What flooring would you recommend? (not carpet)

[TooMuchRain]

We are moving house and the one we are thinking of buying is modern and currently has carpets everywhere except kitchen and bathrooms (they are tiled which is ok) and conservatory (ugly laminate). We really don't like carpets and want to replace them and the laminate but we will probably move again in about 5 years so we don't want to make a huge investment or put down something that will put off buyers. Any ideas??

I have found Karndean (sp?) a very good alternative to laminate as I am not a fan of laminate really but we can't have wooden floorboards at the moment due to noise issues.

Thanks, I've heard that mentioned before so will definitely look into it.

What worries me a bit is choosing something that has been very popular so far but is going to look dated when we try and re-sell. Our current house is older and we just took the carpets up and sanded the floorboards which are lovely and never really had to think about it.

it is worth remembering that access to pipes and cables may mean you need access to the space under the floor.

Electricians and plumbers hate people with floors that "can't come up"

Often a hatch will do, and is easy to arrange before the new flooring goes down.

That's useful to know thanks PigletJohn, I think I'll try and go to look at some karndean this weekend

bamboo
access hatch to floor space is under the mat well....

My mum had carpet in the bathroom to allow access under the floor. It has now been there 40 years and never needed to be taken up!

Does your bamboo look like bamboo? I had a a quick look and it seemed to be a material that is stained to look like other wood but not sure if that's the norm.

Its Bamboo.
www.simplybamboo.co.uk/product_details.php?category_id=0&item_id=134
www.simplybamboo.co.uk/page.php?page=prodfaq
it looks like nothing else. Because its effectively giant three year old grass stems

TalkinPeace Did you use this company for your bamboo floor? And are you happy with them?

I honestly cannot remember who I used - it was nearly 5 years ago - but the product is the same and I LOVE it.
My chippy fitted the floor. Its covered in dinks and scratches as we are a hiking boots house and I still LOVE it.

I've requested some sample from them, I have an excellent man who can lay it. I guess I will have a shop around and see who is offering what!

I was going to put in walnut, but we are a house with 4 dogs, shortly most likely to be 5 not to mention children and I'm quite attracted to the toughness.

It won't stay pristine - nothing will in my house, but this sounds quite hardy.

I shall ponder some more....