I second the suggestion for the waterhog mats. I'll post where we purchase them if I can find the link - you can get custom sizes, colors, styles, etc. LL BEAN sells them too but they are very pricey IMO. We use them around our dogs water bowls too since they are sloppy drinkers. In addition to our entry way, we also use them in the back of our SUV's in the cargo area since we travel with our Boxers. Keeps the truck nice and clean and absorbs liquids. After my dog had surgery he peed in the truck on the drive home from the vets office (post-anesthesia, if I remember correctly) and I was thankful for that waterhog mat. Not a drop of urine on my upholstery; the waterhog captured all of it, and it was easy enough to clean -- I sprayed it down with a hose and some cleaning solution, left it out to dry and no residual smell whatsoever. They're awesome mats.

We priced out Meganite (solid surface) and it was much more pricey than I thought. I'm pretty sure you are correct about concrete being expensive as well. We ended up using remnants of the slabs from our masterbath for the mudroom and the same granite as the kids' bath for the laundry room. This was amazingly affordable. We got absolute black as remnant pieces for the guest bath for a fraction as well. Never would have expected to have beautiful stones in these rooms, but the price was right!

Is there a bulletin board in the front of the store? Check it for business cards of local installers. Or ask outright, "Who do you contract with to do your installations" when talking to various vendors in area. Begin asking about, whenever you get together with other people, "Know anyone who is good with countertops?" I like watching the commercial contractor and vendor trucks and vans in the parking lots at HD in the morning when these guys are buying stuff before starting their day. Ask them, "Who would you recommend for countertops?" We are using a currently underemployed man we know who is a freelance installer for some big stores. He says he will charge us what he charges the vendors. Not ready yet to set up the bid so I don't know what it will be, but he ballparked it at a good rate when we made our plans. You might also want to approach local contractors for a contertops-only bid. These guys are hungry right now so they're eager for oddball work (but we mustn't expect them to take a loss either). You need to do the thinking by yourself -- don't go to them without some info, such as the price you want to pay and the name and brand of the laminate you like and the plans for the cupboards. Your goal is to avoid paying for what you can do yourself. The meter starts running when they have to meet with you, etc. We find that providing coffee and generic pop and some local bakery goods and afternoon treats is a good way to ensure personal service by the workers and DH works alongside them as much as situation allows. Keep the site clean and the driveway accessible and put the dogs and kids elsewhere for the duration.

A floating floor is a floor that is not anchored to the subfloor (gravity holds it in place). A floating floor must have an expansion gap around the whole room. That means there will be a nice, big fat gap at each and every wall. The ideal expansion gap is the same thickness as the laminate. The laminate you show is 10mm thick. That means you must have 10mm gap at every single wall and a gap of 10mm on EITHER side of the door jam. Because this is a rental AND the existing floor is VERY WELL installed (baseboards appear to have been done properly) I do NOT suggest you install quarter round or shoe moulding. That means you will LEAVE the gap all the way around. This gap will fill up with crud. And then to add insult to injury you MUST use an underlayment product. Your product of choice has an integrated underpad which is most CERTAINLY plastic stuff. Even if it didn't have it, you would need an underpad to protect the existing floor. The underpad MUST NOT be plastic or vinyl or any product that will trap moisture. That means you need to work with 3mm cork underlay or Quietwalk fiber based product. Either of these products will add $$ cost to your project. But this point is moot because you have a laminate with plastic underlay = absolutely not allowed over an existing wood based floor. Ever. But why no 'plastic'? Because it will cause the moisture underneath the existing floor to catch on the bottom of the plastic and DRIP DOWN onto the existing floor. And you will be left with a fantastically moldy mess that you will be required to pay for. And considering the fact the existing floor is THROUGHOUT the house, you might be required to remove/replace the ENTIRE THING. Because a tenant must bring the home back to the ORIGINAL state. And that state includes an entire house covered in the SAME floor. Right. On to the transition strips that you will WANT to use at the doors...but will not be ALLOWED to use. Again a reducer (what the transition strip is called when moving from a 1/2" step down to 0" inch floor (like concrete or the existing flooring level). Why can't you use it? Because the transition must be ANCHORED. That is to say you would have to affix the transition to the EXISTING floor. IN doing so you risk (100% risk) of damaging the existing floor. That brings us back to leaving the house in the way you found it. And back to the issue of a floating floor over another floating floor - this is bad science. An unstable floor on top of an unstable floor. It would be like building with marbles. The warranty on BOTH floors is void (landlords love to hear these things...you might own them another floor if they find out about another floor sitting on top). In short: Don't do it. You will have one heck of an expensive 'project' on your hands when you move out. A white area rug would do MUCH better and would be MUCH cheaper.