I agree with carpet. The other option is cork flooring. Cork will have the necessary cushion and slip resistance that your family require without having the look of carpet. But SAFETY comes before FASHION! A slip on anything other than carpet or cork will cause bone breaks and lengthy stays in hospital. And once in hospital, elderly people often become infected with things like C. diff which has a HIGH "kill rate". The pain and loss of quality of life a broken bone brings aside, the last thing you want an elderly family member to go through is a serious - hospital acquired - infection. Carpet or cork. Think fashionable resale once you no longer have the "need" for safe, cushiony flooring.

One thing we both definitely agree on is no painted cabinets :-) I don't know what he means by "noisy", the only thing less noisy than maple is MDF! I think the real problem is that I've been thinking about design choices and researching all sorts of options for several months, and have sort of settled on what I want. He's just starting to think about it, so he's less certain about things.

I am so happy I posted on here. I appreciate all of your input very much. Missenigma, you are probably right. The previous owner had the wood stained walnut, so it could easily be pine. Partim, THANK YOU! Wonderful explanation and info. Majority say I need to hire a decorator - so I’ll take your advice. Oh, and my marriage is fine (😊)! Very grateful- thanks all!

Maureen, thanks to your suggestions I think I may have found a great nightstand. I cannot afford the Basset furniture but it was great inspiration. My local FB Marketplace has nothing nice that would fit what I need. I found an all wood children's dresser that has great reviews and many people have used as an extra large nightstand! On Photoshop I simulated how it may look next to the bed and I think it will work! I am attaching an image of my mockup and a link to the dresser/nightstand in case anyone is interested! One of the biggest challenges is that the guest room is small and because the double closet doors open out, space is very limited and with a queen size bed, I only have 118 inches of space from wall to wall so the queen bed plus some the wide dresser I'd be using as a nightstand would require 100 inches give or take. I need to have the bed pushed on the right side about 10 inches from the wall and the nightstand will be on the left side. Since this is mainly for a guestroom like when my Mom stays here a couple of months and when my oldest son comes home from the university, the 2 extra drawers could be used to store some clothes and this way I may not need to purchase a dresser or chest after all especially with the lack of space there is. black dresser to be used as nightstand