Can you post a photo of a sample of LVT Red Oak next to your real Red Oak Stairs? That should help you make your decision.

Thanks for replying. It's been a long process finding options that blend with the stairs, but I'm good with that piece, finally. More concerned about impacting home value with LVP versus engineered hardwood while minimizing wear and tear. Plus looking for real world experiences with the Provenza Moda Living product as well as the Twelve Oaks Master Artisan and Mercier Origins natural red oak.

If you can afford the engineered hardwood I would choose that.
I think that it will look better with your staircase, and I think the perceived value for resale is much higher.

Engineered wood over LVP for many reasons. Resale value will be higher with wood. Area rugs will protect the high traffic spaces.

My house is 100% engineered hardwood in a mahogany (not my choice, but it’s toned down with my mostly blue and green decor).

I would never try to match fake (vinyl) with real, side by side. It will always look fake.

I have area rugs and runners over my existing hardwood, but a 100 lb dog doesn't always follow the carpeted areas,plus have you ever seen a golden when he walks away after drinking from a bowl of water? He leaves a multi-room trail of drips and when I'm not home to clean up right away, I'm conerned what that could do to new wood floors. I do prefer the character of real wood. That's what makes this decision so hard. Thank you for the input,

That amount of water won't do anything to engineered wood flooring. Seal cut ends during installation. Hakwood, DuChateau, Monarch Plank, Hurst Hardwood, Armstrong, Shaw and everyone else has samples to bring home. Resale says not to match yellow orange old style floors, imo. Matte finish.

We also have a golden retriever and we have three teens. We have engineered light white oak hardwood in our main floor. Things I love about it include the fact that it is wood, that it is light so less scratches show, and that it still looks great eight years later. We have an entry rug at the front door and our mudroom, where the dog bowls are, is tiled. We also keep her bowls on a tray so her spills are contained. The dog is not really a big issue overall on the hardwood in my opinion. If we are a spill we simply clean it up.

what company's floor did you install?

This is what we have

https://pravadafloors.com/products/chanel

When we were building in Phoenix my interior designer said not to use LVP. It doesn’t add value to a home like porcelain tile or wood. That was her two cents.

I would definitely choose engineered hardwood, or even regular hardwood that you get stained and finished, before LVP. The regular hardwood, would be my first choice.

I went through that decision when we built in 2021. Kids were just out of the house, but we had 3 dogs. I ended up with engineered wood floors from DuChateau, Riverstone collection. The surface coating is not polyurethane, but is hard wax oil. Different finishes with their own pros/cons and maintenance procedures.

Very happy with the floors. I had tested my samples with dog drool, so I knew it would be fine. I chose a "rustic" surface finish to hide any scratches from dog nails and that has worked well.

If your house is on a basement, then do site finished wood floors. If you are on a slab or very humid climate, then choose engineered wood floors.

Our water bowl is in the tiled laundry and one outside on the paved patio. Even on the tile, I put a hand towel under the bowl to contain that initial dropped mouthful of water as they stop drinking and move away from the bowl!

Sadly we just lost our messiest, but most amazing/intelligent dog a few weeks ago :-(

Aesthetically there is a strong visual enjoyment for many, not all, in an 11" or even 7" flat cut plank of hardwood that is the top layer of engineered flooring. You see a lot more of the wood character like on the top of a dining table. Much less with 2-1/2 to 3" strips of solid wood. Solid shrinks and expands to create gaps like old houses. 6mm or 1/4" engineered can be sanded as many times as solid which can only go close to the tongue and groove. One circumstance where they look more similar is the simpler straight grain lines of rift cut.

To chips. my NYNY sincere and deep condolences on the loss of your beloved puppy. Always be your puppy. Westsider40. Its c h I s p a. ChipsChiChi

You have probably made you choice, but should you go with engineered hardwood have the factory finish. It's tougher.