Before I got to the part about the "other" tile you found my very 1st thought was, "Uh OH, dogs slip on tile so bad! Especially when they get old & their legs begin to go. Speaking from experience here. Ours was more the slippery type & I will not do it again. When my parents were alive & came to visit I made a rule for them --- no stocking feet --- barefoot or shoes because the tile can be slippery for elderly folks as well as dogs.

Go with your second (now your 1st choice --- you'll be glad you did!

Another thought Mary.
We all have to do what our budget dictates so having said that I'm just going to throw this one out there.

My best friend, a "hobby" dog breeder put this in her home 8 years ago. She says she would do it all over again. The flooring is a bit pricey BUT the installation is $1 sq. ft.

http://nafco.com/Default.aspx?...

I've seen it & felt it. It's AMAZING! You really can't tell it's not wood until you get down & examine closely. It does have good texture to it. More non slip than any tile I've ever seen. My friend, being a breeder, gets puppy piddles, & poos & all the punishment dogs can give a floor. She has at any given time from 6 to 11 dogs & they are not "kennel" dogs. They are raised in the house. The stuff looks as good as the day it was installed. Lots of doggy nails have hit that floor! As a breeder too, she has concerns of bacteria, virus (parvo etc...) getting in the grout of tile. Real concerns for a responsible breeder. Maybe not so much for you & I. I plan putting this in our house. I have had tile for 20 years & it doesn't take long (6 mos.) for dirt to discolor the grout no matter what you do. (I had silver/grey grout) You are in colder country & let me tell you tile is COLD in the winter! The Nafco flooring is much warmer feeling in the winter. They make a # of styles/finishes. Hers is sort of what you would call a "rough sawn" type/look & it really does have great texture for non skidness factors.

Ann, if I can't buy it with my big-box-store credit card, I can't get it. Have to save the available cash to pay the install guy.

Oh, I understand that kind of stuff very well! Been there, done that & most likely will again. Sigh.

But I LOVE the tile you found & you will be very happy with it. It's not like I was saying tile sucks because it doesn't at all. And it will be sooooooo nice not to have to deal with carpet! Personally, I can't stand carpet. But many people love it.

Yeah, it sucks to be grown-up sometimes... (although if I were truly grownup, I wouldn't be going in debt for it at all, according to some folks). I figure - buy all the tile now, and install it a bit at a time. MBR/hall this spring with my tax refund, secondary bedrooms either in fall (bonus $$) or next spring, and kitchen/bathrooms last because the linoleum is still holding its own.

I can rip up the old carpet and all, so the install guy will just need to install my backer board and the tile (I do great at demo but suck at precision-type stuff).

Yes, you HAVE to buy it all at one time & make SURE the lot #'s match. Can't buy it piecemeal because it won't match. That's what we did with our house. We bought all the tile but couldn't afford to have it installed & like you, well, we figured we'd suck at laying tile. So we walked on concrete slab for 9 months. Felt really strange mopping concrete. Now it's all the rage. Go figure!

yeesh - didn't think about lot numbers - thanks!

That will be a challenge, cause I have to buy it from 2 different stores to have it all.

Well, if you can't find all the same lot #'s then you'll have to break it down by rooms; figuring out which room or rooms are more separated from the others so the difference in tile coloration is not so apparent. You might have to put a threshold between the hall & BR doorways so it creates a break in the run of tile & then the color diff. will not be so apparent.

Makes sense. Can use the odd colors in closets, too.. who ever really looks at a closet floor?

Love your choice of tile. I will say by all means buy all you need initially. My luck would be, I'd never find more when needed.

I ripped the carpet from our bedroom due to foundation problems. I have resisted flooring (living with concrete) as I'd love tile and DH wants laminate flooring. I also want (and this you might consider) radiant heat strips in the floor under the tile. Can be done ~ if I win the lottery ~ I guess.

Good luck with the project.

I also like the looks of the hand scraped flooring. Is it pricey?

Thanks! The more I look at that large porcelain tile, the more I like it :-)

Couldn't find prices on the hand-scraped. I'm considering radiant heat for when I do the bathroom floors. Not sure I'd want it anywhere else.

Pod, if you're talking about the "wood look" planks. It is a bit pricey. They have 3 levels --- sort of good, better & commercial. The commercial is I think around $3.40 s.f. then $1 s.f. to lay & you want a pro to lay it.

There are other brands out there now. I just know my friend has been so happy with this one she got. But Home Depot & Lowe's & virtually everywhere now have lots of brands in that stuff. Don't know the quality of those brands but you can do a Google to see reviews.