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jockewing

Stone or wood floors for LR/Dining/Kitchen

13 years ago

I have an open concept living/dining/kitchen and I would like to replace the existing standard grade beige ceramic tiles with something much nicer. I would guess the total square feet of the area to be covered at about 600 sq feet.

I absolutely love the look and warmth of wood, but I am concerned about scratching. I have BR-111 engineered Tigerwood in my bedroom, and after only 5 years or so, it is scratched and nicked up horribly. I don't know if that type of wood is inherently soft or if I got a low grade. I don't want a repeat of what happened in that room. Especially since I live alone and am not really hard on the floors.

Is there a type of wood that is not going to get all these scratches and gouges with normal everyday living? Or should I go with some type of natural stone? I love those marble floors Sarah Richardson uses in her kitchens and bathrooms but I'm not sure if that is appropriate for a living room. I really feel upgrading the floor will really elevate the look of my house. No matter how nice the furniture, the fact it sits on builder grade ceramic with impossible to clean grout lines really cheapens everything.

If I were to go with wood, it would probably have to be engineered since I have a concrete slab. One thing I hate about the Tigerwood in the bedroom is how red-orange it turned in the light. I want something that is a true brown without orange tones that isn't too dark and without crazy graining. I want something classic like a light walnut. I don't want a dark floor as I understand it shows every speck of dirt and accentuates every nick or scratch. I also understand that a shiny finish should be avoided for the same reasons.

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