For versatility and resale I'd go for a medium stain, and not weathered. The grays will "date" more quickly. The medium browns will be timeless. My preferences: Photo 1: second from left. Photo 2: far right. I assume you are choosing laminate because of the cost? Solid hardwood or engineered hardwood is a better investment in the long run, and is more durable, but I understand it may not be in the budget.

More color

Light color is Urban Loft - cannot remember the color
Darker color is timeless impression- Shenandoah hickory

Thanks Fenny. Am choosing laminate for lower maintenance - scratch resistance as well as not having the need to recondition or whatever that i need to do on a yearly basis.

The Earthwerks that we are going for is $5.99 installed and its up to about $6k for the job for my house

Pic of the house and layout

1. From kitchen
2. From living room out to foyer, stairs, formal dinning
3. Kitchen

I LUV the first one on the left. When I am deciding on any given product, I make my decision based on MY likes, not necessarily on what the mainstream dictates. Whichever one speaks to you, is the one you need to go with:) All of the choices are Fab....

Or the third one on the right.....

The darkest one. It would add a nice dimension and warmth to your already bright space.

Thanks Feeny.. We just went over the hump of laminate vs engineered and wanted to get some inputs through forum on color as I am seriously in dilemma. Looks like I shall wait for overall input from experts and homeowners before making a step forward

I totally agree with feeny! We have hardwood throughout our whole main living area, the only places that don't have hardwood are the bedrooms and bathrooms. There is no annual "reconditioning" involved, I have never heard of that. I love my floors, they are "character" grade Hickory and are very tough? I would be more afraid of laminate, we had laminate in our kitchen in a previous home and I did not like it. The first week we had it our refrigerator leaked water and literally ruined the laminate! Thank goodness it was a spot under the refrigerator so no one could see it:(

I also agree with feeny on color! Although, I love all the choices here for color, medium color wood flooring is timeless:) I am no expert, just giving my opinion:) good luck!

If you are sold on laminate, then my choices would be 1 - the second from left in the first picture or 2 - the far right. I don't care for the weathered in your space.

this will probably not help you....The third from the left in the first picture.The gray wood is very modern and is going to keep getting stronger. If its a family home resale will appeal to young families that like modern.That said if its laminate and $6000 you can rip out in 8 or 10 years.Yes maybe driftwood will date in 20 years but natural tones date right now.You know you want that driftwood.admit it :) The wood vs laminate thing might be a price point thing.You could do what neighbors have done or what fits budget.If thats your baby in the photo he will look great crawling on any flooring!

I must say I like the dark slate done. Topically darker wood would be my choice as it make the room pop in contrast to the lighter tiles. And trust me it will not make the space look smaller but actually do the opposite it will make it feel warm and excentuate the other prices in the room. But I think the grey will make you personally feel better

Yes, wood flooring gets expensive, lucky for me that I wanted the natural knots and holes that natural wood offers, and I didn't want to worry about scratches and dings that ultimately happen in all wood floors. We live in our home so character grade was perfect for us! We got our flooring for less than $ 3.00 a square yard and that was 6 years ago. We get compliments all the time and it is beautiful! I know that you probably want more modern flooring but just so you know, it never hurts to ask. We got our flooring from a lumber store where they mill the wood themselves, not a manufacturer.

I agree with feeny a medium tone. I have had real hardwood in a home in a oak that we refinished and it was as tuff as nails, no maintenance just clean once a year with a very rung out mop, is what our refinished told us to do. In our second house we put engineered hardwood in oak, same shade as the second sample first picture. I love it but it's not as hard as the real hardwood was. I have dents in the family room from the remote falling on it. Remember the darker you go the more dust it with show. I could sweep mine once a day.
I'm not a fan of the washed out grey hardwood, to me it should be in a country style home. It reminds me too much of barn wood.
Good luck in your decision!

I love them all. But if you are not going to go with real hardwoods and therefore cannot sand them and restain in the future as your tastes change, then I would play it safe and go with the lighter of the brown stains. However, it would be nice to pick up a tone in your granite. Good luck

Hi Waynying,

Here are some examples of contrasting wood floors with bright, white kitchens.

http://www.houzz.com/projects/19929/3--San-Francisco-Sunset-Remodel

http://www.houzz.com/projects/53738/4--Mission-Modern

I have a question, what other floor surfaces are there in areas that are not carpeted? If you don't have some consistency through out the house, it doesn't look cohesive, particularly with an open concept. If you just want an opinion on color, I would look at the wood tones in your furnishings as a guide.

I'm with the views of others on laminate wood looking floors are not particularly durable or attractive, particularly for the kitchen. My mother had to replace the laminate floors in her kitchen when the ice maker leaked.

The rule of thumb is that horizontal surfaces should be in the same tone. The floor that best compliments your granite is the first one in the first picture, plus it ties in with the carpet the best. Don't worry about the trends, buy what you love.

I'm sorry, I meant first one in second pic. Third from left in first pic.

the 3rd sample from the left to the right would work great in your kitchen! Go for it!

3rd one from the left (the dark brown)

^ The 3rd from the left in the first pic, where they are lenaing against the cabinet-the counter tops seem rather "cool" so nothing to warmish or red, imho.

P.S. My laminate still looks great after 7 yrs--a few chips where I dropped big knives, but other than that it has held up rather nicely. Just make sure you buy very good rated laminate (check consumer reports)

I'm with Blondiesloft&Co. Far left is my first choice and includes some brown tones that would work with a wide range of furniture

I vote for medium brown. Independently from dating etc.. I think that the driftwood color will be a bit cold with the type of kitchen you have

I like the first on the left in the photo with the pieces flat on the floor. It just seems a more natural fit with the counter and with your beiges.

Love the 3rd wood from the left in the 1st picture, and the 1st wood from the left in the 2nd picture. Will give your place a more modern look, its in style now and will be for quit a bit. For your white cabinetry and light granite i personally think darker is the way to go because it will make your whole white beautiful kitchen stand out..:) Try to see what matches best with your white cabinetry and gray granite. Hope this helps.
some examples:
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GOOD LUCK!

I really like the driftwood...the first one on the left in the first picture. Don't worry about resale. If you are planning to sell in the next five years, thus will still look current. If you stay longer, you haven't invested so much that you can't just replace the laminate.

BUT. I have this suggestion. I had the same beige carpeting throughout my house and it drove me nutty. Between the husband and dogs I was constantly on my knees cleaning dirt. I know this is more toddler friendly for when they take tumbles, but as soon as your baby can run in and and tracks in the dirt, you will lose your mind.

Can you possibly afford to replace the entire floor? Or can you live with what you have until you can afford to do the whole thing?

If not, then I would do a slate floor instead as it will be way easier to complement the kitchen floor with wood in the rest of the house.

One of your criteria is a contemporary look. 3rd from the left in the first picture would be the closest match to the style you want. The others are either traditional or rustic.

First and third in both pictures...

I think with all the options coming from china and other places overseas the choices when looked at on the surface seem to be endless. That being said the only product that will let you refinish to any color (stain) you want many times over is natural wood flooring. It sidesteps any changes in popular home decor by allowing you to update the stain as you see fit. I talk to people every week that are buying prefinished floors with brand specific stains that will be off the market in a year or two. Where does that leave them when they need to repair a spot or add more flooring later? Natural products give you complete control over your floor, not just today or this week but forever.

For resale value, use hardwood, not laminate, in a one-family house. Anything in the browns range will look great. Stay away from grays, as they quickly go out of style. Anticipate that hardwood flooring will last just about forever unless there is a fire or flood.

For both durability and resale, I would definitely choose hardwood floors over laminate. Laminate is not as durable and frankly looks inexpensive. You will never regret using real wood flooring, as it is timeless and is always a top selling feature in both existing and new construction.
I love the brown wood tones and again, it will never go out of style and is a classic look that matches everything! Second from the left is my vote.

Hi Wanying, I'm wondering which you ended up choosing and do you have any photos? I'm about to order the darker of your choices ( Shenandoah Hickory). After the recent 60 mins special about too much formaldehyde in laminates from China, we narrowed down to the Earthwerks Inhaus brand. You didn't mention where you live, but for me in South Florida hardwood isn't recommended.