regarding the hardwood floor thread below...

[mikebw]

Carpet is nice sometimes, but it will never last as long as a wood floor. We had the top and bottom floors (with stairs) redone in carpet about 2 years ago, then this year I redid the middle level with bamboo and I kind of wish we had done that upstairs too- in the more heavily trafficked areas as the carpet pile is starting to get crushed.

Another option is cork tiles, look it up, can be very nice.