I don't like laminate either. No matter what they say, it scratches really easily and it can't be sanded regularly, or at least not often.

In our last house we had solid wood floors and while I loved the look of them, they were a pain in terms of scratches, dents etc. The girls were not quite 2 and 3 when we moved so it wasn't like they were very rough but just pushing things along the floor made me wince.

In our current house we ripped up all the carpet in the living areas and tiled. The girls have a huge play room so there is a big rug on the floor in front of their couch and tv so they can be comfy and warm on the floor if they want to be, but the rest of the area being tiled is fantastic for keeping clean. They have a plastic table and chairs that stays on the tiles so paint, crayons, playdough etc is really easy to clean up from the floor - unlike trying to get playdough out of a rug!

The tiles are definitely colder under foot than the wood flooring was, but its not like that's a bad thing for us over in Perth most of the year anyway!!

Lenny - oooooh. I feel your pain at the vase. That's so sad.