Armstrong is now the maker of this product. It was made under the Hartco name as Pattern Plus for many years, and the hardening claim was real. I put this floor in the oak species made by Hartco in a restaurant and the owner calls it his ironwood floor. However, I also installed a cherry species floor by Armstrong in a customer's home and I was disappointed by its lack of hardening. It seems that the acrylic impregnation process was either incomplete or defective. It dented real easy and both the homeowner and myself were very disappointed. I would suggest that you get a sample of the walnut flooring you are considering and give it a realtime test; drop objects on it, spill liquids and food stuffs on it, grind dirty shoes on it and do most any other thing to it that the floor might experience after being put in service. That will give you a real good idea what to expect as performance. Ask Armstrong to send you a representative sample or two for your consideration. They might just fulfill your request. Since I was disappointed by the recent cherry install, that is what I would do if a customer wanted the product.

You're right - you're not local! Ah well... I've been doing some more googling and searching, and found some absolutely BEAUTIFUL things I quite like on the Monterey Ceramic Tile site - I'm not going for a fully "reproduction" kitchen, but I do have slightly Mission style cabinets in a 1928 bungalow, and thus am trying to incorporate period elements if only as occasional accents. I found the site by googling "Arts & Crafts tile" and, while those are certainly interesting, the ones that really struck my eye (and are similar to some I saw yesterday) are the Restoration ones - even just doing a top border or accent tiles in that sort of style might be just the kind of interest I need to dress things up a little without actually competing with my quartz counter. Any comments, thoughts or suggestions on where to find and how to use those kinds of pieces? I will post pictures of my (very small) space once they're a little further on with hanging cabinets and taking down the wall between kitchen and diner, but in the meantime, any comments you (or anybody else) has are more than welcome! Btw, since you asked, here's my cabinet wood (KM's nat maple), counter (Cambria) and floor (not even Craigslist as the other two elements, but a free hand-me-down from somebody - yes, our kitchen is so small that we can use somebody else's "overage"... ;). Obviously, it's all rather monochrome - that's good (because the space is small and it will open it out) but if a backsplash can incorporate a bit of colour in a non-obtrusive way, that's definitely not a bad thing (and may even lead me to a decision on wall paint!). Also, since other people seem to be "backsplash-seeking" as well: I found the thread linked below while searching this morning, and bumped it in the image gallery (note to self: I didn't even know there WAS an image gallery until this! Very cool :) Here is a link that might be useful: backsplash thread in image gallery

I can comment on Pergo flooring. I had it installed about 12 years ago through Lowes. We had a very experienced flooring installer put them in. He did lots of prep work first: screwed down all the floor boards prior to installing the Pergo and all my flooring squeaks went away. My Pergo looks as good today as the time it was installed. I have dropped items on this flooring over the years: no dings or scratches. My brother who is a real estate appraiser for expensive properties was surprised it was Pergo and not wood. I can not say enough about Pergo. Best of luck in your decision. Always research and read lots of reviews on any projects you plan to do. The time you spend is worth it❣️❣️

Karastan LVP over tile. I wouldn’t if part of it is over tile. We had ours installed and the installer didn’t level it properly. There was a split pour when the condo was built. Normal. That caused a downhill drop. The planks over the drop were coming up within 3 months. The store ripped out the entire 700 sq ft floor and had another installer come down. A better job but still a small drop. Within 6 months, a plank coming up. The store sent down its master installer who spent 4 hours replacing that one plank. He put carpet padding over the problem area and then replaced the plank. That appears to be a good fix. To answer your question. The luxury LVP is very rigid and I think less rigid planks would be a better choice for some uneven areas. We had a downhill area in our previous home. We had less rigid Pergo installed and nothing came apart. FYI. The repair. The expert, with 40 years experience at this family owned store, used a power saw to cut the middle of the plank, lengthwise. That allowed him to remove the plank without damaging the surrounding area. It was a very time consuming repair. Four hours for one plank. The alternative was to rip out the floor a second time. My dealer guarantees satisfaction and certainly honors that warranty,