Looking at flooring options for entire 1st floor, which includes kitchen, dining, family, and den. I feel like solid hardwood is the ‘default’ and what realtors would say is best for resale - but what about alternatives?
Luxury Vinyl Plank - LVP has come a long way on style, and offers the best water protection. But it might feel obviously not-solid, and I hear it scratches easily.
Laminate - And here I mean the fancy stuff, commercial rated coating and water resistant. Feels pretty solid, very resistant to scratches. “Dreamhome” line from LL Flooring, or similar.
Solid hardwood - not only the most expensive by a decent margin, but water resistant is limited, and I know it scratches. Plus sides are you can sand/refinish, and resale value. But I’m not too keen on making a choice just because selling it later.
Thoughts? Experience? Are there other major properties to consider?
Edit: I should have mentioned we have 4 kids, as far as wear & tear. Currently dog-free after both passed, but we’ll eventually get small/medium-sized dogs again.
I have no expertise, but I would recommend balancing aesthetics with utility. We have an engineered hardwood in our house and our Golden has more or less destroyed it over 6 years just from normal use. My parents have this tile flooring that looks like hardwood and it’s SO robust. They have four dogs and their floors still look perfect. If I was going to do it all over again, I’d get the stylized tile.