You've already had good advice -- and the Sarah Richardson paragraph is great. I thought I'd give you our experiences with painted floors and pine, since we also have Beagles. First, the pine. I agree. Don't use it; use a hardwood instead. When we bought our house, most of the floors were southern yellow pine. We had them refinished. It didn't take long before there were deep scratches, especially near the exterior doors. Picture three Beagles dashing to the door whenever someone comes in or out. Also picture mad chases around the house on days of pouring rain or deep snow! I would NOT use pine. Painted floors. To save money after tearing out horrid carpet upstairs, we temporarily (for about 8 years!) installed oak faced plywood in a couple of rooms and painted them with floor/porch paint. One room got daily use as we walked through it to get to our bedroom. Because of its location, it was part of the long "raceway" between the two end bedrooms upstairs. Again, lots of fast and furious Beagle traffic. The floors survived much, much better than the pine floors. They were painted a deep blue, so had they scratched like the pine downstairs did, we'd have seen it. Of course, we're in New England and don't have Florida humidity.

Fnmroberts, I remember "talking" with you about basements about 1 1/2 yrs ago or so. Our next relo will be to the Durham area of NC. I hate the thought of it because we built our dream home when we moved here (Champaign) 10 yrs ago. I've been browsing RE sites and just can't find anything I like in NC (but I know other houses would be on the market by this time next year). So, I'm trying to muster some excitement by planning the new colors, etc. I know if we build, the current trend is all hardwood in the downstairs, so that's why I'm following this thread so closely--I'd be that much closer to decision-making if I know what I like, etc. Lindy--it's still a nice color, and I'll definitely have to check it out. T'would be even more neutral than a green, especially if I'm wanting to carry it throughout the house. Right now our main color is a soft smoke gray, which we like but would want something a bit different in a new home. This site is invaluable for decoratively-challenged, indecisive people like me! Thanks.

When it comes to hardwood, trends are something to ignore! Why? Because hardwood is pretty much a lifetime purchase, and unless yours is damaged in some way, you're probably not going to replace it. So, light wood vs. dark wood, wide planks vs. narrow planks -- that stuff's all going to come and go. With that in mind -- as well as the very real concerns about cleaning dark wood -- I'll vote for a nice, neutral midtone every time. Not too much contrast, not too red, and (unless it's a beach house) not too pale. I think this is the wood that's most likely to give you good service and stand the test of time.

I have the Reward Flooring Costa Collection Rustic Grade European Oak Vela. We like it so far we have had it s year. My only complaint is a couple boards were a little more rustic imperfections than I like. (Pictures attached) The floor was installed in a new house by the builder thus the installer placed the boards with lines in it in front of my refrigerator and the one with the dark spot near my island. I had a independent hardwood guy out and he said the floor is a very good floor he installs it a lot but had his company installed it he would have placed boards like that by the wall where they aren’t seen as much. If you can oversee the install I would say this is a good medium color wood floor.