I know there's a whole "green" movement and there are certainly some buyers that would be influenced by the whole "green" movement. I'm just not sure I'd play into that game if it's not economically sound. In my experience, "green" products tend to be more costly then traditional building materials. In addition, if you're going the expense of "green" flooring to attract a specific set of buyers, then make sure your appliances (specifically hvac), windows, etc. are all also "green". If buyers care about the flooring and countertops being "green" then they're certainly going to care about your mechanical systems being energy efficient and your windows being energy efficient. But there are probably a whole lot of buyers that really don't even look at the "green" aspects of a home.

Betting on a buyer that cares a great deal about "green" is about the same as betting on a buyer that will love your 200 names species rhododendrons. They are out there, but they don't make up the majority. If I saw a house with bamboo I would be mentally calculating what it would cost to remove it all and replace it with oak or walnut. Re: granite, "people" have been saying it is trendy, "they" have been saying that since about 1985. I would stick with whatever is more common in your area. If you care about resale, with granite I would stick with a neutral not too swirly granite. With wood floors, I would stick with select or better red or white oak (I prefer white myself).

Granite is going out of favor in upscale areas. There is a fear of radiation and I know of one couple who tore it out of their home and replaced it with stainless counters. Bamboo is popular. I think it depends on the market you are in.

Granite is NOT going out of style. I tour homes every day, and granite is still the choice of higher end homes.
Cardovmam has it right. If the entire home is not "green" then it is not such a big deal to buyers.
Buyers DO like a "green" home, but they just do not want to pay more for it yet.

Check over on the kitchens forum. I think that you will find that very few people are afraid of radiation from granite and that it is still a very popular choice.

Buyers DO like a "green" home, but they just do not want to pay more for it yet.

Laughing, because you have hit the nail on the head. I will pay more for an energy efficient home, but that's because I expect those upgrades to pay me back. I am a tree hugger, and have a lot of 'green' in my home and lifestyle, but I don't plan on selling this house any time soon, and expect that my choices would be more of a turn off than a turn on to a prospective buyer. I personally don't like granite, but when you are looking at resale, you go with what is popular in your area.

Simple answer: no. However, bamboo is used in my area, mainly, I think, because it's a different look.

I don't like granite for kitchen counters just because it's such a cliche. We used man made quartzite, Dupont Zodiaq.
Thanks for the reminder on radioactive kitchen counters!

I'd be more concerned whether carpeting is a good choice for the bedrooms than I would be over there being granite in the kitchen or using green flooring in the rest of the house.
A greater number of people these days are opting for wood flooring in bedrooms because of allergies and the fact that carpeting holds in allergy inducers.
From a buyers point of view it's much easier to live with a plain wood floor than it is to live with someone else's color/texture choice in carpeting.

Green flooring wouldn't interest me. I'd be interested in appearance, function, and how long it would last until it needed to be replaced.

As far a granite goes, I'm building a custom house in a higher end neighborhood. All of the other houses I've been in are also new. They all have granite counters. I'm not a fan of granite so I tried to find something else. I had really hoped granite would go out of style. I haven't found a good alternative and need to build a house suitable for resale. I suspect that where granite is going out of style is in the homes where homeowners really can't afford it. Banks have cut down on their lending. People who like to spend too much money on what they can't afford are being forced into being more reasonable.

Thank you all for your replies. We are still trying to figure it out. Right now, thanks to the input here, we are leaning towards a more traditional wood flooring, we've sort of resigned ourselves to going granite in the kitchen & we're considering putting wood in the bedrooms if we can find it at the right price.

I posted in flooring to find out if there is a "hollow" sound with floating engineered wood flooring. It would be much more convenient to use this product, but I hate the sound of walking on laminate flooring.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. It does make a difference!

Yes there is a hollow sound to floating engineered wood flooring. Not the exact same sound as laminate, but still a sound.

Dang it lyfia! I was hoping it had better padding or something. I guess we could do a glue down of engineered stuff. I'd go with regular hard wood, but would have to put down plywood first & am worried about the height difference between that & tile / carpet if we go that way.

Saw all you Austinites or Austinians or.... planning a get together on another thread! Sounds like fun - I'm in the Dallas area & I know there are probably lots of us on here.

You can ask for and get more soundproofed underlay padding for any floor that you put down - ask the flooring store.

What kind of neighborhood is it? Traditional? Contemporary? I'm looking for a home right now and have been very frustrated by quick-and-dirty or strange remodel-to-sell jobs. I'd rather have to do the remodeling myself than pay more for such a remodel. Does that make sense? So don't use a cheap Chinese granite for example. Or don't use a flooring that doesn't match the architectural style of the home. You can ask a stager for advice.

what is chinese granite?

Granite imported from China. What isn't?

Mostly, imported Chinese granite is the stuff that has a tiny-sized conglomerate of beigey, grayish, white, brown and black. It is porous (making it bad for kitchens and baths) and ugly, but becoming widely used in commercial settings and now starting to show up in homes. I haven't seen it in any local granite yards so I don't know where it's being sourced.

gina w : We don't plan on putting in horrible or wierd stuff for resale. Although we are bargain shoppers, we're very particular. Plus, we'll probably be living with our choices for awhile. If I was staying, I'd probably put in bamboo flooring & concrete counter tops but have been convinced on here that more traditional materials would appeal to a wider group of people.

Our neighborhood is what I would consider mid to upscale rural. All the houses around us have about 5-20 acres. Most are fairly new brick or stone construction. All that I've seen have granite kitchens - I don't particularly like it, but will probably go that way. Luckily we have a friend that runs a stone yard and we'll most likely be able to get a good deal on a pretty piece of stone.

I haven't heard of Chinese granite, so thanks for the tip. Just like everything else from China - probably has melamine in it too........