As far as what SD Flooring Center & Design did, it was awesome and everything was wonderful--with the exception of a particular type of laminate flooring. It has a light birchwood/beachy type look, and I spent $2,200 on it. It was installed in the hallway upstairs and the staircase, and I've gotten a lot of compliments.

The installation was great, and the installer was really good because he took a long time to do it right. As far as the pattern on the laminate, a casual observer would say it is a real wood floor. To me, I see the patterns. What needs to happen is that they need more and different pieces. They should increase the piece count from four pieces to maybe 8 or 10 different pieces; they could increase the amount of laminate patterns to make it look more realistic. Then, when the installer comes in, he's not so concerned about spinning and putting them into place. Also, in particular, the flooring I got has some spots in it that make it look fabricated. They look like stamps, those little and round superficial circles on the laminate flooring.

I think that if I had known about the pattern problem, I would have been more meticulous. I would use SD Flooring Center & Design again but would be more careful about the laminate flooring, because the laminate will look fake if it is not done exactly right.