We used to have carpet in the family room. Then this sweet little thang came into our lives:
See her? Pee cat. We "rescued" her and she came to us hairless, a little beat up, with a tendency to PEE. There was a particular spot in the family room she visited a few times. When our son was born I told hubby I was DONE. We looked into getting hard floors installed.
I looked at hardwood and laminate. Touched the hardwoods lovingly...all the while looking at the price tag, thinking about friends who had real wood floors...imagining the dents, dings and scratches...
And how I would seriously CRY with each one of them at that price.
I couldn't do it. I couldn't spend that much money knowing they would get banged up. And knowing I would CRY. So we went with the laminate and luuuuurve it! (See above.) It's been two years and they have held up incredibly well. Shockingly well.
If I had a million dollars, or even an extra couple grand, I'd probably go for the real thing. But now they make laminate so real looking -- you'll be fooled. At the design firm I work for, the owner had to use both laminate and real wood floors -- can you tell the difference?:
OH!! Check out the coffee table I got for $25 at Goodwill today!:
It's a little country looking but I love the detail on the sides:
Love that table and the ottoman project!
ReplyDeleteWe have laminate! Love it. Especially with a big dog and kids. :)
First of all, SCORE on the table! Second, you KNOW you are thrifty when you're afraid to tell hubby you found a table at Goodwill for $20...lol.
ReplyDeleteThird, I have wood floors of some sort on my main level but I honestly have no idea if they're laminate or not...what does that tell you? Probably many things...but most importantly, it tells you that I honestly can't tell the difference. I think they both look great.
That's awesome!!! I love the table. Now ya got me thinking about floors...UGH!!!!
ReplyDeleteI know the kitty is a pee kitty but it's a cute pee kitty!!
You have a sweet heart. That cat would have been long gone is my house! Just ask the dog I no longer have.
Sorry...was that too much info :)
I would love to pick your brain about that room. I have 22 ft ceilings in my bedroom and it is just a thorn in my side~
I am right with you! I would go with laminate if I were you. I have cheap laminate at my apartment, and you can tell it's cheap. But I have seen some in homes that looked like the real thing. I couldn't spend that much on the real thing knowing it will get messed up. Just make sure it's a nicer laminate that looks real. Score on the coffee table!!!
ReplyDeleteAh, I love this post. First off, thank you so much for the ottoman idea. I have an old antique coffee table with the prettiest legs that I have just dreaded getting rid of, and now I don't have to! And I would so go with laminate floors, we just finished laying them in our living room-super easy! And I hear clean up is a breeze-good luck and thanks again!!
ReplyDeleteWith our renovation going on in our house we are debating on laminate or real hardwood. We had laminate in Alaska and after 1 year it started to swell in the corners from people tracking in with wet shoes. We have dogs so it was great on that...but I think we are going to spring for hardwood...we have a friend who installs real wood and laminate but the great point that he made was that once laminate is ruined you have to rip up the whole floor to replace it...with real wood you can sand out scratches and re finish it for years. I am trying to compare pros cons and cost into our factors!
ReplyDeleteI want hardwoods; I'll get laminates. Now, if I had to guess, I would say that the second picture from the top is the laminate based on the waves in it. That's my biggest peeve with cheaper laminates...the wave you can slightly see and you can feel. I hate that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we hope to save up enough to replace our living room carpet before the end of the year (toy room would be nice but probably not going to happen) and we know we'll be using laminates because hardwoods are out of our range. In a perfect world, reclaimed barnwood!
First, I love the coffee table. Can't wait to see the re-do.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'm going to buck the trend and say hardwood. We have all hardwoods (sealed with poly)downstairs in our house we built 30
years ago. They still look good, having raised 2 kids. And, like someone said, if there is a big booboo, ultimately you just resand and refinish. That's my 2 cents. Linda
I stumbled across your blog about a week ago & love it. We renovated our little house & went for laminate. We installed it ourselves & it looks great. One thing that I would consider is that the laminate floor isn't sealed, so if water (or pee) seaps through the cracks...your floor will warp (from experience). If you can afford the real hardwood floors...I would go with those.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, don't know about laminate, but cat urine is terrible on hardwood floors! Linda
ReplyDeleteWe have real hardwood floors... whenever I walk across laminate they feel spongy or soft under my feet and they just don't look like real wood to me. I can always tell the difference, but for young couples with children I think laminate is the smart way to go. :-))
ReplyDeleteDi
The Blue Ridge Gal
I think the second pic is the hard wood. It looks more aged.
ReplyDeleteWe got laminate in Dec 07 and I love them. We just did our entry hall and into the kitchen.
Ok, there is plastic laminate and then there is wood laminate. The wood laminate is a thin strip of real wood on top of plywood - more cost effective, and not plastic. Then there is 3/4 inch real hardwood, prefinished or unfinished. I studied them all very intensely before I chose to put 3/4 inch real prefinished hardwood in my entire house. Yup, the whole house. Only the kitchen, laundry room and two upstairs bathroom don't have it. Even the stairs have it. (Search my blog - I have photos.)
ReplyDeleteI dislike plastic laminate. You can definitely tell the difference when you walk on it. Wood veneer laminate looks better, but cannot be refinished the way real, thick hardwood can.
This prefinished brazillian cherry hardwood that I got - from Home Depot at $3.99 a square foot (not including labor) 2 years ago was a STEAL - is the most durable flooring I've ever seen. I had the same kitty issue as you, and occasionally they still have that issue. No worry on these floors. I have a toddler grandson who bangs toys on the floor. Nary a dent. Seriously - they are HARD wood. Durable.
I highly recommend it to anyone who is still shopping. Wait a bit longer and save up the extra $. You will not regret it, however you may live to pull out your plastic laminate floors and start over again. Just sayin'.
We're going to put laminate in our house very soon. I hate carpet, especially with a big dog, 2 cats, and a soon to be 1 year old. I would prefer handscraped hardwoods of course, but laminates will be better than the carpet!
ReplyDeleteI have real hardwood floors everywhere except the bathroom and kitchen..they came with the house and it's an old house. My mother-in-law has laminate in her kitchen and I really don't like the ticking sound it makes when you walk with shoes or drop something on it, you can definitely tell it's fake. I've never looked into flooring (thankfully) so maybe she has cheaper laminate, I like the look though. So which is the real and which is the fake???
ReplyDeleteWe have laminate but it's the lightest possible color on earth (not by choice, we live in military base housing) and I haaaate it bc it shows every sprinke of dog hair and dirt that enters this house (need I mention we have to dark haired dogs and a cat?). I've even cried over it, ha But... I LOVE the dark! Just love it! I think you made a great choice :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah~ I have real wood floors and let me tell you they are so hard to keep nice, mine scratch so easily, I guess it adds to the charm but I look at yours and they are gorgeous.I think you made the right choice...great score on the table! thanks for visiting and leaving a comment on my blog, so glad you did so I could find your wonderful blog! Have a wonderful Monday.
ReplyDeleteI live in an older house and some of the rooms have real hardwood. But it's old and scratched up and we don't really have it in the budget to fix it right now. I would like to put laminate in our living room/ kitchen area to replace carpet and tile. If we planned to live here a long time I'd go for hardwood, but we really want to move at some point.
ReplyDeleteLove the table. I know it will look FAB no matter what you do with it!
ReplyDeleteXazmin
I want to replace our wall to wall carpet in our living/dining room...I'll have to take a look at laminate a little closer. Yours looks great!
ReplyDeleteOur old wood floors came pre-dented and dinged, so we just live with them and think of them as beauty marks. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think the "faux" wood is the second picture of your series of 3? (I don't think it is the lamp....).
Laminates can look wonderful; the only issues I know about -- and this has happened to friends -- is if there's any humidity of dampness, they can buckle and then the floor needs replacing. We are having this same debate about what flooring to put in our family beach house -- wet feet and laminates may not work.
Lovely blog! Cass
I had a kitty who used to pee in the floor air vents!! Now that wasn't too easy to clean up and not really replaceable. And let's not even talk about the smell when we switched the heat on for the first time each year...
ReplyDeleteI guess I am lucky that my 1968 house came with all hardwood floors. There is only carpet in a few rooms. Of course they have some dings but that is the character. I had a laminate in my old house, liked it in the kitchen. It wasn't hardwood laminate though, more a tile look.
ReplyDeleteof the two photos, the first one is real? Am I correct?
ReplyDeleteI have real...the old fashioned 1915 real wood....lots of dinks and dents but I do love them.
They are a lot of work to upkeep...I am thinking laminate would be the way to go...how does it hold up to toy cars racing on it? I have 2 boys and a girl.
Hi Sarah!
ReplyDeleteThank-you for stopping by The Katillac Shack!
I understand about pets and practicality....stop back by and meet Oliver Wendell the basset hound at my Pet Shack heading. He owns the place and lets us rent out a room.
He is my son. We look exactly alike. I am not joking.
Anyway--happy to meet you! I love your site! Great conversation and you have so many nice friends.
We are kindred spirits. Goodwill is my favorite place to go!!! I found a ton of treasures just today that only require a little paint. Congrats on your great find!!
ReplyDeleteI would prefer hardwood, but will have to settle for laminate. Something about champagne taste on a beer budget. Can't wait to see how your coffee table turns out.
ReplyDeleteWe put real hardwood in our home and I always wish we would have put laminate. With four kids it gets dinged and scratched alot.
ReplyDeleteI love your laminate floors, they're beautiful. I really like the idea of you painting that coffee table black. You are so talented at making everything look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful coffee table! Great find...
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about wood floors...I had them installed after Katrina, they were fine until my granddogs started coming home to visit. Then having granddog, Miller here for 6 weeks... well they just looked like little claw marks everywhere.
Boo hoo!
I have laminate too. No it doesn't look like a wood floor, it looks like TRAVERTINE. I love it. It is made from recycled material. It is cushioned on the bottom, so it's easy on the feet. It's not cold like tile would be. And if I would drop something very heavy, it would not crack like tile.
ReplyDeleteActually, I have laminate in that SAME color!! I love it b/c it's durable, but don't love it b/c it shows dust so badly. And I haven't figured out the best way to clean it.
ReplyDeleteI went to janitorial supply place and they told me what to get for dark laminate flooring. It is TERRIBLE! It leaves a residue and stuff. We used to get on our hands & knees to clean it. Tahner washed, I dried. Finally, I just said, "Screw it! I'd rather have clean floors with streaks than keep putting it off b/c we had to get on our hands & knees to clean."
But I do love the look, and overall, I don't think you can tell the difference.
Great find on that table!!
Sarah you are impressive. $25.00?
ReplyDeleteI never get that lucky with bargains.
You live up to yor blog name my friend. LOL!
It is gorgeous!
We do have real wood floors and I LOVE them!
Kepp in mind we have no children. You're right they do show dings easily. Don't even talk to me about the time I dropped a Coke can. Can you say touch ups... UGH!
Ours are a very dark Cherry stain so I got a double dose of that as well.
Your pee cat is precious! I love her! She reminds me of our Chestnut.
Thanks for rescuing her.
You're kind to do that.
Have a great evening.
~Melissa :)
It's so funny that I saw your post right now. My hubby and I are going to Home Depot tonight to order flooring for our office. We are having the hardest time deciding what to do with!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind, could you tell me what kind of laminate that flooring is?? I want something that looks like wood but holds up really well.
Thanks so much!!!
XOXO
Jen
jennifer@hadfields.org
Yeah, I love thrifty decorating ideas! I'm glad I came across your site.
ReplyDeleteI'm about to re-decorate my girls' bedroom, and lo and behold, I found a favorite spot that our kitty likes to frequent, too. Time to consider a flooring change!
My Goodwill *never* has good stuff like that! Great find!
ReplyDeleteAs for the flooring...we installed Pergo in our first home and it was great. My only complaint was that I didn't like the sound it made when I walked on it. Still, it was great and it was a good choice for us.
In this house we already had hardwood in the entryway, so we continued the hardwood in the kitchen when we made some improvements. Now we're adding more hardwood and refinishing everything to match.
My children play on it and it definitely shows some wear...but I think that is great! The finish is intact, it just has some small dents and such--which I like better than pristine floors anyhow! :)
Both types of flooring have their benefits. Good luck deciding!
~ Sarah
Great score on the coffee table. As for flooring, I paid MORE for my laminate than some hardwoods go for. I chose laminate with a 25- year water, wear and stain warranty. Looks real and holds up really well. But, will we keep it for 25 years? Who knows, we are at about 5 years now and still love it.
ReplyDeleteOK, here is my opinion on the floors ~ we have had both. I had laminate in every room in our house b/c my entire family is ridden with allergies and since hubby uses his 'voice' to pay our bills, we can not have carpet. Luckily, when we bought our house it had NO carpet. ANYWHO ~ we had new tile laid in our house (live in Florida) and so we decided to pull up the laminate. The workers actually took the pieces themselves to put in THEIR house - still in great shape. We put engineered wood down in the dining room and office and it's beautiful - but $$$, so we were only able to do those 2 rooms. We happened to find a close-out at a discount floor store that matched EXACTLY and got enough to put in our 3 other bedrooms. The thing is - it's 5" wood planks that are distressed, so marks on them are not a big deal. I LOVE it and we got it for just $1.50 more than laminate, plus it's real wood so should it need to be sanded down and restained, not a big deal - you can't do that but a few times with engineered. I love laminate - it's durable and will last a long time, but if you happen to find a deal on the real thing, that is what I would recommend. I love the classic, timeless look of hardwood! Yours look GREAT - and you can't tell a difference at all in the design firms hard wood.
ReplyDeleteWe were in this same debate on flooring from the time we moved in our house ~5 years ago. We FINALLY decided on hardwoods to match the existing hardwoods in the dining room/entrance area. Now...the floors are down, and we've bought a couple stain colors to try, but we can't decide! Any ideas on a color to stain white oak floors? PS-great find on the table!
ReplyDeleteWe built our house 2 years ago and I wanted hardwood in the dining, greatroom & kitchen but I had to settle for the dining room & foyer. I wanted the 5 1/2 inch hand scraped wood & it cost so much that I had to cut down on the rooms. I LOVE IT! I have had the laminate & I just don't care for the hollow sound of it. My MIL just had it put in her house. I love my real wood. You just have to decide what fits your purse the best. I chose more expensive flooring put in my house because that is what I like.
ReplyDeleteWe have real hardwood floors and I love them! They do scratch fairly easy though!
ReplyDeleteLove your Goodwill find too! It will be perfect in black!
Love the bargain you got on the coffee table. I am looking forward to it's makeover.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, that table is great! Can't wait to see what you do to it. Back to the subject at hand, I am gonna say laminate simply because I have 2 young rough and rowdy boys that are really hard on my Mom's real hardwood floors when we visit. I can only imagine what her floors would look like if we lived there. We have laminate floors, and the price difference was staggering, so we went with the less expensive, but have been very pleased.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the makeover. Foam is expensive, it is killer I tell ya.
ReplyDeleteI like my laminate floors. We are planning on taking it in the entryway and in the hallway too. The only thing I don't like about my laminate is the installation. The previous owners (that installed it) were big, take short-cuts, DIY-ers. They did a horrible job. It actually slides and leaves gaps, and don't get me started about where it meets the molding around the doors!! Oh well!
ReplyDeleteWe will soon be putting down laminate in several places in our home. We even have ripped up carpet to prove we're going to do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the second picture is the real hardwood.
ReplyDeleteI have the real stuff in my kitchen and sunroom.
I have the laminate in two bedrooms.
I like them both, and I do agree tht the laminates they make now are very realistic!
I'm hoping to one day get rid of all carpet - so much better on the allergies!
I have hardwood...and while it's expensive at first, there is comfort i knowing that after a few more years, all we have to do to change the finish, color and dings is sand and refinish. Instead of doing it all over again. Our next big project is tearing up the carpet on the steps and upstairs and replacing it with hardwood. Laminate does look good, I'll give it that. There difference is real verses realistic. It's really a preference.
ReplyDeleteWe have laminate, I would love to have hardwood, but my pocketbook,....well couldn't afford it! I do love the look, ours is like yours in the first picture. We have Armstrong brand, I would have thought that it was a great, durable brand, but not. We have it thru out the house, ex. the living room. It scratches so easily, I hate it for that. I also have the laminate that looks like tile in the upstairs bath and the main floor bath. TOTALLY love it, more so than my other that looks like wood.
ReplyDeleteLove your coffee table too! :)
Great find! We ended up having to do laminate in our addition for cost effectiveness. It too looks a lot like real wood, but it definitely sounds fake. ;) T and his brother put it in and it looks great. You pee cat is cute, by the way. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the table! We have loved our laminate~it's a new kind that's flexible and waterproof, which is what we needed in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI love the table. Great buy. Your husband will thank you for the splurge! Now, about the flooring..... We have laminate. I used to have hardwood. I was a nervous freak about them too. I couldn't breathe when anything moved on my floors: people, chairs, heels, etc. I'm in love with our floors now. You have to get on your hands and knees to even know that they are laminate. Amazing technology!
ReplyDeleteWe have laminate, When we built this house almost 5 yrs. ago I budgeted for hardwood, but went over on other stuff so basically had to do laminate. I'm glad we did! It's really held up well with a dog, cat, and kid...and of course neighbor kids running around. Mine is a little lighter than yours, I call it a honey color. I love your color too, really pretty! The first time we stepped in the house after they laid it hubby said "It feels fake!" But after I got the furniture in he liked it.lol! So I vote for laminate. Can't wait to see what you do with that coffee table!Kristen
ReplyDeleteWe have real wood flooring, but it is in serious need of a refinishing because our darn dishwasher flooded it. Several of our neighbors have laminate, and you are right, it is getting hard to tell the difference these days.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I love the table. Looks like a fun project!
I have a coffee table very similar to yours that I bought for ten dollars. I painted it off white and distressed it. It is one of my favorite pieces that I have. Can't wait to see yours when you're done! I think laminate looks awesome as well as hardwood. We were lucky to find our house after the previous owners updated a lot, including putting down hardwood everywhere but the bedrooms. We would have never done it because it would have been too expensive!
ReplyDeleteI also had a pee cat. Although the cat is gone now, I still have the carpet. I have been begging Hubby for years to rip out the carpet and put in hard floors. I would rather have laminate. I personally can't even tell the difference, and it's much more durable.
ReplyDeleteWe've got hardwood - but only because it was here when we got the house. There are so many alternatives now in the laminate stuff - and so much of it looks better than real hardwood. Love the table you got - can't wait to see you transform it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty table! Great find! And thanks for the mention!
ReplyDeleteJenny
little green notebook
We have both. Our whole house is done in original hardwood and it looks great except for a few spots. I have no idea what color it is to touch it up so we have just had to live with the blemishes. We have laminate in our kitchen and it is much easier to clean and doesnt scratch/dent. I know real hardwood adds value to your house so thats the only reason I keep it.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that you check out ceramic wood. I put it in my downstairs because of 2 BIG dogs and I LOVE it. It is indestructible, looks like wood and is easy to keep clean. Cat pee, no problem. I just put laminate in at my bay house and it is durable, but I still like my ceramic wood better and wish that I could have it at the bay.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you choose, good luck!
Can't wait to see what you do with the table. Are you going to tell us which floor is real and which floor is memorex? I mean laminate?
ReplyDeletehello, just wanted to tell you that we have vinal wood floors in our house. they are so easy to install all you need is a straight edge and a box cutter. and we love them. oh and did i mention that they are 100% WATERPROOF. our realitor did not even know they were not real wood. and would you please post a pic. of the table once you have painted it black. i have some end tables and matching coffee table that i want to paint black but am to afraid. thanks and i love the post.
ReplyDeleteI've had both laminate and wood floors. To me the wood had a lot more up keep to it.
ReplyDeleteThe laminate was a dream to have and maintain.
When I rip up this horrid carpet in my living room, I will seriously consider the laminate first.
Congrats on the table find. They never have any good looking furniture at my Goodwill :o(
I can't wait to see you work your magic on it ;o)
Great deal on the coffee table! We also went with the laminate route because of price (and they do look pretty) but next time I'm going to just spring for the real deal. We have Pergo and it does chip and dings - like real wood. Only you can't sand it out like you could with real wood. They make a product to fill in scratches and chips so they know that their product does this!
ReplyDeleteManuela
We have real-my DH wouldn't even consider anything else. We have had it for about 18 months and it has held up great. My biggest complaint? With 3 dogs I have dog hair tumbleweeds that float around-carpet used to suck that stuff in. But I really really love it.
ReplyDeletewe are looking into laminate floors as well. Did you install it yourselves or have someone do it for you?
ReplyDeleteCan I just say...I love reading your blog!!!. You are sooo funny and I love your ideas! We think alot alike!! I lived in a house with laminate...couldn't tell the difference. Love the look of hard wood floor, either way! Have fun with your new find! I should have some of my makeovers posted soon!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you,
~Victoria~
If I had the money I would still probably go with laminate. I have 4 rowdy kids running around, plus all the neighbors and friends they bring over. I would STRUGGLE every time it got a dent or scratch if I'd paid good money for hardwood. I think they make the laminate so well these days you really can't tell the difference. BTW...I LOVE the color of yours. What is it called and where did you get it?
ReplyDeleteRockin deal on the coffee table. It would make a fabulous tufted ottoman...GORG!
~Amanda
LOVE LOVE LOVE the coffee table. can't wait to see it finished.
ReplyDeleteIs the first picture the laminate? I just had to guess, don't know why.
Thanks for the testimonial on the laminate, I've been wondering...
If I had to guess I would say that the first is the laminate flooring, and I only guess that because of the shine. Am I right or wrong??
ReplyDeleteI love that coffee table! I can't wait to see the finish product!Go girl $25.00 great job!
First of all, love the new coffee table! :) Secondly, I am with you on the laminate debate. We have hardwoods in our house and carpet too, and the dog has pretty much wrecked the carpet, so the question is, do we replace the carpet or just suck it up and get hardwoods for the rest of the main floor? I can't tell the difference in the photos you posted which one is laminate or wood, so that gives me hope that we can get something that I will love without liquidating our kids' college funds to do it! :)
ReplyDeleteCarrie
I have the same problem with multiple peeing cats and 2 scratchy dogs in my "pet den". I decided to do a decorative paint technique on plywood and seal the sh*t out of it. Whatever I do is going to be fairly temporary, so why waste good flooring? If it doesn't stink too much when I'm ready to put down hardwood (at the moment I still refuse laminate) I can keep it as a subfloor.
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't know...We have had hardwood in all of our houses, but w/brand new hardwood it really does break your heart when it gets scratched up. Our house is 60 years old now, and the hardwood is already "aged" quite nicely. It doesn't make me cry to have it scratched up some more.
ReplyDeletep.s. I think that Billy is SOOOO much cuter than Mackenzie. Ugh. I think casting needed to step it up a bit.
We live in an older home (built in 1925) with original hardwood floors in 75% of the house. An addition was added somewhere around 1960 and when I have the $ I will put real hardwood in there, too. Call me a hardwood snob. ;^)
ReplyDeleteI have the cruddiest carpet. UGH. I don't have a pee cat, I have 2 kids and the original carpet from a spec home. Nash likes to spit his drinks and food on the floor and Knox is always spitting up. So that combined with bad carpet in the first place??? The need for flooring. I have done some research and think I am going to do the laminate! There is a local flooring store right by me that promises the look, sound, feel and durability of real wood with something else...i can't remember the name right now...maybe it is pergo? anyway. i love your color of floor. my hubby would too. he loves cherry wood.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask you where you got your sofa? We are shopping for a new one now, trying to find one that is family friendly but still looks nice. I really like yours! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThey all look good...I've had both and can do either.
ReplyDeleteYours turned out nice!
GREAT choice on the laminate. We bought a very old home that has natural hardwood floors....I love the look of the floors, but they are really old and scratched, and faded.....We are trying to decide whether it would be cheaper to sand and stain them or to go laminate. With the beautiful results in your home and knowing that we have four children, one on the way, and that the floors will undoubtedly get scratched but yet again, we might follow suit and go for laminate!
ReplyDeleteThe flooring that you installed 2years ago, looks fantastic, it's really amazing what they can do now with flooring products. We want to get rid of our carpeting on the main floor of the house, and have what you have put in.
ReplyDeleteI have hardwood floors & I have to say I really love them. I think if you decide on hardwood, it's just kind of a given that they'll get e little dinged - but I think it adds character.
ReplyDeleteWe had laminate in our previous house and I LOVED it. Great for pets and kids...and it still looks brand new after a few years. Our new house is all wood. No problem so far since the kids are older and the pets are house broken. I do miss the easy maintenance of the laminate though! Your house looks great!
ReplyDeleteWe have laminate in the entry and kitchen and the first thing people say when they enter our house is how much they love the hard wood floors. They look so good and even when we do get scratches (which happens when you have four kids) after about a month or two they are gone. I'm not sure where they go, but I don't care because you can't see them anymore. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have laminate that is the hand scraped look alike and love it!!! people always think its real, and even our super rich friends who just built a new house are putting laminate in this time instead of wood.
ReplyDeletehttp://organizedcleandesign.blogspot.com/