Laminate looks cheap to me. We just replace the cork in our kitchen with "luxury vinyl tiles" which look great and handle our two dogs much better than the cork did. It cost about the same as hardwood, so isn't a discount option! I think on resale this would be a good choice.

I've got wood flooring in my kitchen and ground floor... I was a (English) Bulldogger and typically had 3-5 Bulldogs. Not really an issue re the floors.

I now have a retired racing Greyhound from a dog track in Tampa, FL, and it's still not an issue.

FWIW, I too dislike laminate - not only looks cheap but sounds and feels cheap when you walk on it, not to mention can be a pita to install and prone to warping if it gets too sopping wet. And you know how sometimes "stuff happens" My mom had the vinyl fake wood plank in her little cottage and I liked it just fine - it felt comfortable underfoot and it seemed to have more substance to it than laminate which is basically just a photo imprint on a thin sheet laminated to particleboard. She had rugs over it anyway so you mostly saw it in the kitchen and bath where the durability and waterproof-ness of it made it the better choice.

But then obviously your experience is that you and/or people in this other thread thought that it was VINYL that was the perceived "cheap" stuff, and not the laminate.... so go figure! How do you decide something which may just boil down to personal preference?

Neither are real wood and on close inspection no one's going to think it is real wood. So maybe just go with what you like within your price range and that fits the style and décor of your house -colorwise, texture-wise?

Whats on your floor now?

They have all different qualities of laminate and also different qualities of vinyl. There is a new vinyl planking out that looks like wood. Its pretty amazing stuff.

I've found actual wood to be one of the tougher floorings around, at least if you start with a hard wood and finish it with something like Bona Traffic or Traffic HD. At resale time you can refinish and the floor will be a standout plus-- when combined with some new paint not he walls the place will look like new.

I like laminate - high quality laminate - and would take it over cheap hardwood any day. But vinyl products are getting better looking and more durable.

But your question is, which is better for resale, laminate or vinyl. I think it comes down to how close the product comes to looking like hardwood. Look at versions of both materials and decide which looks the most like what you are trying to imitate.

I'd take vinyl plank over laminate. It looks a bit better, IMO, and stands up better to water than laminate does.

I would say that it just depends. The best thing would be to talk to a realtor in your area as there are a lot of factors that can go into this. It depends on what level of house you have and the neighborhood it is in. Who would most likely purchase your house? If your house is higher end and would likely appeal to a family that is established and has a decent income, vinyl or laminate could both be a very poor choice. However, if your home is on the smaller side and most likely to appeal to a family just starting out, then either one could be acceptable.

I will second the tile that looks like wood. We had our wood floors removed and replaced it with the wood look tile. So much easier with dogs and the care is so much easier.

I'd reconsider hardwood. I have had Bona commercial finish on my floors and they still look pretty good after 20+ years with a bunch of kids riding bikes inside, dogs being chased, etc. They may need to be refinished at one point. A few years ago, we had onsite finished floors installed upstairs which still look pristine, despite two dogs running around.

I'd put in the option that is most common In your market area.

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding... Kswl2 wins the prize.

Or if the price is basically the same, what's considered more upscale.

Vinyl...laminate always clatters and sounds cheap. People actually reach down and touch our vinyl floor because they don't believe it's not wood or stone.

I was pretty impressed with some of the luxury vinyl tiles I saw in the Parade of Homes. I also noticed that HGTV shows often put in laminate to get the look of wood floors throughout the main living areas. I suppose what you go with depends on the look you are going for.

Funny my first three homes all had wood floors and all were not new. the first place was 40 years old when I bought it. Floors looked great. Second place the floors were perfect. kids, iguana and lots of sand because we lived near the beach. No problems. third place we moved in, refinished the oak floors in our 1898 home and they looked as good the day we moved out as the day we finished them. there's a reason wood floors have withstood the test of time in old houses. because they hold up!

If you want the best flooring going by appearance, choose laminate. Laminate will give you a 3D look with a photographic layer, which is attractive. Retrieved from this link