This is the engineered hardwood that I was considering

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-Naturals-5-in-Cold-Mountain-Oak-Engineered-Hardwood-Flooring-20-01-sq-ft/1000539885

You may want to talk to some major builders about "hardwood sells, plastic doesn't" statement there tatts. That used to be the case, but it isn't anymore.

Alan

Whatever is in your living room and dining room, is what you ADD to wherever you are replacing laminate. You don't want two "woods" , two stains, two anything.

You don't put an LVP, or a laminate, near an engineered hardwood.

I agree with Jan. Get the same product if you can. You'll still be able to tell the difference between new and old though, unless your installer can lace it in.

Get the same as the rest of the floors or leave it and IMO a realtor will be the person to ask about that. choice. Real and faux anything never look good next to eachother.Maybe look at something that does not look like wood for those spaces then you could do a vinyl

I suggest you work with porcelain tile. The chances of finding the PERFECT match to your engineered hardwood is nigh-on impossible. That means you will need to move away from "wood" of any sort.

Laminate is not appropriate for kitchens (which is probably why it is needing a refresh at this point). And laminate almost always has a "wood" graphic. And as we've just learned, you do NOT want fake wood up against real wood. Ever.

So now we are down to things like cork, porcelain, stone or concrete. Vinyl is an options so long as you STAY AWAY from a wood graphic. Stick with (you guessed it) a cork, porcelain, stone or concrete look. See where we're going with this? Yep. Stay away from "wood look".

And stay away from laminate. It normally isn't appropriate for kitchens or wet entrances.

And for a house in the "nice" mid-point range (in my neck of the woods that will get you a bachelor apartment...but I digress) you will want to shop someplace other than Lowe's or Home Depot.

And yes, the advice of a realtor is always free and always "on trend" for your area. It could save you thousands of dollars (both in purchasing product and in selling price for the home).

I wouldn't do hardwood if you already have some hardwood. Mismatching hardwoods looks terrible in an open floor plan. You see it all the time but it is bad news from a design perspective. I'd find a luxury vinyl that is NOT wood look. Shaw floors makes some nice click together stuff that is reasonably priced and looks contemporary.

Thank you everyone for the advice so far. I will be contacting a realtor in our area (Eastern Panhandle WV) for advice on trends. I guess I should have stated that we do not have an open floor plan. We live in a 2 story colonial and each room is separated by an entryway of some type. So I was hoping that a different color of engineered hardwood might work. The living room and dining room are a java color. I am surprised at all of the people suggesting vinyl flooring. I would have thought that was out of style, but I guess the new plank styles are pretty nice.

All the more reason to limit the flooring changes. Based on your statement just now.

Thomas,

The "vinyl" products now aren't what you are thinking. They are high definition planks with rigid cores that are waterproof, some of which look more real than wood itself. It has all upside and no downside as far as pros and cons go. Yes, it is not wood, but a HUGE pro is that same statement again, YES it is not wood (and all of wood's issues)

If you decide to come over to the dark side and explore "non-wood" floors, take a look at my SUPERcore product. I designed it to be the best waterproof floor for the money on the market today. To see the floor click here. To read the over 1800 reply thread on it's development here in Houzz click here.

At the end of the day, flooring is something that you walk on. It's not a piece of furniture. Most people today are heading in this direction, regardless of what the "hardwood only or die" crowd in here says.

Alan

IMO limit the number of different floors. My current house had 7 when I bought it. It now has 3.

FYI McCarthy laminate comes in many finishes that do not look like wood. I have one in my home that looks like slate in fact it even has texture like slate. I have a laminate the looks like cararra marble with a high gloss finish. There are tons of laminates that do not mimic wood grain. I think since they are doing this to sell the best is just a nice vinyl with a very simple pattern that works with the kitchen

Thomas C , Real wood floors will always have a deep and loyal following regardless of what synthetic products are available. The ROI on laminate synthetic will always be lower than real wood. There are plenty of articles available online about this subject. If that is a concern for you then maybe your decision will be easier.

just for the record, engineered wood is NOT plastic. It is real wood.

Correct. And Engineered does not always mean prefinished either.

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