I still am very happy with the hardwood but doesn't mean I might not have liked the laminate just as well or better. Hardwood does scratch but I don't really let that worry me. The only drawback I have seen is that Little Bit slides when she is going for the ball we've thrown. At first, she would slide right into the x pen or wall but now she has learned to gauge her sliding distance and usually doesn't hit anything. The other problem is that if she gets real excited jumping up and down on her hind legs, sometimes her paws go out from under her and she takes a pretty good fall. But all in all, I'd not put carpet back for sure. I thought I was keeping a pretty clean house until I saw what was under the carpet. I just like the idea of knowing my floor is actually clean.
I'm sure you will love the laminate as well. Its just a hard clean surface instead of hidden lurking dangers in the carpet.
Also, in the interest of full disclosure, yes, without rugs, your house will be colder and noisier. Down here in the south, the cold hasn't really been a problem and before Little Bit, I did have area rugs that could be easily cleaned or replaced if necessary. Since Little Bit is not yet (if ever)
perfectly potty trained, the rugs have had to go. Little Bit can't seem to tell the difference between a throw rug and a pee pad.