT wood planks for our basement floor. It's a great surface... for a rec-room floor. We recently had an appraisal and the appraiser thought it was laminate, like a lot of people do. I don't think it would make a very nice looking accent wall. I think for the impact and price you'd rather do wood.

I don't really understand what you're proposing, but I don't think that vinyl flooring or porcelain tile are going to be appropriate materials for the exterior of your home, and neither would be amenable to paint, so you'd be getting the look of fake wood-grain all over, which feels more Colorado than Florida. Maybe you need to post a few examples of homes whose look you like so that we can help you capture some of that feeling here. I honestly think that the current finishes work pretty well, but I'm sure there are alternatives too.

The old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." As a flooring snob, I can spot faux-wood look products within 30 seconds of walking into a house...that includes the hugs and kisses required in polite society prior to COVID distancing. If you have the ability to 'see' patterns (remember that LVP, Laminate and tiles ALL have planks that repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat, etc) than you will be very upset with the look of wood-look products. I will admit the herring bone install will HIDE the repeating pattern a bit more...but it will show itself. And that will happen in the weirdest way. Just when you feel like you've done an AMAZING job of creating the 'perfect' fake floor, you will notice TWO planks/tiles that are identical and then you will never be able to 'un-see' it. I'm a very pragmatic person. If I had the budget to enjoy a real hardwood herring bone (I wish) I would not hesitate to have it. On the other hand, my budget is 'DIY' laminate, then that's what I will work with. I will purchase the HIGHEST GRADE product I can afford so that I can get the best possible floor for my budget. But I will also realize I won't be laying wood. I will be laying photographs of wood and those photos will repeat. I'll do my best, but the repeats are still there. My personal effort to sort them, will be all I can do to contribute to the BEST looking laminate floor I can possibly get. And THAT'S what I would be happy with. And remember: a glue down is one of the few ways a vinyl floor can be laid in a herring bone install. That will increase the cost of the install as well.