My parents just put laminate hardwood and ceramic tiles all over our house. And lemme tell you, are they so glad!! Not only does it look way nicer, it smells much better!! Not saying that my parents house smelled nasty, but you know the dog smell I'm talking about! I would recommend laminate over hardwood to someone who has young children, constant traffic in their house, and are really worried about accidents (scratches, marks, dog accidents, KID accidents, lol) messing up the floor.
