Does warm brown, medium tone, narrow wood-look laminate exist?

last year

We are finally going to replace the patchwork time and carpet on our main floor. I just spent an hour at a local flooring store trying to find a wood-look laminate I liked.
It seemed they were all either bleached, gray, dark, and/or full of knots and strong contrast, and all were wide planks.
Among the hundreds I looked at, only one seemed to look like actual wood floors I've seen, and it had a strong oak grain, a little more than desired. I wish I had more options than just one!
I picture classic wood floors to be in warm, medium brown tones. Knot-free and smooth. Even levels of contrast in the pattern. And more around 3 inches in width.
I would love to install real wood, but have decided it truly isn't practical. The flooring will be throughout my open concept main floor, and include a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, laundry, and three entry doors. We also live in an area with extremes in both temperature and humidity. And this isn't our forever home, so it makes less sense to put a lot of money in for my dream finishes.
I appreciate any suggestions and insight!

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PRO

JAN MOYER

last year

last modified: last year

You will find what you want in an ENGINEERED flooring, pre finished or unfinished. This can be used in your environment. It is real wood, hardwood, created in layers for stability, even in climates such as yours. You should have a consistent indoor temperature /humidity range if you have air conditioning.

You will NOT find what you want in an LVP. or laminate anything- and if you do, it will not look remotely realistic.

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Comments (7)

N C
Original Author
last year
*tile (typo, but I don't see a way to edit my post).
cat_ky
last year
The planks will be wide, but, the printing on them, to resemble wood, can be in narrower widths, so gives a look of wood. It will never be mistaken for real wood though. You can buy the vinyl planking in narrower widths, and it looks a bit more like real wood than laminate.
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Original Author
last year
@JAN MOYER Thank you. I think I'm starting to realize that what I want is wood itself, haha. There is no substitution that will ever match the real thing. I appreciate the reassurance that engineered hardwood can work for me.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Have you looked a LVP instaed of laminate both are fake but for me the LVP is a nicer choice . I have laminate bit not wood look , it looks like slate . I have 3 huge dogs a wood floor would have been trashed long ago we have LVP in the walkout basement where the dogs are in and out all day from a free run dog run. Maybe someday we will have real wood but not for outr life right now. So your life IMO drives the bus if real wood can be that choice then IMO real is the way to go.
PRO
Uptown Floors
last year
" It seemed they were all either bleached, gray, dark, and/or full of knots and strong contrast, and all were wide planks."

I hear those comments often. Frankly I've been seeing a trend moving more to the middle of the pendulum swing in preferences. 3 to five inch width. Thankfully I don't offer just one width.

There are still many who offer narrower widths, but your typical store won't show it or is covered under dust in the back of their respective showrooms. You have to ask...engineered please.
Timothy Winzell
last year
last modified: last year
While most laminate products have gone the same way as wood, with wider products, there are still a few that look like the original ones that were offered. Since laminate is generally laid with a floating method, these products will be wide but will have multiple strips printed on each individual piece. Unfortunately there are also usually multiple short pieces on the each plank. You're unlikely to find narrow single strip laminate. Here's an example: https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Pergo-XP-Groveport-Hickory-10-mm-T-x-7-4-in-W-Water-Resistant-Laminate-Wood-Flooring-19-63-sq-ft-case-LF001074/320077460