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Flooring Design Dilemma living room

Help picking a laminate: durability and color suggestions

6 years ago

Hi all,

I have some questions about the durability of various laminate brands.

My husband is wanting a water resistant variety and has so far ok-ed Aquagaurd and Pergo (I haven’t read great things about Pergo though). I’m concerned that only looking at water resistant is overkill given that it’s not going in bathrooms or kitchen. And I’m not finding any colors I like in his approved brands.

He also thinks we need an AC4 or AC5 wear rating. These look to be rated for commercial buildings. So is that not also overkill for a home? We are pet heavy (3 dogs and 3 rabbits) and plan to have a kid in the future.

Where he is picky about durability, I’m being super picky about color. The only thing I’ve seen that I like from the samples we’ve brought home is Décor’s Brown Walnut (pic of it and inspiration pics below) but this is AC3 and not water resistant. I like the color because it has a little bit of red/warmth to it without being super red like some I've seen. I like the darker browns as well but the samples we've brought home have looked really dark in our house. So I liked this one as it wasn't too dark brown or too red IMO.

Could ya’ll offer me any insight on what to look for durability wise. Suggestions on what brands to look for in which colors that might match my inspiration would be greatly appreciated!!

Featured Answer

Leisa Owens

6 years ago

I always thought I'd love dark wood floors and I noticed you are a pet lover as well. Keep in mind those darker colors if your pet sheds it will show and you will want a Roomba maybe 2 if a very larger area.Please keep that in mind I see much more fur on mine than I epxeceted.

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Comments (6)

kaf86
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes, I'm realizing from reading other threads that people tend to wish they'd gone lighter- or at least warn that darker shows every little speck of dirt and hair!

I'd considered my favorite (in the top two pictures) to be a medium, I don't think of it as dark. For those of you with dark floor regret, would you say that my favorite is dark enough to show the pet hair and dirt?

For instance, in the picture of all my samples together (my 3rd pic) I'd say that the three in the upper left are all too dark. But am hoping my favorite (which is in the far lower right in that picture) is medium enough to not show absolutely everything? Thoughts?

But as mentioned in my OP, my favorite isn't water resistant. So hubby may veto it. So if anyone has something in a similar family color that they love-- post pics/tell me the brand color name!!
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littlebug zone 5 Missouri
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I have never had laminate so I can’t speak to the quality issue. We have hardwood and many of our friends do too, and I can say unequivocally that the lighter the color, the better. My former supervisor built a new home with very pricey dark hardwood in the kitchen and it always looked filthy to me.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
Make sure you buy good quality laminate from a good flooring place I like Kronotex myself.
sheloveslayouts
6 years ago
I keep reading rave reviews of Coretec here in the forums. Maybe you could check those products out. they're waterproof.
SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
I wouldn't worry about "water proof" if you are NOT going into a kitchen. Yes...it is possible it is overkill. If you have a POOL, a wet garden AND an outdoor hot tub that will have people walking around DRIPPING WET will you need a water proof product THROUGHOUT the space.

That being said, the person who is the PICKIEST about durability needs to have that need met FIRST. I say there are many high-end laminates that have the WEAR characteristics WITHOUT the water proof side of things. Patricia likes and owns European grade laminates such as Kronotex. So long as you stick with these versions, the WEAR should be fine.

The CoreTech mentioned above is a vinyl product. Not everyone is enthusiastic about vinyl. For me it is hit or miss. Because you do NOT have kitchen/bath requirements, the HIGH END European products will do just fine.

And high-end means $4.50 - $6.50/sf for laminate. Just sayin'.

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