Advice on hardwood flooring please?

I am on a limited budget and while I want my floors to look beautiful, I'd also like to be thrifty. I know nothing about hardwood flooring except that I want real wood. Can I cut costs with substituting wood varieties, grade etc. (I really don't know about wood "grades") I am looking to put down flooring in my bedroom (12X16), my foyer, dining roon (12X10) my kitchen (12X14). I know what stain color I want, though- a Jacobean stain I saw. I love darker colors. I don't want a lot of "knots" in the wood, either. Can anyone give me any advice on how to get nice looking floors that don't look cheap, but don't break me? Thanks a lot!

Public Comments

1. I would suggest going in to a home improvement store and looking at the samples. If you're concerned about price, look at the engineered floor panels. They are real wood and prefinished with a very durable coat and stain. They are cheaper because only the surface layer is the beautiful hardwood ... the underneath layers are other strong woods that are less expensive and not attractive, but you won't see them when they're installed. Where they are prefinished, they have a better coating on it than you can do without a license in most states.
2. BUY 1 WOOD FROM THE OUT LET STORE ITS EASY TO INSTALL AND QUICK.