The Joy of Having Hard Wood

While there are those who's preference leans towards a plushy carpet you can sink into, mine has always been towards hard wood.  Let's be honest here, good hard wood will last forever, carpeting, however, usually only lasts as long as the padding, and once that padding is gone... well... need I say more?  Hard wood is durable.  Spill something on it?  Wipe it up, quick and simple.  Spill something on carpet and you might be blotting for days, and, of course, then you have to worry about staining.  I have hard wood, I also have dogs, big dogs with big nails, so I know the definition of durable.  And I have the real stuff, not the faux hard wood.  You know what I'm talking about, the engineered hard wood, which is designed for those who want the look and lesser price.  The problem with this product is that it is only so thick, approximately 3/8 inch (4.5 mm) at best.  In other words, if you have the faux wood, don't scratch it... at all, because there's nothing there to sand away.  When I worked in paint, a week didn't pass in which I wasn't showing some distraught customer 'stain markers' in order to fix a 'problem.'  They don't work.
In this area, Brazilian Cherry is a very popular hard wood because it's a bit pricey.  Face it, if you want to brag about your wood, you'd better make sure it's top quality.  I had a customer about 2 weeks ago who was upset because we didn't carry samples of Brazilian Cherry.  As I talked to him, I realized he was more interested in the faux wood,  That's right, he wanted to boast about how great his wood was, when, in fact, it wasn't nearly as hard as he wanted people to believe.

This is Brazilian Cherry

Personally, I prefer bamboo.  Fast grower, you know?  Self-replenishing.  Bamboo is great!  Ten minutes after harvesting, it's big again.  Over and Over again.  Non-stop!  Talk about a joy to behold.  Let there be bamboo!