Hi, quite often you would see the vestibules tiled up to mid-wall height, with subway tile and chair rail and base moldings also in ceramic. The floor would be small unglazed mosaic. There could be a border like a greek key or other pattern, and there could be an actual mosaic "rug" in the center. It was popular to have the family monogram or last name inlaid, or even just the house number. People often went overboard when decorating these spaces, as it was among the first things that a caller would see, and they were acutely attuned to making the first impression an overwhelmingly strong statement about their wealth/class. Casey

Is this the entrance for your front door? Formal or casual? We have tile in our mudroom and wood at our front door. But we NEVER use our front door. If I intended to use my front door I probably would have gone with a formal stone, such as limestone or marble.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) - The problem is the backing of the mats. There are HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of mats on the market that have backings that are rubberized in some way. The rubber (aka. "plasticizers") are the problem, not the mat itself. Vinyl is a petroleum chemical. The finish applied to the top of the vinyl (polyurethane or urethane) is also a chemical that is reactive (even in its solid state). These two chemicals (PVC and poly/urethane) can AND WILL react with rubber or rubberized products. The chemical reaction turns the surface of the floor ORANGE. As in "nicotine stain" orange. It is a permanent stain. There is nothing to be done because it is a chemical stain not a surface stain. For that reason the mats used with vinyl, cork, hardwood, softwood, linoleum and some types of concrete finishes HAVE TO BE safe for use with the floor's finish. This is where so many people get into trouble. They find it frustrating to go shopping for area rugs (or water control mats) because of this SERIOUS limitation. The only thing I can say to them is to go to a "mid-range" store to find your area rugs. There will be a tag on the rug that will clearly state "Safe for Hardwood Floors" (ie. Ikea sells some yet Target and Walmart do NOT). Now imagine 99% of every area rug that you like is NOT allowed on the floor you have purchased....sigh. It is very frustrating to say the least.

What I'm hearing about the husband wanting something different = different colour. That's easy enough to do. When lacing in a new wood floor, the ENTIRE wood floor will be sanded and refinished. The colour you have NOW will change (as per your hubby's wish) by the end of the project. Excellent. Win-win. If you leave the existing hardwood IN PLACE you will save the cost of material + cost of labour to remove it. So part of your $16K budget will be minimized by $1K - $2K. So far so good. Currently the vinyl sits LOWER and the carpet sits HIGHER than the hardwood. That's GOOD! That tells me your floors could all be sitting on the SAME subfloor. That's could mean a cost savings (no one will know until the vinyl comes up and the carpet comes up). Or it could mean nothing at all. Subfloors under 'sheet' goods can be horrible. Especially under carpet. Carpets hide HORRIBLE subfloors (that's why builders like to use it...it saves them TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars during a build). If you choose to remove EVERYTHING you will most likely be looking at subfloor repair/replacement. Again, NO ONE will know until everything is down to a continuous layer of subfloor. At that time, the HIGH-END flooring professionals (who deal with hardwood day in and day out....no "guy with a hammer" need apply) will evaluate the subfloor and decide (at the time) what is required to install a hardwood floor. At that time you will be given the ACCURATE quote for the subfloor and labour costs for that portion. Until then you are flying blind re: costs for subfloors. In my neck of the woods (Vancouver BC Canada...just a little north of you), subfloor prep runs $2-$3/sf when dealing with carpet/vinyl removal. Sometimes it is less...sometimes it is more. But that's the normal ball park. I vote for keeping the existing hardwood and adding to it. It will be the cheapest option by far. To give you an idea of costs for refinishing what you have = $5/sf for a full sand/stain/refinish. You can do a quick calculation of the square footage of what you have and then multiply it by $5/sf. It is CHEAPER to refinish hardwood than it is to rip it out and replace it with a factory finished product. Try to convince hubby that he can get the "new" that he wants even if you keep the old. At 19 years of age, your hardwoods are looking for a sand/refinish in the next 3-5 years anyways. Now is a GREAT time to lace in some of the SAME wood (same species/cut/width) and redo everything all at once. Your timing couldn't be better!