I'm not overly concerned about it looking like exactly like wood, because for me the practicality and price are paramount, living in a rural area with a busy family. I'll have a kitchen open to the dining room and living room, and I don't want hardwood in the kitchen. And I do like the idea of a clean look with the same flooring throughout. Plus I grew up with hardwood floors in a NYC prewar apartment, so I have particular expectations for hardwood : ) . Though I have to say that even the TrafficMaster Allure has fooled a lot of people, including visitors from Europe who live with hardwood themselves. And our dining room has windows on three sides, so it gets a lot of light. Besides, I'm so thrilled with vinyl plank flooring that I'm happy to tell anyone who asks about the details.

Plot twist- Our youngest child has been struggling with allergies. Yesterday, her Dr suggested it is most likely the carpet. This is a new issue as our last space had carpet but she never struggled to this point. The children currently sleep in a triple bunk bed and she sleeps closest to floor. We had a few estimates done to replace carpet for upstairs bedrooms (3) all came out to over $1000. (One company flat out told us the carpet was newer but poor quality, not properly cared for & he could tell pets were an issue.) We ended up deciding on Waterproof laminate Flooring from a local flooring liquidation store. We will be using it on the entire third floor. We were able to secure a medium grade wood look with underlayment. We also purchased underlayment to help with noise reduction. I kiltzed/treated the subfloor and it has been airing out. We purchased a open box floor cutter and spent a total of $498 for the Entire floor . and supplies. (My husbands military discount really helped) We plan to install ourselves. I know it's not many people's first choice but, it seems to be the best financial option for us at this time. I will attach photos of the flooring. Instead of sulking I am thrilled our children will have clean flooring and am looking into some reasonable area rugs. We are using some of the money we saved on flooring to head start our upstairs flooring fund & a portion to buy the kids warm area rugs & bedroom shoes. :) Thank you all for your valuable feedback, my husband now asks me lol “What did your internet friends say?”

Installing hardwood in Florida takes extra effort. The first part of that effort is having EXCELLENT humidity control in the home. In hot, humid climates that means the A/C might not be enough. It might require an additional whole-home dehumidifier. It can also rule out an 'open window' type of home. Again, it depends on the location and the humidity levels. Hardwoods must be kept in a 'happy humidity' range between 45% - 60%. At all times. Every minute of every day. For ever and ever. And ever and ever. That means you will spend more on your HVAC system to have that type of 'push button' control (whole home humidifier/dehumidifier). And then the type of build also dictates the best practice for installation of hardwoods. A concrete slab takes extra effort to glue down wood. A high-end adhesives must be used and those add $2-$3/sf...just for the glue. The hardwood and labour are on top of that. In Florida, the most appropriate floors are stone, tile, terrazzo or concrete. All of which are hard and cold. Of course a cool floor in a hot climate is a BENEFIT...not a drawback. Part of the cold flooring is it helps keep the house feeling cool. Vinyl is then the next option. The difference between the 'wood look' or the stone/tile look is simply aesthetics. If you LIKE the look of wood, then go for it. If you LIKE the look of stone/tile, then go for it. With vinyl you will require very good UV block on your windows. Ask your builder what level you have on your windows right now. You will want to find something with UV block ABOVE 50%. I prefer to see 70% - 75%. That keeps the vinyl and the house cool. But it also makes growing indoor plants a difficulty. Plants struggle with UV blocking windows at 70% or higher.

I am having luxury vinyl plank flooring put in. I have read that there are some rugs you should not use on them. I have a Safavieh Meadow Gundela area rug I purchased, and the material is polypropylene and polyester. Is this rug safe for my new flooring? I have read that it could react with the flooring. Does anyone have any experience with this type of material. Thank you..