1000 friends will have 1000 opinions but at some point you have to pick what you love and what you can live with. Look on Houzz and pinterest for what speaks to you - start saving/pinning pictures then look at what those have in common. That will tell you more about what you like. I have a hard time deciding on these things too - but I know what I like when I see it. Share your inspiration photos here and some of the designers who post here can help you spot trends and figure out how to interpret those in your space.

The 4 panels on the left in the sample board above it are one possibility, lighter than I wanted but I think I like the grain. It seems like a safe floor but I still wonder if the grain will look a little busy. I will post a close up. Coronado by Parliament.

The the 2 panels on the right is the floor thought I wanted, Portchester oak by coretec

Same floor samples I just showed. We are currently painting so I'm not sure if I can get a better picture of my kitchen. I'll see what I have

The darker sample that is on top of the other samples in front of the sink is something I'm considering but the sales person only came to measure and show me the sample in the house. I would have to buy a box to be able to sit with it for a couple of days. It is called cork by ProTech. Much more simple and there are bevels which I thought i didn't like except through this process I can see how they can make a floor look more real depending on the bevel.

The sample on the left is the same cork Protech, the one next to on the right is laminate and even though 24 hours waterproof, Pergo Lowe's, I don't want to risk water issues. The bottom sample is the same Port Chester Oak that is too busy for me.

Not the best pictures but this piece of wood in front of step stool is going to be the island. The two pieces of wood on top is the Butcher Block. I can always stay in the butcher block or change the Butcher Block.

The one in the background is the Coronado in the one in front of the island is the cor

.

Coronado. too busy?

True Story by provenza. Too many knots? To Orange? Looks real

This floor is expensive. Commercial and should last a long time. Clear Lake titanium series invincible. Not sure how I would feel about the bevil's throughout the whole house. They are larger bebevils.

Again, not the best pic with my old farmhouse table in the way with painting...

Sometimes I think the more pictures the better but I hope this is not overwhelming! Thank you!

And back to the safe but light Coronado. It's hard to see colors in pictures I think. All looking more yellow or orange then I think they do in real life. I'm looking for more neutral. But they might be more orange than I realize as well.

Any thoughts on graining 4 knots, bevrbevels or too o plain? Thank you!

Maybe you just need new friends :P Seriously, get what you like, life is too short. I would, however, go with non-beveled personally - those grooves hold and trap dirt more than the flush does.

You are so close to the details of this that you can't see the forest for the trees. These samples are all VERY similar, at least from these pics. My tastes run more toward the less grey and no bevel. Is this LVP or laminate? I'd stay away from laminate.

wiscokid-interesting perspective about the bevels! a floor lady told me that the reason they invented bevels was to trap pebbles... so that hard wood floors wouldn't get scratched. we do track pebbles/dirt... into the house as i have 3 kids and we have chickens in the backyard, we live in the desert, so it's inevitable... It sounds like more cleaning from what u say, though?!

my friend: her house is my fave house so it's hard cuz then i think i trust her taste but I have only seen one house she's done and although it's my fave, i wouldn't want to live in it as it's a bit too modern for me. i think what i like about her house is it's clean and her choice of earthy colors and clean lines along with plants and art to dress it up a bit. her floor is dark tile. :)

i think part of my prob is i haven't see a floor i'd want to have in my house in a whole house. my other friend that's remodeled has painted concrete and I can't think of anyone else who's remodeled with something I'd chose. I have started paying attention, though, to places I go with floors and realize how much I actually don't look at a floor and even an "ugly" floor can be ok if the environment is dressed up nicely.

crcollins1_gw , another for no bevels. interesting! I've been to too many floor stores over the past months and the salespeople ALL like bevels.

What is it u don't like about them?

i feel like the darker titanium floor is significantly darker which I also don't know if it'll change the feel of the house, more formal? I might have to go with what hides stuff/easier to keep clean looking. :)

Let's describe Scandinavian Modern. I think it will help. Remember: Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) have LONG DARK winters. They LOVE the brighter gold tones of wood to offer SUNSHINE that come from the floors. They love BRIGHT CHEERFUL COLOURS so they don't feel S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

In a kitchen with white on white cabs/counters + grayish wood toned island, I would stay away from too much gray. It is gloomy. It is boring. It has been done to death. Gray is on it's way out. Thankfully the flooring industry is warming up. Natural tones (like gold, butter yellow, etc) are en vogue which makes Scandi Modern the sweet spot to be in.

Remember: Neutral = Boring. Gray = gloomy. When you think of 'light and airy' you think sunlight first. Sunlight is yellow. That's why the Scandinavians LOVE the yellow tones. When the sun is 'down' for weeks at a time, their FLOORS (and their walls and their ceilings....sigh so much wood) give off the yellow glow they crave (the body craves yellow light...that's why yellow is often considered a 'happy colour').

I am seeing floors that are toned down. There is NOTHING that screams out BUSY! If you want to see busy, go ahead and google Acacia or Hickory wood floors! Those are busy.

Your choices are all muted and calm and low-impact (visually) the knots are REALISTIC...they are not 'country'. You could choose ANY ONE of these floors and you would be fine.

I personally like the yellowest one (with the slight gray tones). It ties in the GRAY WOOD island with the floors. It has an excellent colour range for what you are describing AND what you are looking to create. I believe it is the Coronado.

Be careful with butcher block. You already have a wood grain on the dark island. And you will have wood counter tops. And then you will be adding a wood-look floor. Wood-tones can clash just like any other colour options. The grains are what start to clash. Just be aware of that. The flooring is the most important part of what you are trying to do, so I would focus on them.

Remember: a light floor will DARKEN (not physically...it will LOOK darker) when the ENTIRE HOUSE has it installed. This is where many people get sucked into using darker floors. They choose the 'darker' version because they are trying to find a 'rich' (saturated) colour. But once it is installed it looks 2-3 tones DARKER...Now they have a problem. The 'mid-tone' floor they were looking for turns to a 'dark' floor just by being installed. It happens ALL THE TIME.

If the Coronado is just a 'hint' too light then you are BANG ON for the depth of colour. What I tell clients is: take the sample to the DARKEST part of the house. Turn off the lights. How dark does it look NOW? Right. That's how it will 'look' most of the time. If it is 'too dark' in the darkest part of the house, it is too dark for you.

It is a SUPER SIMPLE why of testing your 'darkness' level. Take ALL the samples to the darkest part of your home and turn off the lights. If they appear too dark for you, then kick them to the curb. They WILL BE too dark once they are installed.

And THAT'S why I advise working with a floor that is a SNICK LIGHTER than you "think" you want. The walls in the house (ie. no natural light....like at the end of a dark hallway) will cause EVERYTHING to look DARKER than it really is.

No bevels and no knots. The bevels are hard to clean and knots only usually appear in some wood species so I would again stay away. They can look very busy. Stick with the lighter floors that are what you call "safe". It's always a good thing to chose the safe route when selecting large pieces of furniture or something that is all over your home. It's a large area and the gray's and knots will appear more prevalent than you think. Gray is already "out" where I live. I always chose safer options for my large pieces of furniture like couches, etc. I can change up the look easily with pillows, etc. It gives the item a much longer life. Same goes for floors, bathrooms, etc. Keep the base safe, and the things easily changed can be done as you want, or as your tastes change. Lighter floors also show less dirt.

No bevels. And please no gray or gray tones. Also, the darker the floor, the more difficult it is to keep looking clean, because every speck of dust shows against a dark floor. So be careful not to go too dark.

You mentioned you are moving "more to scandanavian". The wood floors in Scandinavian design tend to be light and clear (with few knots). Can you please clarify the look you are going for? Do you have inspiration pics?

(Edited to add: When I wrote my post I had not seen SJ McCarthy's much more articulate comments just above about Scandinavian design; though I do not think any of the OP's floor choices so far are within the Scandinavian design colors except the "safe but light Coronado" comes closest.)

I think you're worrying too much. The one you spread out on the floor in your 3rd post looks good (although I'd avoid installing several identical boards next to each other as you have laid there, as the artificiality of the pattern really jumps out then). A light version of a natural wood tone is best -- don't worry if it has a little orange, as plenty of wood does, and it will warm up your gray and white kitchen.

This was the floor in my last house. Select hickory. Many would say it's busy but I loved it. No knots, but enough variation in the boards that it disguised dog hair really well! :)

SJ McCarthy , you didn't have "pro" next to your name but it sounds like u have great experience and great ideas! i love how u laid everything out! floor guy told me to pick in the day, not at night. i will put it in a darker room and see... I'll have to consider that it'll look darker at night and I was thinking if I leaned in one direction it'd be yellows verus orange. We pulled out orange cabs and have had more orange furniture for the past 20 yrs. We pulled out fireplace and put in windows where there were none just to get more light in the house! i'm pretty sure when I was on the east coast I suffered from some S.A.D. Now in Phoenix I crave the sun. thx!!

DesignGirl, thx! do u think there were greys in any of the 4 samples i was choosing? that's more folks not liking bevels so i'm really leaning towards the light coronado. to me it's yellow w browns and greys. how i wish i had a piece of my old floor so i could see the difference. that floor was really light and both yellow and orange. it was old laminate and didn't look real at all.

btw, someone asked and i'm getting vinyl planks.

thx!

M Miller, the pics u've shown are really light, more light than i'm looking for. I think when I say "scandanavian" I like a lot of the simple lines and furniture, the natural items that are used to dress up a room. It's hard to use pics as I like a lot of different pics with completely different color floors. i'll post some faves. some i even found have knots and make it work but i have 3 kids in a small house and have to realize that it won't look like the pics, emaculate and as simple...

having trouble posting pics. i'll get them up sooner than later.

Posted this recently trying to figure out Hardware. Not a wood floor at all. Really love this kitchen

another fave. not Scandinavian:) not wood

This was on an old house historic tour. Nothing like my 70s house

Found a picture of my friends house that I was talking about and the cork floor when I was looking at it back in December. But does have bevilles though cute it is darker than the other floors but not as dark as hers!

all different!

Thank you! I have also Googled floor so I will go and look at some of those pictures as well. I have to say I think in most cases the floors I end up being able to Envision best end up being in minimalist type homes which ends up being confusing because that's not the way we live. I have found it hard to look past some of the kitchens but I will try!

Also, the one Coronado floor seems to look lighter then I thought, even in a dark room. Tough day with painting so hopefully later I will have a better view if the house is a bit more put together. thx!

In my experience, when in doubt, go lighter. Dark floors suck light and are a b--- to keep clean looking. And as stated above, don't go grey. I actually thought the Coronado was the best of the very-similar options you shared above. Lighter and less grey.

ETA: Your close up pictures don't appear to be very good quality. If you're going to post close ups, make sure you have plenty of natural light. We can't possibly help without good quality pics. So my Coronado opinion is based on the pics from farther away, not the close up.

Here are my two options that I've narrowed it down to. I'm thinking of going with the Coronado. I am waiting for two more samples to come in but I'm almost getting ready just to jump on this one. The cork sample I was waiting for does have the bevels and it is darker. I put the Coronado in my front room instead of my undone kitchen and it's looking better in the front room. The image of the Coronado is very dirty. Curious if you can't even tell. It does hide dirt very well. Had it in front of the sink for a couple of days and kids were helping with dishes.

This true story provenza is in the same room but not as well lit. hope pic is better.

I had also found some negative reviews on provenza not lasting very long and scratching quite a lot

This is the ProTek cork sample I was waiting for. I purposely did not clean it off before taking a picture which might not be fair because we won't always be living in such a Dusty environment when the job is over but I can definitely see the drywall marks on this darker board. Interestingly, the two I have narrowed it down to (this cork or Coronado) have some planks that look identical. Different manufacturer but I bet they're made at the same place.

Cork is a shade or two darker but still medium tone and mini bubbles. Other than that they look alike. My guess is that many here vote for Coronado because it's lighter in November 8th but I thought I would post it since I finally was able to pick it up. Thx!

I saw your post and know exactly how you feel about choosing floors. It seems we are looking for similar colors and look… not too busy, but not too plain and "knot" too rustic. When you don't have actual full room views, it's even harder! That's smart that you’ve bought full planks. I am loving your photos of Parliament Coronado. Is that what you chose? (Ironically, I’ve been looking at a Mohawk color that is also called Coronado.) I like the Protek Cork too!

we chose coronado and it started being laid yesterday. I knew it'd be on the yellow side but I never found a true neutral. It'll be fine and when I have everything in the house I'm sure it'll all be great. Each new thing I get needs to settle for me. I never love anything right away. We've made so many changes in the house it looks like a completely new house. Now to try to quickly paint baseboards and perhaps some walls so that we can start getting some of our things back in the house sooner than later! should have another 2 days of laying flooring, then baseboards. Yay! Thanks everyone for your comments! I'm sure I won't regret going lighter than darker. I definitely like the color better in the day but I'm also home more in the day.

Oh Mamaand sage-

I am going to go back and read this whole thread as I am in the market for LVP -- wood look and I think I am looking for similar. I just wanted to say that I can so relate to how you feel and how things need to settle. I am sure you will decide it's wonderful... now I will go back and read through. ( as they are installing my countertops and I am trying to decide on hardware-----did I say I can relate??).

Thank you so much for sharing! I hope this thread can help! I'm very grateful that we can be here for each other. It really isn't easy and I'm sure we'll all be happy in the end.

ok so now I have read all the wisdom and boy there were some great posts here. Who is the manufacturer of the coronado that you did get?

Flooring was finished yesterday and baseboards go in tomorrow. What terrible luck. I don't think we've had one job go perfectly with any profession so far. We can feel a dip in front of fridge area, the most walked in area in the center of the house. I remembered that in my contract for it says "Concrete or any other approved substrate must be flat to within 3/16" in 10 linear feet to achieve best finished appearance of flooring." I measured and it's a 4/16" dip/valley. When I have my son step on it I can see the floor in that area go up and down. I really thought I hired a top notch company and they did a lot of work grinding and adding cement. The installer told me a story of having to go in and fix someone's floor that was professionally installed because slab wasn't level. I trusted them completely-I haven't learned yet. :(

I mentioned it to the guy who's doing the job and there is a langauge barrier but he was saying the 3/16" rule was from the whole length of the 10' metal bar he's using and he immediatly said "where, I don't feel anything" and when I told him to get his bar he got it but looked at a different part of the kitchen. I asked him if it could void warranty and showed him my pic of the gap measuring 1`/4" and he said it's a floating floor and the 3/16 was across 10'. I posted here and got a couple responses that the click planks could break later and if not laid correctly I'm out of luck with the warranty co. They need to install baseboards tomorrow and I'm thinking of waiting until the end to tell the boss while I do more research here and call manufacturer to see what they say. Anyone ever have something like this come up? 1 click planks I'm not sure how they could fix this without tearing out the planks in the whole house which sounds like a nightmare, but having probs down the road and being on our own sounds worse.

thx!

Hello. A bevel makes the flooring easier to install. It wont haveto match perfectly in height if there is a bevel between the planks. I, myself don't like bevel because it traps dirt. However, itreally doesn't change the look that much.

Knots - if there are few and small knots, I think you're okay. I would say, grain is not as important as uniformity. You will barely notice the grain of the planks but you will notice the variation of color from one plank to the other. I would go for something more uniform if you want less busy.

Good luck!