Wood flooring in Florida is never a good idea if you are in the habit of turning off the a/c or leaving doors and windows open. Engineered wood and hardwood flooring are easy to keep up, but humidity is an issue. Laminate flooring is the worst choice. Another good option is to select porcelain material that looks like wood flooring, it is terrific and comes in hundreds of color options ranging from light to very dark.

Lucky you! You really won't do better than what you've got; if its in good shape that means it can take a licking and keep on ticking. Sand is not a friend of hardwood or laminate. Humidity - double ditto. Carpet - yuk. Ocean front is major humdity and in Florida also major rain. You could look at the new luxury vinyl products. Tile or stone is really the way to go. Stands up to the elements forever. Cool tile is nice in tropical heat. There are some great looking products.

I would try living there as is and see how you feel down the road. Maybe you'll end up with the same flooring through-out.

Congrats on the new home. Looks nice and spacious and love the fireplace! If hardwood and laminate are not options, as the posters above pointed out, and you need to use ceramic or porcelain, why not just keep what you've got. It's not a hideous color or anything and looks to be in great shape. Perhaps a big area rug, in a luxury pile, over the center portion that's different? I think the style of the ceiling fans and entryway light fixture would bug me more than the ceramic tiles, and they'll be way cheaper to replace.

Engineered wood can work, but like Gray & Walter, Ltd. noted you will really want to keep the space moisture controlled. Too much humidity can affect even an engineered floor (though certainly engineered can handle much more than solid).

Also as noted, porcelain may be an interesting option (laminate will also swell and buckle in high moisture). However, the visuals on porcelain wood-look products are rarely very convincing.

One great route to consider is vinyl plank. It is 100% waterproof (will not swell with moisture), and has a much more convincing visual appearance than porcelain. If you get a product with a thick wear-layer, it can last a long time.

Here is a link and some photos of the Modin collection, which is the most durable vinyl plank out there. It comes with a 40 mil wear-layer (lifetime warranty in residential installs):

http://www.flooret.com/modin-vinyl-plank-flooring/

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My husband and I have been wintering on Anastasia for the past 14 years. Last year we bought a townhouse in St. Augustine Beach. I agree with other posters in that you should live with your home for a while before making any major changes. I have porcelain wood-look plank floors in the public spaces in my beach home, and I love them. (I also have area rugs on those floors to dampen down the noise and echoes.) That being said, I don't want tile in the bedrooms; it is too cold and noisy. Right now, I have carpeting in the bedrooms, even though I am not a fan of wall-to-wall carpeting. I am considering changing to either bound seagrass matting or nylon sisal for the bedrooms. Your home looks absolutely fabulous! Welcome to Anastasia Island! May you enjoy many happy years in Paradise!

Thank you so much. It is a beautiful island with lots of fantastic activities. I did not realize that the environment would be such a challenge when deciding to renovate .

I think I will look for a designer/contractor, that lives in this area, who will be better able to advise me on issues that I have not had to deal with before. Thanks again.

If you'd be interested in having the home cover its own overhead when you're not there, I have managed vacation rental properties for 15 years and would be happy to work with you. As for the floors, I would lean toward the porcelain planks with the wood look. Keep the colors of your FP stone in mind as you shop.

Ergon Porcelain Tile, Gray Pepper · More Info

Glazed Redwood Natural Porcelain Tile, 6"x36", Sample · More Info

Thanks so much for the responses. I will talk to an air conditioner company about a de-humidifier. Unfortunately, the flooring that is there now has severe cracks throughout the house which is the reason for replacing. I will also look into the porcelain flooring that sounds like a very viable option as well as the modin vinyl plank flooring. You are right about the lighting....lol.... that was the first thing I changed in the living room. Just waiting to put the design of the house together,

Why is it cracking?

I'm with suzyq. Are there structural issues in your house? "Severe cracking" would scare the wits out of me!

The previous owners had neglected to fix a simple issue with the way the roof drained. It has since been fixed but the damage had been done to the floors. No issue to the structure, as per inspector, but he recommend replacement of tiles

You could consider wood look tile, there are some greats options out there. Good luck! http://www.sognaretile.com/collections/wood-look-tile

That's too bad, bernadette. It seems you have a wonderful place despite the cracks, anyhow. Good luck with the new flooring and enjoy the beach! :)

Here's are a few pictures of the wood look tile. You can even run it up the walls. It looks so clean when it is all tile.

Pender Island Retreat · More Info

Pender Island Retreat · More Info

Pender Island Retreat · More Info

Pender Island Retreat · More Info

Whew! I am so relieved to hear that you know what caused the tile to crack. I would hate for you to have had serious issues after just having bought your house.