Howmuchlonger, You're welcome and thank you for the compliment. I'm sorry but I do not have an actual name for the stain on our cabinets. See, we have pine, mahogany and knotty alder doors, the cabinets are select alder and then the natural unstained oak floor. So I went to a small local paint store with a flooring plank and asked them to match the darker streaks in the plank to each of these different woods. They did a little blending here and there and come up with what you see in the pictures. And the best news was they didn't charge me any extra for doing all that. I know I wouldn't have gotten the same service had I gone to a mega-box-store like HD or Lowes.

You can still go with solid hardwood and it does come in any width you desire. I would recommend having it installed unfinished then sanded, stained in any color then finished. I like to think about unfinished flooring as a blank canvas in which you can create any color and look. In regards to the dog, any and all wood will scratch, however, the more movement in the grain the more it will hide scratches. The shinier the floor the more it shows scratches, lean towards a flat finish. Engineered hardwood is still a good option. If you want to resand it in the future, the top veneer needs to be thicker than 2mm. Engineered comes in a prefinished with a hand scraped option too, the more scraping the more it hides scratches. Basically, pick a hardwood that disguises scratches. Scratches are going to happen in any floor covering. I wouldn't recommend laminate, there is NO actual wood in laminate. It will eventually need to be removed because it doesn’t last forever like wood can potentially. I would also stay away from bamboo because it contains formaldehyde which is highly toxic. When choosing a flooring store, I would recommend researching the company and online reviews then choose a hardwood flooring expert so you'll be lead in the right direction. In regards to Lumber Liquidators, I would watch the episode on 60 Minutes about them.

Our last home (just sold) had a long hallway...not quite as long as yours though. I had a runner specially cut for the length. Even with a very good quality backing and pad, I could not keep that runner from edging!! I think it was because of the extra long length (and foot traffic). So my suggestion would be to go with multiple runners. As for patterns/solids....that would depend on your artwork and adjoining room colors. BTW...beautiful!!!

At 19 years old, this floor is getting ready for it's next finish. I agree that this is oak with a satin finish. The way to tell whether or not you need a "buff and coat" (adding more finish to the existing finish) or a full sand and refinish is in the doorways. In doorways and in pivot points down hallways (like in front of a bathroom) you will start to see the wear through. If you can see RAW WOOD, then you need a full sand and refinish. If you see dull, old, tired finish....but it is still THERE...you can get away with a "buff and coat". A buff and coat is a roughly HALF the price of a full sand/refinish ($3/sf instead of $5/sf). It can add 7-10 years of life to the finish that is already there. The buff and coat will look GOOD for 2-3 years. It will look "OK" for another 3 years and then it will look tired and "done" for another 3 years - or until you get tired of it and have it sanded down completely. At that time you have to pay the big bucks to have it refinished. If you have photos in these high-traffic areas, please send them our way. We'll let you know if we are seeing raw wood.