The pros and cons of hardwood.....

The last house we lived in before building our current home, was an old rental house with hardwood floors throughout. I loved the homey feel of the hardwood, and even the sounds of creaking and such when you walked on it.

The drawbacks though, was that it always looked like it needed to be swept! The darker stains show every bit of dust, lint, and hair!!! We constantly had little furry tumbleweeds floating around, and collecting around the chair legs, etc. However, when someone barfed, it was really no worry.

At the time that we moved and built our current home, I swore I would never have wood floors again .... and we installed carpeting. Well, the carpets are breeding grounds for germs, have a zillion barf and pee stains, not to mention all of the torn corners at every doorway! (my babies hate closed doors)

Sooooooo, after only 3 years in our "new" home ... the carpets really need to be replaced ... but can we afford that? NO!!!!!
My conclusion, now is that I wish I had hardwood again, and a good lightweight sweeper vacuum to pick up the tumbleweeds!

Hope this helps!