Earlier this month we installed laminate in our kitchen. Like your Costco option, ours looks like real wood and several people have not believed us when we told them that it is a laminate.
We have Bruce Park Ave Makore. We ordered it from True Hardwoods and had a very pleasant experience ordering from them.
This floor does have a gloss finish. It does show smudges, but I found that it is very easy to damp mop, so I don't mind doing a quick mop job.
we are very pleased with this floor.
Good luck deciding! I know how difficult this decision can be.

Here is a link that might be useful: True Hardwoods

I don't personally have any experience with laminate, but both my mother & sister have it in their homes and love it. The only draw backs as you're probably already aware, is it's loud when you walk on it and some say that (and this is only if your not in your home for the long haul) like granite vs laminate, buyers frown on it as an upgrade.

An other thought that comes to mind is we have oak cabinets and when we installed our oak flooring throughout the rest of our first level we would have loved to have included it in the kitchen as well, but we were warned by many that it would be too much of one color and result in a lack contrast. Also, the grains in the wood would compete with each other. In the end, we chose brazillian walnut wood and we love it. I think you may have a simular issue with the coloring of your cabinets vs the color of the Costco Laminate.

Lastly, if you like the look of tile, but want the ease of laminate, Dupont has a laminate that looks like stone now. They have several stone styles to choose from and it looks very realistic! It's a great alternative to tile and would look wonderful with your cabinets. Most all of the flooring stores should have samples of them as well, I know for sure the big box does.

Boxie:
We just DIY'd Pergo American Cottage laminate in our new kitchen. We got it from Lowe's. I looked at a lot of laminates, including Armstrong Grand Illusions which I think is what ma-bookreader has in the Bruce version. The only reason I did not go with the Grand Illusion was because of the high gloss, although it was beautiful. I choose the Pergo AC because I liked the look and color of it. It has a sheen of what I would describe as a mix of flat and satin. I like that the floor has a lot of visual "depth" to it.
This particular laminate has its padding already attached. It's certainly something that a DIY'er can do.
I've only had it for about a month, so I can't say how it will hold up over the years. So far, it doesn't show a bit of dirt/crumbs and cleanup is a breeze with a very damp mop and a sprinz of Pergo cleaner.
I would highly suggest you go online to the different manufacturers and get samples of each floor you think you might be interested in.
Sorry, but I'm not familiar with what you saw at Costco. Do they also sell the trim, spacers, tapping bar, etc there? That's also something to consider.
I have posted my kitchen a bunch of times here. If you can't find it and are interested, I can post the photos of the floor and floor installation if you'd like.
Hope all of this helps with your decision!
Barb

Here is a link that might be useful: Pergo American Cottage

Barb: Thanks for the detailed response. Yes, the Costco brand does sell trim, spacers, etc. I'd love it if you wouldn't mind, posting the pics of your floor & install. That would be great! Thanks!

lukkii: Thanks for the honest response. How do you like your hardwood? How is it maintenance wise? I've never had hardwood, so I am clueless. Would you mind posting a pic? I checked out the Dupont website. I kind of like the travertine lookalike laminate.

ma-bookreader: thanks for the link. I'll check it out. It says that the server is busy now.

Here is a link that might be useful: travertine lookalike from Dupont

We DIY'd Wilsonart Estate Plus in our last house and loved it. I miss it compared to the wood floors we have in the main part of our home now. It wore like iron and looked new after several years with kids and dogs and toy trucks, etc. It didn't have the plasticky or hollow sound because we got the best acoustical pad we could. I don't know how the attached pad will be for that.

We have Marmoleum Click (gray planks with creamy tiles scattered in for interest) in our current kitchen, which we also love. My DS and DH installed it. It's durable, quiet, warm, easy to clean, and comfortable to stand on. Both the Marmoleum Click and our laminate were close to $5/sq ft.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marmoleum Click info

boxiebabe.... I have to ask you... and I hope you don't mind; why did you decide to remove the cork? Cork is one of the floorings I really love the look of; though for South Florida tile would probably be more prudent. Cork is still on my short list and I would really appreciate hearing about your experience that led to it's removal.
Thanks and good luck. BTW... I have laminate in my master bedroom and it's worn like iron. Keep in mind that this was installed 10 years ago and I'm sure it's come far since then.

We DIY'd Bruce Dundee Hardwood (Oak w/Butterrum stain) and love it. Our Maple cabinets are very close to the floor color. Our colors probably aren't similiar to yours, but might give you an idea as to if you like the 'matching' look or not.
{{gwi:1639590}}

I'll have to post more floor photos tonight when I get back from counter stool shopping. (That's a WHOLE 'nother story).
Barb

Boxiebabe, so glad it was of help!!! Yeah!

Well of course my floors aren't up to snuff right now because once again we're in construction mode, but we abosolutely love them.

We found Bruce's Plano Marsh at The Box" on sale for 2.50 p/sf, and fell in love with both the look and the price! It's 3/4 inch prefinished and has a lot of variation in the colors. Some people like that, others prefer a more uniform look, we think it added interest. The Brazillian Walnut is also 3/4 inch from Lumber Liquidators who has some good pics of it on their site at www.lumberliquidators.com. The thing about the walnut is it's not only the most dense wood you can find (and I mean dense!) it's also not stained, so the color you see is the color of the wood all the way through and comes prefinished as well. I believe we paid approx $5 & 6 p/sf for it. Many suggested brazillian cherry to us which is very popular, also a very hard wood and quiet beautiful. But I tend to think more outside the box and I wanted something different, this hit the mark for me. If you go wood, you may want to consider something on the lighter side like a blonde cherry which would look excellent with the color of your cabs.

Installation can be pricey, we would have never considered it if we hadn't gone DIY and I'm proud to say that while DH was on his knees cutting and tapping all the boards into place, I stapled everyone of those puppies down, over 1,000 sf in all. I know we saved a bundle on install costs but really couldn't tell you how much.

Food for thought if you go wood, one reason we opted for the thicker 3/4 inch plank is because it will last forever. You may or may not pay a higher premium, but if for some reason part of it gets scratched or damaged, it can be resanded, or repaired fairly easy. Which isn't the case with thinner engineered wood. As a matter of fact, earlier this summer we lost power for 4 days, and water from our refrige leaked into the walnut wood, I was worried because you could see water marks but once it dried, it was gone without any damage.

As far as maintenance goes, it's just my DH & I, but we have 2 cats and 2 messy cockatiels, so normally I sweep, dust or vacuum it using small shop vac once or twice a week. Occassionally I wash and dry it in sections using soft terry towels attached to swiffer mops. I'm told leaving it wet will eventually harm the wood. Of course the oak shows dust less than the walnut, but I don't want dust to accumulate in the kitchen because I can't see it. I keep a rubber backed rug next to the sink and dishwasher pulling it up occassionally so the wood can breath. Lastly, as a precaution to prevent scratching, we have felt tabs on the feet of all our furniture which should be used with laminate as well.

I too am curious about your cork install, think it's so different and fun. Hope you let us in on the story.

I've never posted pics here so if you tell me how, I'll be happy to give it a try, dust and all.

OK, I'm back from counter stool shopping. I've attached 3 photos. Two of them are the best views of the floor I could find. The one photo shows the installation of our floor after finishing the first two rows. You'll notice that we have the spacers between the wall and the new floor. We had also cut the floor to the angle that we wanted.
The flooring was approx $3.39 square foot at Lowe's. All together with all the spacers, installation kit and needed moldings the whole floor cost around $1,100 DIY.
I think the two most importants things about the floor you pick is first, that you like the looks, and second, it is of a decent quality.
Sure hope this helps and good luck!
Barb

Here is a link that might be useful: Laminate Floors

OK ok ok.. since you hounded me into it (grin).. I'll tell the story of the cork. I'll give you the Reader's Digest condensed version though.

It's not the corks fault. I swear!

Simply put, the cork that we ordered is beautiful. However, the installation was sorely lacking. The cork wasn't allowed to acclimate, they didn't level/float the floor, etc... so bad install. Also, they installed one complete box of a DIFFERENT color of cork! So, I have these patches all over my kitchen, that aren't the color of cork that I ordered and expected.

If the cork that I ordered had been installed properly, I am sure that I would be pleased as punch with it. It really puts off a visual interest that I felt could not be achieved with regular hardwood. However, we kind of stopped mid-stream with it. We ordered and paid for an extra coat of polyurethane to finish it off, and that not only would've made it really look great, but it would've made it more durable and every smudge wouldn't show (as it does now). I wouldn't have to have a panic look on my face every time I do dishes and drip water on the floor, or drop an ice cube on it. LOL Now I'm being melodramatic... but I think you get my point. hehe

I just kind of have a bad taste in my mouth after hubby having to fight with the flooring company, and having to have my beautiful new kitchen ripped apart because of all of this. Hubby finally filed a dispute with our credit card company (thank God we put it on the CC). We got all of our money back, but that's not the point. The point is, all of the baseboard and all of the base cabinet molding was put in AFTER the cork was installed. The pending ripping up of my kitchen is what the point is... and it's not something I am looking forward to.

So.. that is the story of the cork.

I'm sorry for your troubles boxie... I now remember reading about the beginning of your troubles awhile back. I don't blame you for being hesitant about cork again. I'm certain that whatever you choose will be beautiful and I look forward to seeing the pics.

PS. My brand new dishwasher melted today. Serious.

In terms of matching wood tones or not, I worried about this too, but find that most woods go together pretty well -- here's fir and cherry; I just refinished the original 1922 hardwood floor.

Argh, just saw your dishwasher post - for real? That's rotten. What brand?

boxiebabe-

I think your Costco laminate is the same stuff a friend of mine is installing shortly. I saw it out of teh box and it was really good looking. My only concern with your kitchen is that the color looks just about identical. I think that the cabs and floor would just run together. I would vote for something that has more contrast.

I am insatlling salvaged hardwoods in our kitchen (late winter) to match the rest of the house. My parents also use salvaged wood in their kitchen/family room addition 3 years ago. It is SO gorgeous, and is actually made from antique, Civil War era fencing. We even found a slice of bullet fragment in one plank! I can tell you from working often in that kitchen that it is easy on the back (I have issues with sciatica) and feels wonderful in bare feet. It is also a breeze to clean and never looks dirty.

My vote would be for hardwood (also a great investment for resale) over laminate. There is just something about the warth that wood brings to floors that you can't get with laminate....

Sorry Boxie to hear you are having so much trouble.

I have wood laminate flooring in my kitchen, dining and living rooms as well as my hallway. I just had it installed when I redid my kitchen. I have had wood laminate that looks like stone in my bathrooms and laundry rooms for the past 4 or 5 years. Both of them are Armstrong. Both have a 25 year warranty.

I have a special sound barrier underneith the wood laminate in the kitchen, dining, living room and hallway. It is not noisy at all. I think mine was between $3.00--$4.00 a foot. I don't recall the square footage off the top of my head.

I really wanted engineered hard wood (Amendoim) but couldn't swing the price of it. Most folks don't realize the flooring isn't hardwood. Even my contractor who was dead set against me going with wood laminate, likes my floor.

Since I have had laiminate for years, I know the clean-up is a breeze. Do use the specialized cleaner on it. It does make a difference. Also a microfiber cloth makes cleaning a breeze. It picks up the dirt/dust like a charm.

The color BTW is antique walnut.

It is hard for me to suggest a color for you. There are so many to choose from. You might want to check out the Armstrong flooring site and see what they have. When it came down to brass tacks, I went with the walnut, but there was another walnut laminate by Armstrong (I think) that was very similar to mine but had more cherry color in it. I wanted more brown, so I didn't chose it. I think it would go well with your cabs. I am not sure what other materials and the colors of those materials you have going on in your kitchen. Unfortunately, I can't get the other picture of the other walnut to load tonight. I may try again later.

Hi Circuspeanut: thanks for the post. Your floors are beautiful! You said that you can't say enough about real hardwood - but then you didn't say anything. hehe Can you please tell me what you like about them (besides their obvious beauty)? How do you maintain them, etc?
Thank you!

ha! got me there. :) I love love love hardwood because:

--It's gorgeous and warm and three-dimensional. I'm fond of the age spots and patina it gets with use; evidence of generations of folks living and loving in the house.

--It's great on the back and feet -- had tile in my last kitchen and would have to put on supportive clogs after a few hours of serious cooking/baking/canning. I was surprised at this, since I'd been fully prepared to embrace the high-end tile (it was a rental condo), but there you are. The tile was downright painful to work on.

--It's quiet, especially in the kitchen, and softens the other hard surfaces (appliances, countertops, sinks).

--Wood is a breeze to keep clean - get an $80 steam mop from Bissel and never look back. If it's properly sealed and finished, it's as water-resistant as any other kind of flooring.

--It's so much softer than tile, and dropped items, like expensive cookware or glassware, don't shatter. They may mar the floor, but it all blends in.

--You can replace sections of it as necessary (knock on, uh, wood) and do it invisibly without disturbing any other pieces of the floor.

--You can have it sanded and refinished numerous times over 150 years or longer, it can look like new and it still goes on wearing strong. And each time, you can choose to stain it a different tone if your kitchen design has changed.

how's that?

Posted by circuspeanut
Argh, just saw your dishwasher post - for real? That's rotten. What brand?

Yes, for REAL. GE Profile Built-In Dishwasher
Model PDW9900NBB.
Of course, we are about 2 weeks over the 90 day deal from Home Depot. Murphy's Law. So, here we sit, waiting for the "GE Rep" to come out and investigate and decide what to do. The big bummer part is that we're hosting my Dad's 70th Bday party this weekend. Whoopie.

What a day!
Oh well, at least I am having fun reading all of the responses about the floor. GREAT info!
And yes, Ms. Peanut, I gotcha there! hehe
You make a pretty strong case for hardwood.
I'm contemplating........especially the part "it's great on the back and feet". Thank youuuuu!

Boxie

We are in the process of a DIY install of laminate in the kitchen. It's Wilsonart Red Label tile in Urban Slate. It's pretty expensive for laminate. We paid about $4.69 sq ft. Every single flooring or kitchen person we talked to mentioned Wilsonart as being the most durable brand for a kitchen installation. Since we've got a big dog and kids, that was a priority for us.

So far, the installation hasn't been too bad, and it's not loud to walk on at all.

amberly: You've supplied some really good info, especially that you have sciatica, and that your Mom's hardwoods are good for you. How interesting about the bullet fragment! I'd be very curious to hear how your friend's kitchen works out with the Costco stuff. If you have your camera handy - do please take pics! Love to see it "in action".

mustbnuts: THANK YOU! That is very good info and I will thoroughly investigate it. Your floor (and your kitchen!) looks awesome! If you find that pic of the floor with more reddish in it, I'd appreciate your posting it.

tgpdd: Thanks for sharing your homework with me. This is why I love GW so much; saves so much legwork and you can get the REAL story on stuff. Again, asking for pics... when you're done, if you don't mind.

Thanks again all!
Boxie

We are installing hardwoods in our kitchen. Eventually we'll have hardwood throughout most of the house (master bath will probably be bamboo and we may do the great room in slate tile). I just love the feel of hardwoods. Walking on them just feel so, so much nicer than any other flooring surface I've tried.

If you do decide to go laminate, make sure you go with one that has the padding attached. From everything I researched that's the best way to avoid the noisy floor issue.

OK, I was able to get it on whatever it is so I could post the picture. Now, keep in mind, this is not the world's greatest picture. It looks shiny in the picture but it isn't in real life. It is very pretty and I was undecided until I had to place my order between the one I chose and this one. Even at Lowe's I flip-flopped back and forth on the decision until it was time to put in the item number on the order. I didn't choose this one because I have had cherry furnature for the past 35 years and am now moving in a different direction.

It really is very pretty!

We used Hartco (now Armstrong) commercial oak parquet. It's solid oak with a very tough urethane impregnated finish. It looks good (in our 1915 house), feels good on the feet, cleans up easily, and doesn't show dirt. What more could you want?

I'm so happy and surprised to see the answers to this thread from people who have wood look laminate and love it. I swear, 6 months ago, the same sort of thread would have nearly nothing but people disclaiming the "horrors" of non-natural product like laminate flooring and insisting that hardwood is the ONLY way to go.

High quality wood look (and, actually, feel)laminate is a great, beautiful product. Mine isn't in yet but it was the only thing about my kitchen that I have been 100% sure about. Why? Cause my dad put it in a few years ago...my sister put it in a few years ago. They are both beautiful, so easy to maintain, so rugged, and never need to be refinished.

Hardwood is beautiful but only somewhat durable and sorry, but with pets, I prefer the laminate's durability.

I know lots of people don't like consumer reports but in this case, I think its assessment is right-on. The top laminates rate significantly higher than hardwood in every category: wear, scratches, dents, stains, sunlight (uv) changes.

I sound like a laminate salesman....lol. many here will know i'm not! but i'm gonna get laminate.

Hi Jessie: Thanks for the post. Do you happen to know which laminate your sis and dad have? Would you mind posting pics if you have them?

Boxie

mustbnuts: THANK YOU for digging up the pic of the more cherry-ish looking flooring. I will likely be taking a trip to Home Depot today (to choose another dishwasher!), and will check to see if they have the Armstrong flooring that you have.

Boxie

You know my mantra - Nothing beats travertine for the following reasons
1. Looks (gorgeous)
2. Finish (get honed, no scratches visible)
3. Sturdiness (dont have to tip toe)
4. Ease of maintenance (wipe with water, seal once a year, we never do)
5. Durability (no need to ever refinish)
6. Longevity (will outlast the house)

I have a laminate floor in a stone look by Shaw. I did not go with a wood look because I have real wood in my hallway and living room-dining room both which run off my kitchen. I was told by a decorator not to put the two (fake and real ) next to eachother. I really like my laminate flooring, a breeze to clean and comfortable to stand on compared to stone.
Not all laminates are created equal even within the same company. To test for durability and scratch resistance I would take a key or or some other sharp object and run it over the sample of tile to see how it looked. Some show scratches immediately and some were perfectly fine.
I don't remember how much I paid. I am very happy with my lamminate (have it for three years) and would choose it again .

Wow! Lots of helpful info here, and those floor pics are all beautiful!

We need to select flooring also.

Right now, consumer reports is recommending Teragren's Synergy, as its top hardwood. This actually turns out to be bamboo, and supposedly harder and more durable than red oak. However, it's pricey, at 7.50 per sq ft, and even in the wide plank, it's not quite the look I'm after.

For those with pets, CR recommends laminates. But as beautiful as they look, it just not what we're after.

We had marble floors, and with pets, it seemed I was scrubbing them daily.

How would we ever keep any wood type floor clean?

If you decide to go with a laminate or hardwood don't use IFloors! I ordered my kitchen hardwood from them, (1/2 of the flooring shipped was the wrong size), and I have been getting the run around everv since!!

Hey Boxie, how is it going? Hopefully better! Just a FYI. When I looked for flooring at Home Depot, they did not carry the Armstrong flooring that I found at Lowes. The walnut flooring with more of the cherry finish was at Lowes. Home Depot didn't carry that model number.

Also, my flooring installer said not to necessarily go with the most expensive one with the longest warrenty. He said after about 15 years or so, they all start to show some wear on them. Also after 15 years, I would probably be starting to get tired of them and want something different. So he stated to save my $. I went with the medium priced one instead of the 35 year warrenty one.

Also, do the "scratch" test. I took a screw to the sample and ran it over it to see how it scratched. The armstrong I chose, didn't. You do have to watch for water spills, like you would on a hardwood floor. If a pipe bursts, it probably won't survive, but a lot of flooring wouldn't either.

Does anyone have an opinion on what manufacturer has the best quality laminate? I have all hardwood throughout the house and would like to do the kitchen with a stone-look laminate. Thanks for all comments.

the only stone look laminate I've seen is made by Dupont, you can find it at HD as well as many flooring stores. As far as quality goes, I have not heard anything negative about the Dupont flooring, but you would probably want to cross post in the flooring forum. You'd probably get a lot more information there.

We installed 1 ft wide cypress barn siding ourselves- lots of work, but we love it. Wood is the most comfortable surface to stand on, and looks great. I have two big dogs so my floor is not going to stay in perfect condition. In my mind, an imperfect wood floor beats ANY other floor, ANY day of the week!