Laminate flooring - advice please

[IsaBisaBuildsaBoat]

I live in a period house with beautiful but trashed floorboards. They are broken, gappy, nailed down badly, etc. They look like original Victorian boards but almost certainly aren't. We could repair individual boards but would still be left with gaps - the children are forever losing lego down the gaps and it is winding us all up.

We basically need new flooring throughout the house. An architect friend told me that engineered wood is the way to go but presumably this needs sanding and maintenance and can't handle scratches etc.

I have seen two or three beautiful floors in friends' houses that, upon enquiry, turned out to be laminate. But not cheap crappy laminate that sort of crackles underfoot. Beautiful beautiful solid feeling floors that looked like new after 5 years with kids. I think I want that.

I want a sort of warm-but-grey oak, with no orange, not too dark/heavy and not too light/beachy. A flooring person said I should make sure to get v-grooved laminate to ensure the foil doesn't lift - does this sound right?

Any and all advice/recommendations welcome.

Have a look at Amtico which I think would meet your requirements. It's very hardwearing but realistic looking and you can get lookalike slate, wood and all sorts. It's used in shopping centre and hotels. Expensive though.

We've just had quickstep laminate installed and it looks amazinv . lots of people are complementing us on it.

I have quickstep down, only since August but it seems very hard wearing. Nothing has marked it.

I have to say I was slightly disappointed that it looked a bit flat, i.e. like laminate but it very practical.

I had it fitted well, had the skirting taken off and over all I am happier with it than the engineered wood it replaced. Which was trashed after three years.

We have Pergo throughout our downstairs, it still looks like new after being down 7 years and with two young children. It also has been mistaken for wood floors many times.

You are all very helpful, thank you.

I am definitely keen on the low maintenance aspect! Think I need to quiz a few of my friends IRL and inspect their floors to get a better idea of the feel underfoot and the look of them.

Thanks for brands to look into. So helpful.

Look into Karndean and Moduleo as well as Amtico. They are less expensive (but according to our builder and the local shop that stocks all 3) the quality and look is very similar. All are meant to be durable and low maintenance and look plausibly like real wood. Friends of ours had Amtico for 15 years and through 3 kids and swear by it. We are trying to choose which to go for ourselves at the moment too.