Hello! I always research on this site, so I thought it was about time I give back and share my experiences. We recently replaced all our flooring. Kitchen area is getting tile (as we speak), and the rest of the house has new beautiful laminate. I would have loved real wood, but the cost and maintenance does not work for us (2 dogs- one who weighs 180lbs and can scratch a diamond if given the chance). We looked everywhere, and a lot of people were pushing towards real wood- which I understand, but doesn't work for everyone. So here's a post about a great laminate flooring. We went with Ayos Hazlenut, and it is gorgeous! (http://www.bausenflooring.com/collection-ayos) Our installer typically works in very high end homes, and even he LOVES this stuff. I also spent weeks finding the perfect match for a flush stair nose- it's Eternity's Whiskey Sapele. The overlapping stair nose cheapens the look IMO and even though it is laminate, it doesn't have to look cheap. So there's my .02!