Thanks everyone for your help. My dog is a west highland white terrier, so the scratches are not even just surface scratches. She has run over the same places so many times that there are large slivers of wood missing now. I should have specified that the tile I'm looking at is vinyl. It looks like wood and it even feels like wood. No grout as it snaps together. It's about $5 a sq ft for the one I've chosen (that's Cdn $$). I would definitely redo the hardwood if someone could guarantee a finish that wouldn't scratch, but it doesn't exist (at least not with my dog!). You know the cartoons where the dog runs and runs in one spot before taking off like a bullet? That's my Sophie. Eat my dust (and my wood splinters!). I don't mind the cold at all and I hear the vinyl isn't too bad. I just hope it doesn't scratch!!!

My home has had floating laminate plank flooring for nearly a decade. The finish is still flawless, and I love it. It is very easy for the care routine, just vacuum and spot clean with water.

OK...we have to define something here. What is 'Best' in your mind? To me, as a flooring pro, 'Best' means "Award Winning". That translates into "Money is NO OBJECT" type of cost. The BEST of all = 3/4" engineered white oak wide plank flooring (multiple widths and lengths) with 6mm wear layer, site finished with the toughest finishes in the world. That is 'Best' to me. A floor like this, with 'Special Order' costs + proper installation + proper finishing (lots and lots of labour costs) = $25/sf. Nope. Not kidding. Then there is 'Best for your budget'. For that we need your budget. There are SOO many variables that go into this, it is almost impossible to say what is a 'best brand'. If you are working with a $4.99/sf 'Home Depot Special' budget, you will be quite limited. If you are working with $7-$9/sf for materials-only (labour costs = extra...could be $3-$4/sf if you need glue). And then there is the 'best for my lifestyle/house hold' concept. We would need to know a BIT MORE about what you VALUE in a floor. Do you DEMAND Zero scratches? Then work with porcelain tile. Do you DEMAND perfection and uniformity? Then work with LVP in wood look finish. Do you DEMAND Authentic looking/feeling wood floors? Then work with site finished engineered hardwoods (the highest quality you can afford. If you accept wood as 'wood' (there is nothing you can do about it...wood does what wood does) with all it's character and it's flaws (you are OK with scratching over time, you don't mind fading, you are OK with a floor that looks tired around 20 years old) then go with a middle of the road factory finished engineered hardwood from a Ma-and-Pa operation = $6-$7/sf + install.

I'm not sure what LVT is. :) I have an appointment with the flooring person for Saturday to test out samples. Cherie, we hate forced hot air because it bothers my and the kids' asthma and allergies so I am actually very happy about these baseboard radiators as radiant heat is much easier on the lungs since it's not blowing hot air all over the place. There is central air for the summer months. We live in Northern NH... it gets cold here for sure. I am going to keep the tile in the kitchen for now and the rest will be new flooring *all going in the same direction* ! We are ripping out the red carpeting, which is in all four bedrooms as well as on the stairs. We want to replace that with flooring and we don't want yet another type of flooring in the house so it makes sense to do the living and dining room as well. When we reconfigure the kitchen, we'll have to match it up and remove the tile at that time.