I am looking at Berry laminate as well. I saw some samples when I was window shopping recently, and they surely look nice. I also saw some nice Mohawk laminate. I have some Armstrong samples that I really like, but am concerned that they may be too glossy. I keep ordering samples, hoping that THIS is the one, but something always stops me from committing. The one I really liked is from Lumber Liquidators, but I keep seeing "red flags" about LL laminate on this form. But now this Berry....

Anyone??

Thank you!

Hi Shelayne,

Looks like we are in the same boat. Right now I have Armstrong and Berry samples in my home. I do not like the glossy Armstrong line but am looking at Pacific Heights and Nature's Gallery. I haven't found a sample from Armstrong that I love yet.

I really like the looks of the Berry and have found a few samples that I like, I just haven't heard a lot about them and want to be sure of the quality. I was hoping that someone with experience would post.

Have you made a decision yet?

Hi Conanc,

I just received my Berry "Mansion" samples in the mail yesterday and subjected them to my "special" testing. I am very impressed! I scratched a screwdriver all over it, and not a single mark can be seen. None of the other 50+ samples of various other lines have beaten my screwdriver test--sometimes the marks are very faint, but they are there and can be seen when the light hits them.

Berry has a lifetime warranty, and it looks to be of excellent quality. I am just not totally in love with the color sample I received, so I ordered more today. If I like any of the colors, it is a go, I think.

The samples I received are TWO 4.75" X 8" boards--instead of the one smallish size I generally get--so it is much easier to see how it would look.

I really think this one might be it! I surely hope so!

BUMP for opinions on Berry floors and possibly photos of it installed?

Thank you!

Hi Shelayne,

That's really good to know about the screwdriver test. I have a few large samples from the store here, too.

What colors are you looking at? I really like the looks of the Berry laminate and the colors in this line are nicer than some of the others I've seen. I wish we could get some opinions and photos. I will have to make a decision soon. :)

Hi Conanc,

I have the Smoked Oak in the Mansion line that I really like. I wish it were just a tad richer looking--as in a little bit deeper--so I am going to go window shopping again to see if there are any colors I may have missed. I tried to order some of the other colors as samples, but they are not available in sample form from the various web sources, which probably means they don't even have it in stock. So I will have to go back to that store where I first saw the Berry, just to get a quick peek and hopefully they are having a sale.

I received three other samples today, and two of them are almost identical. I really thought they gave me two of the same colors until I saw the numbers on the back.

OK, I just went to the website because I oculdn't remember the names, and they DID send me the same sample twice; it's just mismarked. Phew. I am not losing it. Yet.

I have:
Smoked Oak (really like it)
Dakota Walnut (not my fave)
Brazillian Cherry (a little too reddish)

All in the Mansion line. Tomorrow I will check out the store to see if there are more possibilities.

I know there is someone on this forum that has Berry laminate because I remember her mentioning it on one of these threads. I don't remember which one or in what context. Photos would be very nice.

Which samples do you like?

Hi,

I like the Mansion Smoked Oak and Tuscan Oak and the Oxford and Tavern Oak in the Lounge line. I also have some Armstrong samples at home but don't like them as much next to the Berry samples. Still hoping for photos. :)

Hi again, :^)

Well, I went to check out the other Berry colors and actually found one that I AM IN LOVE WITH! It is from the Castle Rock line, and it is Red Oak. It is so funny because I would never have picked that from the pictures on the internet, but the actual product is just luscious! And NOT red like the pictures show. The most accurate photo is on the Berry Floor site, but only on the room planner portion. I am very excited to FINALLY have found a high-quality product that I love! Yay!

Unfortunately the price in this store is NOT so wonderful. They want over $5/sq. foot for it. No, that does NOT include installation. I have found it on the internet for $2.76/square foot. What does one do? I will see if I can talk them down any (family-owned business), but if truth-be-told, I am awful at that. I am not assertive enough and end up wimping out. I need to "buck-up" (as DH would say) and get some courage--and quickly! * gulp * LOL.

I don't have samples of this with which to do my testing, but I am trusting it will be the same as the other Berry samples I already possess. It is thicker than the Mansion at 11mm, and has a bit more lustre.

Hi,

I just took a look at it and it is beautiful. I would love to see it in person. I have some Berry samples to return to my local floor store. Interestingly, when I visited one Berry dealer, they told me all of the Berry floors were the same price....$4.29 sq. ft. (no installation) whether they were 8mm or more. Not sure if they carried the Castle line or not. I'll check though.

Hello, it's me...

Well $4.29 is better than $5.85 sq ft. I haven't talked to them yet, but DH says "forget it, they'll never come down to where you want it. Just get it on the net."

I am corresponding with a gentlemen from one of the internet dealers, and he is getting a sample of the Castle Rock to me. I will see how much "damage" I can do to it.

I am 99% positive we will go with this one. Just which company will be our supplier is up in the air.

BTW, I was doing a search for Berry on the whole GW site, and I found a poster that has Berry laminate (in Castle Rock, yet!) and LOVES it. I have posted to her (him?), begging for photos, so I will keep an eye out for those. I wish I could remember their name.

If I receive a response, I will point you in that direction. Surely we cannot be the only two looking for info on Berry floors?

And no, I wasn't really calling you Shirley. ;^) :^D (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

The Berry floor you are looking at is a nice 11 MM thick and I like the colors. Thanks for sharing with me. I may take a look at this also.

Great! It looks like there are three of us looking now. Hopefully we can find some photos or other info out there on Berry. I can't even get the results for a dealer near me from their website. It doesn't take my zip code or other address info. The Berry site gets stuck and reads "loading info" and I've tried from different computers. Anybody else have this problem?

Right now I am looking at The Lounge line: Tavern Oak and Borneo Oak, but it is 8mm. The floor measurer couldn't believe how realistic the Tavern Oak looked. I am going to look at the Castle Rock this weekend......

Shelayne, you may be looking for me. I've posted several times about our Berry floors. I absolutely LOVE them! We have the Touraine slate in our office, entry, side hall and into the kitchen. Throughout the rest of our home we have the Castle Rock in Red Cherry (for a total of about 2000 sf). We even put it on our staircase!

I had really wanted hardwood when we remodeled, but because our home is on a slab the extra installation costs made that impossible. And, considering the sizable investment we were making with our remodel, I had concerns that a laminate might "cheapen" the look. I searched and searched and brought home samples from just about every laminate manufacturer (and even some upscale vinyls like Kardean and Amtico - $$$ but terrific looking) -- but my search stopped when I found the Berry Castle Rock line. Both my husband and I loved it from the git-go.

The look is nothing short of gorgeous. The cherry is very rich looking -- and very, very REAL looking. When we tell folks that it's a laminate floor, they always respond with, "NO! I don't believe it!" and often bend down to touch to touch it in disbelief.

Both the slate and the planks have a wonderful texture to them, making them very realistic-looking. The colorations in the slate are purposely irregular, varying from light to dark charcoal gray, just as you'd find in slate. The planks have wonderful beveled edges.

I clean them with water only and a microfiber mop, spritzing water from a spray bottle as I go. Not too much water at a time, so as to avoid water or streak marks. They clean beautifully (except for my dog's dribbles, which often are dried before I notice them, and they require an extra couple of firm sweeps with the mop or a micro cloth).

My house looks truly elegant with these floors. They enhance our furniture all the more. Our kitchen is open to the great room, with an 8' island kind of delineating the spaces. That's where we transitioned the slate in the kitchen to the planks, and everyone loves the look of the two floors together.

I will admit that I'm not so pleased with the stair nose pieces on our staircase. They're raised a bit and it does make the descent down with bare feet a little "ouchy." I try to remember to wear slippers in the a.m. It's OK on the way up, but on the way down it hits the ball of a bare foot in an uncomfortable place. We had the installers make us a matching side molding for the stair case. They used oak and were able to get a beautiful and exact match.

We didn't pay the full price you've been quoted. I, too, had searched the internet and found way better prices, but there was shipping to consider, and I worried about quality or damage issues on arrival, and what hassles we might have if we needed to return any pieces. I felt more comfortable dealing with a local brick and mortar, so I made a deal with a nearby flooring shop for $3.59 sf. At that time we were in the process of a fairly big remodel and only the first floor was ready to have the floors laid, but we had them measure the entire house when they came out. We bought and installed enough for the first floor last fall. When we were ready to install on the second floor this spring, we only bought the material. I'd previously got the contact information for the installers (we were very, very pleased with their work on the first floor), so we arranged with them privately to do the work on the second floor at a reduced price.

I'm gonna disappoint you because I have no photos to post. I did get a digital camera for Mother's Day, but the truth is that the few photos I've taken with it are still inside the camera. Maybe maybe maybe I'll coerce my son to come over this weekend and show me how to download to my pc. I'd love for you to see how beautiful this flooring looks when laid.

oofasis,

THANK YOU, thank you, thank you! Yes! I am so glad that you posted!

I am delighted to hear that you love your Berry floors. I am "in love" with the Castle Rock, myself. I brought a sample home from the flooring store, and that was IT. Hubby likes it too, though is never as enthusiastic about these things as I am. LOL. It was funny, but within seconds of laying the sample board on my floor, I was sold.

I have the same concerns about ordering over the internet, and I would really love to give a local business MY business, but that price ($5.85 sf) I just cannot absorb. If they would come down to $3.59 sf, I would be ALL OVER IT!

I would LOVE to see pictures of your floor! The slate sounds gorgeous, too!

That is good to know about the stair nose, as we were thinking about doing this down our stairs as well. Perhaps we could do something else for the stair nose. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Thank you again for posting. I believe you are the poster I have been searching for. Now, doesn't that sound dramatic?? LOL. I so appreciate your first-hand experience in this product, and the fact that it is the same line I love is just icing on the cake! I look forward to the "maybe photos" of your floor!

conanc, I have the same problem on the Berry site trying to find local dealers. I have tried it several times with the same result. I am just going to have to use the phonebook to find flooring companies in my area. If I cannot find someone local for a [what I consider] reasonable price, I will probably order it online.

oofasis,

Thank you so much for posting. I have my fingers crossed for photos but it is nice to get some first-hand information. The Castle Rock Red Cherry floor looks beautiful online. I am going to look at samples over the weekend at this, the Red Oak, Sherwood Oak and River Oak. I am also looking at the Lounge line right now and have samples at home, but it is 8mm thick. I'd like to see the slate as well as we are considering it for our kitchen. Do you see any significant differences between the 8mm slate and the 12mm Castle Rock?

Shelayne....good luck with your pricing. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Hi,

I didn't make it to the floor store over the weekend but I did go this afternoon. They had samples of the Castle Rock Red Cherry and River Oak. It is really nice and the more I see the Berry line the more I like it but neither of those colors works for me. They didn't have the Red Oak, Sherwood Oak or the Slate. I still also like the Lounge line as well.
I also called Berry for the names of other stores in my area, but they couldn't get the store locator to work either!

The price for either Castle Rock or Lounge was $3.99 sq/ft. This was from a local reputable dealer, so hang in there! You may find it for less from a local dealer.

Hi,

I checked another dealer in town; this one had it for just under $5. UGH. Oh--and that was the SALE price.

I will not give up, though! :^)

Conanc, what tone or color do you gravitate toward? Here is a photo I took of the sample board of Red Oak, with my cabinet door against it. It is actually richer in person, but this is a much better representation of the color than their website shows.

Hi,

I like the Red Oak! It looks great with your cabinets! I am looking for a medium color Oak. I have looked at a few slightly lighter colors which would work. Some of them look more realistic than others -- this one looks that way and reminds me of one I like in the Lounge line. I am going to try to find a sample in one of the stores but the Berry dealer locator portion of their site is still down. Grrrrrr.

$5 still sounds a little high, unless it's the area you live in? I hope you find it a little less expensive somewhere so that it works for you. Are you installing it yourself?

Yes, we are DIYers. Really, I didn't think the area I live in was that pricey, but maybe for Berry flooring it is! That would just frost my hide.

When I bring my sample boards back, and see if I can do a little haggling, I'll take a peek at the lighter Oak in the Castle Rock.

I can't get that dealer locator thing to work either. Hubby is telling me to just order it online. This is quite funny coming from the man who just a few months ago was breaking into hives because I was ordering almost everything online. Heh heh.

Hopefully they can fix that part of their website. That is so frustrating!

I have a few Berry floor samples here and leaning towards one from the Lounge collection to replace the carpet in my bedroom. Did either of you ever put this down in your home? How do you like it? Where did you buy, what did you pay, who installed, etc.
Thanks.

Hi. I am trying to decide on Berry flooring also. Wondering if any of you got it installed & how you like it? Pics would be a great help!!

At long last I can finally share pix of our cherry floors with you! I have to apologize for not posting pix sooner. For the longest time I didn't have a camera -- then I got a digital one but hadda learn how to use it -- then I hadda figure out downloading and using a photo account so I could finally post our pix here.

This first photo is taken on the kitchen side of our island. In the kitchen (as well as our entry and our office) we used the Berry Tourraine slate. I love it!

{{gwi:1543603}}

This shows the floor transitioned from kitchen side to great room side. Look close and you can see, on the far side of the island, where we used a transition strip of the Tourraine slate where the great room's Castle Rock cherry planks begin.

I don't have a photo of our staircase, but this shot will give you an idea of how we used the stair molding. From our vestibule we have a step-down into our dining room (used to be our living room before we remodeled last year) and then a step up into what's now our (newly added) great room and kitchen.

Aren't the cherry planks rich-looking in a room?

Oofasis, I am in love with your Berry Castle Rock Cherry Flors that look so real and rich in color and go so well with the decor of your home. I also love the Berry Tourraine slate that looks great in your kitchen but will not go with the decor in my kitchen. I the slate a laminate also? Thank you for sharing.

Oofasis - thanks so much for posting the pictures! Your floors are gorgeous! I think you've just made my decision! If anyone else has had Berry laminate installed - PLEASE post a pic & tell us what kind!

Hi,
I am the OP of this thread. We got a little side tracked with our floors....I broke my hand so that stopped us for awhile. Then we decided to do it right so we painted the ceilings and walls and are just finishing up with that.

We're back now and are floor shopping again! We are still undecided between hardwood and laminate. The Berry laminate is very nice but we are hoping to sell in a year or so and are trying to decide if hardwood makes more sense for us.

Oofasis - your floors look beautiful! Thank you for posting the photos. I will keep watching this thread!

Lynn - Yes, the Tourraine slate is a Berry laminate also.

I am looking at the Loft Project (new color golden oak, with no bevel) and the slightly darker Eldorado oak in the Mansion line (with micro-bevel). Is the micro-bevel worth the extra expense? Does it look > realistic?. Does anyone have either of these floors? Thanks for any thoughts!!

I love the way the micro-bevel looks but I wonder if it would be more difficult to keep clean (with more dust and dirt getting in the bevels) and wonder if in case a very little dog (4 lbs) marks the floor if it would make things worse with a bevel? I have to engineered wood floor samples here that both have bevels but one is a bigger bevel while the other is very micro.

I haven't looked at the Berry floor but the pictures are really realistic and beautiful of the floor. Thanks for sharing.

I know I am waaaay late on this thread but I'm just now looking at the Berry Alloc Elegance collection in Arctic Walnut. Are you all still liking the Berry floors? Does anyone have any reviews on the Elegance collection? Thanks!