Just in case anyone decided to answer in the future, we didn't go with either option and got Shaw Platinum Texture.

Connie Kempf; my similar issues with store, salesman, inspectors, and even manufacturer and the regional representative!!! They don't understand the engineering aspects of vinyl flooring! In my case the problem involved temperature in a HVAC control room with sunlight on the flooring. They had NO clue even though I engineered a successful solution even though they said it could not be done with vinyl!! They don't understand the specific application and the engineering aspects of vinyl flooring! You can see my nightmare earlier in this post dealing with the various industry personnel. The inspectors have a conflict of interest and are not trained well enough either. As I mentioned you can find my rant on the vinyl flooring industry earlier in this thread. Please note, before buying one should read ALL marketing materials and WARRANTY info which is where ALL their dirty secrets are contradicted and are hidden in the fine print!!! Be forewarned you probably knew more then anyone of them combined. I believe most manufacturers do not recommend rolling loads (esp wheel chairs) and the problems are only compounded if individual is over weight and sub-floor has defects. It's my opinion, the salesman should have stopped the sale when he heard you would be running a wheel chair (esp a heavy power chair) across the floor. From my experience none of the staff to which I was exposed had any knowledge of proper application and installation of vinyl. Even in my case the first thing they blamed for flooring failure was on the sub-floor and floor joists. Reality, the sub-floor was within the flooring manufacturer published spec. Obviously since I'm not there I can't comment on your specific floor. Also note, I'm a self proclaimed vinyl installer beginner, with no prior flooring experience! (my only prior training is in electronic and computer science engineering with 45+ years experience solving engineering issues as Staff Engineer, I can now claim I have retrained myself on vinyl). SJ McCarthy is a regular poster here and may chime in with some helpful suggestions for your situation ?

Tapestry (link shown above by Johnson Flooring Co. Inc) is THE 'Scandinavian' look floor available through Shaw. It is STUNNING. And yes, Scandinavian flooring has knots in it. You can get the same COLOUR without the knots if you look at: https://shawfloors.com/flooring/hardwood/details/lexington-avenue-oak-215sa/astor Your inspiration photo is a little unfair as it is Woca Oil finish with a white wash look. It is possible to work with Maple to get the same look using https://shawfloors.com/flooring/hardwood/details/fairbanks-maple-5-sa459/gold-dust Remember Scandinavian isn't about PALE (as in white washed) it is about NATURAL GOLD tones...like the Maple.

If your stairs do not curve the Shaw carpet should layout fine. I don't know if you are going wall to wall. If you are using this as a runner on stairs as you stated, you will serge the edges and they will come in about 3" on each side from wall exposing the wood of the stairs on each side. There will be the serge lines on each side that will create a frame for runner. Serging is when the carpeting is cut and then the ground color thread is used to wrap the unfinished edges.