My husband installed TrafficMaster Allure flooring in his kitchen and bathroom before we got married & I moved in (I think it's been about a year now). Right now, the flooring is probably the only think I'm really, really happy with in the kitchen. It warms the space up a lot visually, and the nice thing is that it went right over the old linoleum.

Here is a link that might be useful: TrafficMaster Allure Flooring

If you are great at DIY projects there is concrete.. I think concrete countertops are gorgeous... and can be very inexpensive if you DIY. If you hire it done, the labor cost will make it comparable to stone. There are concrete overlay instructions on youtube to go over your existing countertop, but I cant imagine them being quite as durable.

There is Paperstone, Richlite, or ecotop - paper based recycled countertops. I have been very impessed with what I know about these so far and am planning on chocolate Richlite in my kitchen. More than laminate, but less than quartz. About half the price of the quartz I priced.

check out Marmoleum - a variety of linoleum that you might prefer the look of.

I guess I'm no decorator, but I can be a kibitzer.

hackwriter, based on your stated requirements, laminate and vinyl really are your best bet. They seem to do what you want them to do and your only real criticism of them is that they are what they are.

You said you're likely to move out in around 10 years. By then, pretty much anything you put in is going to show its age (if for no other reason than being out of style).

Maybe instead of looking at it as "settling" for laminate or vinyl, you can consider it a smart, cost-saving move in uncertain times -- not making a large investment now, perhaps leaving you enough money to update the kitchen again just before sale. Or -- saving you money that you and DH can spend later, maybe on something really fun.

I started a response today and then deleted it. I'm glad steve_o sent it.

This is going to sound mean and I don't want it to but the typed word doesn't convey my tone of voice. I've had your kitchen.

Why do you want to replace counter and floor? Take a critical look at your cabinets that look pretty good. Granite will make them look old and crappy. It's a slippery slope you're on. No matter what you do it will make something else need replacing.

You want Granite but can't justify it. Everything you name you don't like for one reason or another. You like vinyl planks but they're vinyl. So what? What is it you don't like about vinyl? Many of us have wood look sheet vinyl and are very happy with the comfort standing, warmth, easy care and price.

Since you plan to leave it in 10 years I wouldn't put $20,000 in it. That's not enough to make it really nice and too much money for someone else to tear out again so soon.

There isn't anything you really love so I wouldn't do anything. Someday you will find either a counter or floor or both that you just know is the right one. Then spend your money.

Some advice I read over 30 years ago in Better Homes and Gardens: "Don't remodel for someone else. Remodel for yourself so you can enjoy it. They will tear it out anyway." I've had some original decorating ideas in my life but it didn't matter. I liked it while I had it and when I moved I changed the decor I moved into. Let whoever came behind me decorate in their style. And if you're still there in 15 years, then what?

steve_o and pinch-me: Thanks for your frank replies.

The counter and floor require replacing. Part of it is that they are hideous; part of it is that they are falling apart. The counter is delaminating and warped, the floor is gouged and beyond salvaging. It was ugly in 1975 when the previous owners of the house installed it and it's ugly now. When I had figured on staying in the house until they took me out in a coffin, perhaps it might have paid to rip the whole thing out, but even then -- the idea of spending $50-$75K for a new kitchen in a cape cod seemed preposterous. Now we have local kitchen remodelers advertising $16K gut-and-remodels, but I guarantee you that these are not remodels with solid wood cabinets.

I have a kitchen with the original cabinets and counters and flooring that can be replaced, but I am also not in hundreds of thousands of home equity debt.

And so all I want to do is replace what needs to be done without high-end finishes...and add some cabinets on an empty wall to add storage.

So what I will probably do is put down either laminate, probably with a wood edge, and either laminate or the plank vinyl on the floor.

Want to see my bathroom counters made of left over kitchen white Formica with a wood edge? My carpenter built them right here in my garage.

You'll be happy. I was not going to go beyond the money I had saved. I've nearly killed myself getting everything paid off before I'm 66. It's not likely I can quit work even then but at least I won't have "payments".

Your choices sound realistic but be forewarned, they will make everything else look a little worse than you expected. and if everything still looks good....BONUS!! I know. There comes a day when you can't look at it one more minute.

Have you chosen anything yet? Light? Dark? Are you going to paint your walls, too?

Hi, pinch:

I'm 55 with 8 years left to go on the mortgage, so I can relate. Sometimes I wish I'd taken the thirty grand "equity" loan and remodeled the kitchen, but I just had a sense that there was no way my house was "worth" almost a half-million dollars and that something had to give. So now I am eight years to free and clear -- with an old kitchen.

The most serious problem with this kitchen is that it has no dishwasher -- and no place to put one other than losing a cabinet to a hard-to-find 18" dishwasher. I don't miss it, there are just 2 of us and I'm used to washing dishes. Another reason why a buyer would want to rip out the whole kitchen, and I would either price accordingly at sell time or offer a "remodeling allowance" in the form of cash at closing.

So where I am right now is laminate for the countertops. That high-end Formica 180FX is nice, but it still looks like laminate, albeit very nice laminate. On the other hand, it doesn't show dirt, which is a plus or minus depending on how good a housekeeper you are (I am not a great one). I would want either a wood or ogee edge; I think it just looks more finished. Probably something mid-range in color; the kitchen is somewhat dark. Not sure what to do about the floor; I'm leaning towards a stone look because with all that oak, the risk is looking too "woody." That's another reason I'm leaning towards cream painted for the wall o'cabinets I posted about elsewhere. The walls are a very pale buff, which I would want to keep (close to the Benjamin Moore Ylang-Ylang color, only a bit less yellow); the trim is painted cream. I have soffits with plumbing and wiring in them, so I can't rip them out, unfortunately.

If I had it to do over again, I'd have just painted the cabinets and gotten new doors and painted them...but I am well into this reface job and I've done such a whiz-bang-up job that this veneer is probably NEVER coming off. When I can I'll post some before, during, and maybe even after pix once I get it done.

Not wanting to rain on the parade of those lucky enough to be able to do a full remodel, but I keep hoping that someday granite will be as harvest gold is today. :-(