Flooring Project - Before pics

I believe it's customary to show before and after pictures of home improvement projects; otherwise how will anyone know there was any improvement? So here we go:

This is our formal living room, the first room you see upon entering the house. This was our family room furniture until after Christmas, when I decided a little experiment was in order and I switched out the two rooms. I'm happy with the result of the furniture, but we need to focus on the floors here. They're porcelain tile, and were very beautiful when we first moved into the house 10 years ago. They're a bit dull and worn now.

Here's a better view of the floor.

This is our formal dining room, directly after the living room. Same porcelain tile floors.

The family room, with what used to be the living room furniture. These sofas have been with us 11 years and still look like new. Not bad for a family of 5. Oh, and same floors. Notice also that the baseboards are actually the same tile, cut and attached to the wall. I'm dreading taking those out.

This is the family room just in front of the kitchen. There's a breakfast bar, and once again, same tile floor.

The kitchen. We renovated about 4 years ago, with new cabinets, hardware, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. We just kept the floors because, in case you haven't already noticed, they're throughout the main living area of the house which is open to every other room. If we changed the kitchen floor we had to do the rest of the floors also.

This is what I call the bedroom foyer. It's the area in front of all 3 bedrooms and one bathroom.

After looking at the pictures, some may wonder why we would want to change the floors out. In the pictures they seem to be in good condition. Guess again. The tiles have begun cracking in certain areas. Granted, they aren't as bad as some of my neighbor's tiles. Mine are hairline cracks. When tiles are laid on brand new construction floors, and the house begins to shift and settle, this is what happens:

The other thing that really bugs me is how easily these porcelain tiles crack and chip. With kids in the house someone is always dropping something, and this is what the family room floor looks like. The kitchen is worse, which is why I put an area rug in. I couldn't stand looking at it anymore.

The solution: Laminate wood flooring. I know, some people hate the idea of laminate and would not even consider it over hardwood. My reasons for laminate are simple: it's easier to install - we don't even have to remove the tile floors, just lay the laminate on top, saving lots of time. It's less expensive too - the floor we bought already has padding attached, and at $1.295 per square foot it's very economical. Then we have our state insect - the termite. Termites LOVE Florida. I, on the other hand, don't like termites. This floor is virtually indestructable - yet another plus. For my family and budget, it's the way to go.

And I absolutely love the color! They had Brazilian Cherry which is very popular, but to me it's just very dark. This flooring is called Harvest Oak, has alot of grain in it and is a medium toned wood which, in my opinion, goes with just about everything, including the furniture and fixtures we currently have.

The floor needs to acclimate for about 48 hours, which give us time to prep and remove the tile base board. I'll be posting pics as we go along , so be sure to stay tuned for more fun flooring updates!