Hello Michelle & HomeOne.
I'm not quite sure where to post this, because it's both a flooring and interior decoration question.
So 3 days ago, my dad walked into the house after some intense gardening, to find our living room/powder/laundry flooded by about 2cm's of hot water. A pipe had burst from under the powder room vanity and consequently leaked into the house. This, wouldn't be so bad if the living room were tiled, however we installed a timber floating floor about 7 years ago along with a new kitchen. So the floors have swelled up and all the living areas need replacing to avoid mismatching, etc.
We're a bit stuck as to whether to go darker or lighter, or even what kind of wood. There isn't all that much natural light at the rear of the house except during dusk as most of the back windows face west, plus an extension means that there is hardly ANY natural light in that room for most of the day. Anyways, pictures tell a better story than words so i'l leave it up to you guys for advice. Just one preference, not TOO light - and needs to be a sturdy species of wood.
Sorry, i don't really know how to upload .... or resize!
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/3237/p1010940c.jpg
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2530/p1010947d.jpg
note: Please excuse any mess or evidence that people live here