small room and laminate

most people will tell you a lighter color will make a room look larger,i'm not sure i agree.what i would do is make sure the room has good lighting,and paint the walls white. you can run the planks top to bottom ,or side to side,whatever you think looks best,(without seeing the room i run them the long way) most laminatates are the same width (about 7" ) to keep the cost down home depot has laminate from $1.99 sf on up,laminate is fairly easy to install yourself,so you can save the money on labor.good luck

If budget is an issue, laminate is the way to go as it is less expensive and it is an easy do it yourself project.

You can go to a big box store such as home depot or ***** , however, many smaller retailers run great deals on close outs etc.. and you may find some good deals there. look in your yellow pages for flooring stores near you.

when laying out a floor there are two things to consider. laying it out ACROSS a room will make it look WIDER. laying it parallel to the longer walls will make the room LONGER. so, depending on what you want to achieve, the layout is up to you. one important note, if you decide to go with a real wood floor, you should kay it in the OPPOSITE direction of the floor joists.

in terms of making a room larger nothing beats a light toned floor (maple or natural oak) with a pale color on the walls

in fact, i think on the www.bruce.com website you can play with different floor and wall color choices.

have fun!

If you are looking for a different look and want to make the room look even larger consider laying the flooring diagonally.

The long run on the diagonal will make the room look longer usually. This of course requires a little more skill and results in a little more waste but the effect can be stunning if your room lends to it.

Franklyn
Http://www.WoodFloorist.com

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. Any thoughts on quick-step?
They have a laminate planking that looks nice on the website but haven't priced it.

Thanks In Advance!
Gretchen