Another flooring question

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We need to start replacing the carpet in our house with wood/laminate due to allergy issues. Due to the size of our house, we will be doing one or 2 rooms at a time. Our first priority is the family to, where we spend 99% of our time.

Currently our kitchen has hardwood floors. They are a cherry color and the boards are about 2 inches wide. The kitchen runs directly into the family room (open concept).

Do we have to find the closest matching wood to what is in the kitchen? We really want something more durable because we have a little one whose toys have already dinged up the kitchen, and we are planning on getting a big dog. Also, it would be cheaper to go with something else. If we get something like a laminate in the same color scheme, will it look ok?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Patch'sD]

Tough to match floors. Generally you need the same type and age wood to match up. Laminate can hold up better to scratches in Hardwood, Although Hardwood always looks better. I had to patch some spots in my living room 20 years ago. After two sandings, restaining, and polycoats, you can still see the difference in two types of wood. We just put Laminate in our kitchen, PergoMax Ebony which covers what used to be two rooms. Holds up well to scratches and really makes the white cabinets pop. However black does show all dust and dirt. Biggest thing in doing the two rooms is to make sure floor has no bows in it. We had to plane down a few spaces to make sure the floor was perfectly flat.

 

[TAX GUY]

We need to start replacing the carpet in our house with wood/laminate due to allergy issues. Due to the size of our house, we will be doing one or 2 rooms at a time. Our first priority is the family to, where we spend 99% of our time.

Currently our kitchen has hardwood floors. They are a cherry color and the boards are about 2 inches wide. The kitchen runs directly into the family room (open concept).

Do we have to find the closest matching wood to what is in the kitchen? We really want something more durable because we have a little one whose toys have already dinged up the kitchen, and we are planning on getting a big dog. Also, it would be cheaper to go with something else. If we get something like a laminate in the same color scheme, will it look ok?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What I like might not be what you like. My suggestion would be a floor on the "less expensive side" since you mentioned little ones and toys PLUS a big dog. Something durable but assume you'll replace it down the road (not a forever floor). That's something we did 11 years ago when we built. We had a new baby and animals. The flooring lasted and took the beating we gave it (baby walker, toys, foot traffic, animals, etc). Now the child is almost a teen so no little toys anymore and the dog is almost 16.... and is "on the back 9". So, with that said, there are options for prefinished hardwood, laminate wood finishes and traditional laminate (either roll or peel and stick "tiles". To match what you currently have will be near impossible so my suggestion would to go with something different in color.

 

[havaneselover]

I matched up last year with no issues. My house is 20 years old. The builder had put wood in the foyer. Someone extended it to the formal rooms. I wanted it in the kitchen and family room. I hired a very reputable company and they installed the new flooring and refinished everything. It looks terrific.

I love wood. The flooring in the kitchen had been some sort of wood like laminate. It was atrocious. I'd have hardwood upstairs too if I'd had the budget for it.

 

[Hrhpd]

If you can afford it, I would go with the slightly more expensive, excellent quality wood floor. (Not the cheap prefinished ones.) Make sure you get a good, hard finish on them for protection.

It is a whole lot less expensive in a few years to have the floors sanded and refinished than it is to replace all of them.

We have had our wood floors for 25+ years now, with infants, toddlers and numerous huge dogs over the years. The last time we had them refinished, which included a few boards replaced for repair (no problems matching the wood), it was only $800. If we had put the cheap stuff in and then had to replace all of it, we would have been out thousands and thousands.

Think of all the good wood floors in older houses. With a nice refinishing, they hold up well over the years.

But then, I can't stand laminate, so my opinion is biased.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have had laminate, hardwood, vinyl, and tile plus dogs.

Laminate and dogs are like nails on a chalkboard (read noisy) unless you keep their nails trimmed.

I would choose hardwood over laminate. Hardwood can have it's own personality, it just wears better. When laminate is damaged, it looks it.

Not sure what to tell you about "matching it up". You could create a border with a different "look" if you can get away with that.

I would prefer tile in the kitchen and hardwood throughout if I could choose what I want.

 

[puffkin]

If at all possible, I would try and match the floors. I just think it looks better when the rooms are designed like that. If it was in a different area of the house, I wouldn't really worry about it too much.

If you can't match the floors, I would say do a decorative tile border where the two floors meet. That way you have that seperation. Then I would suggest getting the best hardwood you can for that room. It is much cheaper in the long run to refinish than replace even cheap hardwood.

 

[Pigeon]

I think flooring choices are always the hardest.

I like hardwood the best, but we always have a dog and they do tend to scratch up floors a bit. I've lived in houses with oak floors, cherry floors, strand woven bamboo floors and the dogs always managed to scratch them up some. How bad depends on the floors and the dogs.

I have a tile patterned laminate in my kitchen now and I love it. Unfortunately, the brand is no longer manufactured, but five years later, it still looks like it did the day it went down. We figured this was a temporary floor we'd only have a few years and replace, but I have no plans to do so now.

Given that it's an open floor plan, I'd try to match and have one floor as much as possible. My inclination would be to try to match the wood you have in the kitchen. If you have somebody who knows what they are doing, they should be able to get it close.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We need to start replacing the carpet in our house with wood/laminate due to allergy issues. Due to the size of our house, we will be doing one or 2 rooms at a time. Our first priority is the family to, where we spend 99% of our time.

Currently our kitchen has hardwood floors. They are a cherry color and the boards are about 2 inches wide. The kitchen runs directly into the family room (open concept).

Do we have to find the closest matching wood to what is in the kitchen? We really want something more durable because we have a little one whose toys have already dinged up the kitchen, and we are planning on getting a big dog. Also, it would be cheaper to go with something else. If we get something like a laminate in the same color scheme, will it look ok?

Any advice would be appreciated.

.

If your kitchen hardwood floors are true hardwood (as in solid all the way through) you could match. Have the same wood put in elsewhere, have the kitchen floors stripped and everything revarnished. There are some types of flooring that aren't exactly laminate but they aren't solid wood boards. They are almost like a wood veneer, so the top layer is wood and it dings up like solid wood. However, the bottom is a laminate. Those types of floors you can't revarnish or sand, so it is very hard to match them.

 

[havaneselover]

. If your kitchen hardwood floors are true hardwood (as in solid all the way through) you could match. Have the same wood put in elsewhere, have the kitchen floors stripped and everything revarnished. There are some types of flooring that aren't exactly laminate but they aren't solid wood boards. They are almost like a wood veneer, so the top layer is wood and it dings up like solid wood. However, the bottom is a laminate. Those types of floors you can't revarnish or sand, so it is very hard to match them.

Engineered hardwoods. We had very bad quality engineered hardwood floors in North Carolina. If a drop of water got on them they were damaged. Plus they dented very easily. My parents have very high end engineered wood floors that are stunning.

Site finished oak is my favorite.

 

[laurafergie]

.

If your kitchen hardwood floors are true hardwood (as in solid all the way through) you could match. Have the same wood put in elsewhere, have the kitchen floors stripped and everything revarnished. There are some types of flooring that aren't exactly laminate but they aren't solid wood boards. They are almost like a wood veneer, so the top layer is wood and it dings up like solid wood. However, the bottom is a laminate. Those types of floors you can't revarnish or sand, so it is very hard to match them.

I agree with this. However, if your kitchen is engineered or laminate wood, I would save up my money to redo the kitchen at the same time with hardwood. The other alternative would be to put hardwood into the living area, and when you could afford it, replace the kitchen with tile or travertine. (My personal choice)

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I agree with this. However, if your kitchen is engineered or laminate wood, I would save up my money to redo the kitchen at the same time with hardwood. The other alternative would be to put hardwood into the living area, and when you could afford it, replace the kitchen with tile or travertine. (My personal choice)

Redoing the current wood isn't an option. We have a large eat-in kitchen and the wood extends up the hall to the entryway and the 1/2 bath. It's at least 600 sq ft of flooring.

It's a large house and everything except for the current hardwood needs to be replaced at some point. We are going to have to go room by room and it will be a multi year project.