OMG - the more research I do the harder this darn choice becomes!!! When I made the decision that I wanted to go with "wood" for my new kitchen's floor, I had no idea there were going to be so many different (and confusing) choices. Can't anything be simple in this process?!?!?

I found this engineered wood I really love. My husband loves the "look" of it, but isn't crazy about getting something that isn't really "hardwood." (He's been influenced by our builder - not a fan of the engineered stuff.)

I agreed to go with him (my husband, not the builder) to check out some more "stuff." We went to the local Lumber Liquidators to see what they had. Well, I found myself drawn to a lovely distressed bamboo - Morning Star - that looked beautiful. The price was right, we both liked it - it seemed like a match made in heaven.

So, I come home and of course do some research, and I find some pretty nasty reviews of Morning Star bamboo - formaldehyde smell, poor finish, blah, blah, blah. My husband was very disappointed when I filled him in on what I'd read.

At this point I'm thinking of going back to my original engineered hardwood choice. When I posted about it earlier (in my post about engineered versus hardwood) the opinions didn't really seem that one-sided...most people had a preference but seemed to think that either would actually work depending on our exact needs. I guess maybe I'm not really "asking" much here as much as just venting. I'm sort of tired of every single decision taking so many trips to so many different stores!! I mean really, like nothing has just been simple. I know I'm being a little whiney but I'm tired and cranky. I'm assuming I'll feel better in the morning.

In the meantime, if anyone wants to throw some helpful advice out there, I'm game. I'm looking for a wide plank, relatively dark, distressed wood (with those black "wormholes"). I want to pay in the $5/sq. ft. range. I have a 15 pound dog, and a kitty who has been declawed (sorry PETA fans) and 2 grown kids. The appearance of the floor is what is most important to me. Already being quite over budget, $ is also up there in the concern department. That's about it...

Vent/post now done. SQ :-O