Maple is a moderate hardwood, so I don't know where you got your information. Walnut in its natural state is pretty dark, and if stained natural would probably give you a med brown finish. Hickory has a natural two-toned appearance, so if stained med brown, you would have med brown and dark brown appearance. Best thing is to go to your nearest flooring store and look at all of the handscraped samples and make your selection there.

If you are looking for comparative hardness of hardwoods, you need to look at the Janka hardwood scale, which measures and compares all the different varieties. Here is one link (there are many):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test

In our new house, we are using wood look plank ceramic tiles. Look exactly like wood. Look around for the wood tone you prefer, as they come in bleached look, medium and dark tones. The color of grout will also be important in the look; use dark if you don't want to see the separations. Love them.
I would use dark grout on these. Good luck
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