I am just taking some photos so will upload them in a bit. I have the hardwood floor sample board at home now, so I can show the differences in some photos. The thing is my house was not that well put together in terms of interior design when I bought it, but it had a lot of things going for it at the time (it is my first house). My big problem is that the house is decked out in variations of golden oak but literally EVERYTHING is a slightly different shade (more orange, more yellow, more red etc.). The trim (baseboards, window trim) all over the entire house is that fake wood stuff (one colour), slightly different than the living room baseboards which were replaced as contractor snapped the plastic one in half and it could not be matched so went with similar real wood trim dyed a somewhat similar colour but that was a tricky match to make, slightly different colour than the kitchen cabinets, slightly different colour than the wood doors, slightly different colour than the door jambs and inner window casing, slightly different than the laminate flooring in the den, slightly different colour than the large kitchen window that had to be replaced including the casing, slightly different than the stair rail to the living room. In the end, it seems trying to "match" the hardwood floor to anything in my house is a waste of time given that everything is slightly different!! So I thought that for now I should get a hardwood floor that blends and works with everything (find some sort of a balance and that in particular works with the things that are in proximity to where this hardwood floor would go), but not necessarily match any one thing. And then over the years, I can gradually changes things in ways that make things more uniform and that make sense. TBH, money is a limitation, so I have to make choices that also work now as I don't want to live for the future but want to enjoy my house now. This post was edited by Scarlett001 on Sun, Apr 7, 13 at 17:52

Make sure you look for a water resistant laminate because most laminates don’t like water. We were looking at AtroGuard laminate by Lamett, but have since decided to install SPC (stone polymer composite) rigid plank SuperCore flooring from WeShipFloors.com. It’s not bothered by moisture and humidity, and living in Mississippi that’s a real plus. With the laminate we would have to run dehumidifiers 24/7 to maintain the 40-60% humidity to keep it happy during the summer and humidifiers in winter to maintain the humidity during cold weather when the heat has to be on. Most of the water resistant laminates are surface water protected for up to 72 hours, but if water gets under it the floor can be ruined. The Flooret Modin SPC plank has some colors you might like and so does SuperCore. It’s definitely worth reading up on the newcomer SPC since it can take temps much higher than LVP and WPC (wood polymer composite) vinyl plank flooring and is much more stable in sunlight. I also suggest you read a lot about laminate since you stated you are looking for flooring that will be durable with water. IMHO, the SPC flooring will fit your needs better. There are some companies that have a tile look SPC if that interest you. It may take some research to find them, but they’re out there. Good luck in your flooring search. I really suggest you do some reading on both types of flooring and then decide what you think will work best on a concrete slab in Florida that needs to stand up well to water with humidity, kids and a dog in the picture.

Look at COLOUR and not the wood. Take a photo of your hardwoods. Do it in different lighting situations. Now go shopping for a COLOUR match. Ignore the species. Heart Pine is a very deep colour of orange/red. It is the COLOUR that is difficult to find because Heart Pine isn't a species. It is the wood found in the HEART of the Pine (hence the name). In design, we use COLOUR to tie things together. These floors are on different levels. That means the SPECIES match for a fake-wood product makes no sense. But a COLOUR match is what makes two different levels 'tie' together. The stairs will be the place where things tie in. What do you have on the stairs?

OK...point #1. If any part of your slab is 'below grade' the ENTIRE THING is graded as 'below grade'. Personally I would pick different flooring for the 'wet' rooms such as the bathrooms and laundry. The reason: 'water proof' flooring is expensive. So WHY pay for the entire basement to be covered in 'water proof' when only a few hundred square feet actually 'need it'. The other thing is: a floating floor is really all you want to play with. Tiles in bathrooms/laundry room can be adhered to the concrete, the rest can be floated. The basics for ANY floating floor is the same. You must have a vapour barrier (not always underpadding) and you must always have a WELL PREPARED concrete slab that is flat (no wonky subfloors for a floating floor...ever). A laminate floating floor and a vinyl floating floor and a cork floating floor (and even a linoleum floating floor) all require the same thing. And the mechanism to install is always a 'click-together' system. An engineered hardwood can be floated but it almost always requires glue on the seams. Again, all of the same PREPARATION is required. So go ahead and start paying for the concrete slab to be fixed up so that your flooring of choice can be laid down as soon as you can. The 'nightmare' the sales guys are talking about relates to installation and moisture. They are TRYING to get you to purchase the product THEY NEED to move. Yep. I would hazard a guess that these guys have been given 'targets' to meet and/or they have been offered bonuses for moving a certain TYPE of product (too much in the warehouse is costing the company TOO MUCH money). In a nutshell, the reason why you are getting 4 different opinions is because you spoke to 4 different salespeople with 4 different 'company agendas'. That's it. There is no mystery in that. My questions for you (if I were your sales person): 1. What is your budget (do NOT fudge numbers with sales people...it pisses them off and makes them less likely to get the RIGHT floor)? 2. What is your FAMILY situation? Animals? Landscaping issues such as pools, etc? 3. What are YOUR expectations? Can you accept the limitations of certain flooring if it gets you the LOOK that you want for the price you are able to pay?