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[Mtnbikegirl]

I agree about the wider slats. We have hardwood both upstairs and downstairs, but we went for a wider slat downstairs(homier look) - I think it's 5 inches. Upstairs is thinner maybe 3 1/2??

Just remember wood naturally darkens as it ages. I like that! We went for a medium "classic" finish, and it has darkened since we put in it. The good thing about the medium shade is my dog's fur doesn't show-he's a caramel color.

I like having hardwood upstairs in the bedrooms because less dust to worry about.

People put hardwood in their kitchen's but I prefer ceramic tile.

[SleeplessinSD]

mtnbikegirl, we have ceramic tile in our kitchen and downstairs bathroom. I wasn't sure about wood in either place. Our downstairs bath is for guests, no shower, so might not be a problem to have wood. Our kitchen is large with a ranch style table and six chairs that we use for every day. Hadn't thought about the wood darkening in time; I'll definitely keep that in mind when choosing color. Again, thank you all for the great advice!

[SANNA]

The best decision ever! Make sure to get a real wood, preferable 3/4 inch thick. We got red oak, it has nice warm golden color, always looks dressy and is also very healthy since it it natural. It is easy to take care of. The brand we got is Mirage, and it was prefinished. I wouldn't recommended dark wood especially if you have pets, because on the dark surface all scratches, dust, hair, fur and stains are extremely visible. Good luck!

[SleeplessinSD]

Thank you SANNA! Definitely going to stick with lighter wood. I'm taking my Ipad to refer back to all the great advice here. I'm really excited; we're hoping to have it in for the holidays.....

[shoekitty]

The one thing I can say that is good about our older 1960's home, is under the carpet we had thick hardwood floors. So when we ripped up carpet we had them redone. OMG, it is so wonderful. I have 3 cats, and we had a dog and the floors are fine with them. When we lifted the carpet and saw all the dirt, grime and old worn rubber from carpet backing, I said never again.

We had trouble with refinishing living and dining though. Old pet stains left really huge, dark spots. We would have had to stain floors almost a walnut to cover it. So I had them ripped up and installed the 3/4 thick red oak, with low grain. They stained it a warm, deep honey color. We loved it, so we took the plunge, and had them do hardwood in the kitchen.

I have a cleaning service so they clean the floors every 2 weeks. We use a Bona product. I love the options . it is clean, always smells clean. No old dusty carpets again. However, I do have a few area rugs.

You need to take a few precautions with hardwood. I personally would never have laminate. people say you can't tell, but I can. My daughter and a few friends had them, and they can chip, warp. They are cost effective though. I like the options and look of wood. I love the sound of hardwood. You can refinish up the road.

[Junker2327]

We have been putting in hardwood floors this week. I went with handscraped oak solid hardwood in my living room foyer and hallway. I have laminate in two bedrooms which were the kids room (who have since left home) and carpet in our bedroom. I would like the handscraped in all three bedrooms but my hubby wants carpet in our bedroom. We are almost finished laying it and looks beautiful so. far.

Beckyblu

[LooPY]

Helen--Our house was built in 1895 and the oak floors, if not original (most likely those were pine) were apparently installed very early on. When we bought it 6 years ago we had them sanded and stained a slightly redder sienna color than the walnut, and they look like they did when they were first put in--a great testimony to the durability and beauty of wood! In our former townhouse, we had a very light natural color wood floor and oddly enough I found that scratches showed much more than on the dark floors here. (I will say, you can see dust bunnies scampering around more easily on a dark floor!) I steam clean the floors, and it's so quick, easy and instantly restores them to their lustrous beauty--I think you'll love them!

[SleeplessinSD]

I really think once I get hardwood floors downstairs, I'll probably want it throughout the whole house! I will get estimates to do it all and see if it's in our budget. Our kids no longer live at home, but my two grandkids stay with us often. So, upstairs (where our bedrooms are) doesn't get much traffic. The bedroom carpet is in pretty good shape, so for now will probably stay. We do have an office upstairs, which I would like to do in wood if I can. SHOEKITTY, I'm scared to look under our carpet for what I'll find. Laminate won't even be a consideration to me now. I, too, love the sound and look of hardwood. Beckyblu, handscraped hardwood; sounds very nice. You must be so happy to have it almost done. I would think laminate in bedrooms (not much traffic) would be OK, as far as scratches, etc. LoopyLoo, your home sounds beautiful. While I probably won't get dark wood, I'll probably get a medium color. Our furniture is in dark/cherry wood primarily; hopefully, I can get some samples to bring home to compare......

Thanks everyone!

[okiebug]

We live in a 65 yr house in the country with the original red oak floors. When we remodeled 17 yrs ago, we had repairs made and the floors in the entire house sanded down and 3 coats of polyurethane - no stain, the polyurethane gave the red oak a beautiful golden brown finish. It is the old 3" width, and now naturally "distressed", but we absolutely love it. We vacuum with our Dyson canister, mop with a damp microfiber pad mop using either water or a diluted Murphy's Oil Soap. The finish has lasted with only some slight wear showing in places. We raised 2 boys who raced toy cars down the hallway, have always had pets and have taken care of our floors but never babied them - people don't take their shoes off to come into our home, if mud, dirt or pet accidents gets on them, they clean right up. We have pine floors in the kitchen - had them sanded down and finished and they are holding up fine as well - a little more distressed than the oak. If I could do it over, I would have put wood down in the bathrooms instead of vinyl tiles. With an older house on a foundation, there's too much movement for stone or ceramic floors.

I don't think you'll ever regret real hardwood floors. If there's a Lumber Liquidators near you, they have a tremendous selection of flooring.

[Irshgrl31201]

Before we moved into our home we had all hardwood floors put into the entire home except for the basement (which I got new Frieze carpeting for) and a guest room and my daughters room. I think it was about 4000 sq ft of hard wood. We got large planks, about 4-5 inches I think and then I got each piece beveled. I can't find a picture of the exact color and beveling of it but I can find the width. Ours is darker and beveled on the sides but this is fairly close to the width.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wide+hard+wood+floors&client=firefox-a&hs=Xxf&rls=org.mozilla:en-USf...

Sorry that is so large but it should take you to a picture of floors. Ours is in the middle but darker and beveled.

I love them. I don't regret them at all. I did pick out some wool hand made rugs that are bound on the sides so they don't unravel. I love the look of a beautiful rug with a good amount of hardwood peaking out. I have several antique Persian rugs that I got in Turkey and another in Morocco. They look just beautiful with the hardwood and add so much interest and warmth to the rooms they are in.

One thing we did get was central vac for the whole house. It makes it so easy to vacuum up the whole 1st floor in just minutes. The type of wood I got though was meant to get marked up and scratched up a bit. It adds to the look of it. My floor is a bit shinier than the one I linked but not a whole lot. I didn't want it super shiny that showed every single scratch, I wanted a hardwood floor that looked better with age and the floor we chose definitely does look better with the wear we have on it. It added a lot of character to it. I do like shiny hardwood floors (dark) but it just wasn't practical for us and our home.

I don't know anyone who has chosen hardwood and is unhappy with the choice. You can warm up a room by getting beautiful handmade wool rugs if you feel it needs a little warmth and interest.

I feel it is so much cleaner and easier to clean as well than wall to wall carpet.