[quote=Hobie]One difference between real wood and laminate is the durability. Real wood looks best and does not have that hollow sound when you walk on it. But– it will ding, show dog nail marks, heel marks,etc. So if you have kids, laminate is the way to go.[/quote]We have kids are still went with real bamboo. Dark cherry color at that. The first dent I noticed, but after a few, I stop stressing about it. No one else notice except for me. Most people don’t go and look at your floor to see if there are any dents. Now, if you a distressed real wood flooring, then the dent and scratch will just bend right in. Also, with real wood, you you always sand it down and restain. You can’t do that with laminate.