When my own home was rebuilt in Christchurch I used wood vinyl flooring in Rimu colour. It works fantastically in any wet areas like bathrooms and kitchen and laundry (washing machine overflows! No problem). It looks so real and wears extremely well. The colours you can get are amazing and it clicks together. I currently also work in the flooring section of a home improvement store and having looked at how the different engineered floors are made and wood laminates and bamboos, I would say that if you dont have the money to spend at the highest level of engineered timber dont go for the cheapest. The wood grain is printed on and any moisture will kill that floor. Bamboo is a great option as it solid banboo. The engineered has a 3mm or so layer of the actual timber. It can be re-sanded lightly if it scratches. Personally I would go with the wood vinyl planking again. Looks fantastic.

Hi monicafowler96 There are pros and cons for either a solid hardwood timber flooring or a quality engineered flooring. Solid will give you a longer life span with more times it can be sanded and refinished but ususally more expensive to lay and finish in the desired finish. A roasted solid timber is a good option if you want a dark floor- also makes it harder and colour penetrates right through. Make sure the timber is acclimatised before laying to minimise movement (shrinkage and expansion) or cupping can occur. A quality engineered flooring with a thick wear layer is often chosen because it still gives you 2-3 sands. It comes prefinished so it's cost effective. Some are smoked so any scratches are minimal in appearance. Check out the Venture plank range from Havwoods for a product with a thick wear layer. https://www.havwoods.com.au/flooringsearch/engineered-timber-flooring/venture-plank Stay away from any of the thin or mdf backed products. Arena Venture plank pictured above Just a further thought- make sure you have alot of natural light if you want a very dark floor and they do require more cleaning as they show the dust. Best wishes

I'm looking into replacing the old carpet and tiles in my 2nd-floor apartment with engineered floating timber floorboards. The body corporate and strata committee has approved the installation of floorboards. But I have some concerns about noise transference from my apartment to the downstairs unit (and also to the units either side) if timber floors are put in. The block is about 15 years old (with concrete subfloors). The flooring company I've been chatting to claim they've been laying timber floors in apartments across Melbourne for years without issues relating to noise, and they claim a 3mm high-density underlay will be adequate for sound insulation (normally what they use if a body corp doesn't give specifics). However, the internet is teeming with expensive horror stories of noise issues in strata blocks related to people installing floorboards in upper floor units. Adding to my concern is the fact that the acoustics/sound insulation in my apartment building isn't the greatest. Having said that, my upstairs neighbour has hardwood floors, and I've never heard so much as a peep from that apartment in 5 years. So, as much as I'm itching to ditch the old carpet and ugly tiles in my apartment, are timber floors (even with the recommended acoustic underlay) in a 2nd-floor unit just too risky in regard to potential noise issues? Thanks

@User we really loved the house when we first bought it, especially the kitchen for its unique character. . After so many years living in the house, it started to feel quite dark and dated we wanted to change the home without moving. We are happy with the result and update As this was the last room in the house to do. Everyone has the own sense of style and what they like and this is what we like. The only thing that matters is what we like as we are living in it. Thanks for your thoughts.