You should have a professional installer in your area take a look at your home so you can discuss what end result you are wanting. You may need to use an engineered wood. This is still an all wood product and is much more dimensionally stable than solid wood. This is a huge advantage if you are in an older home or in the midwest where humidity levels can drastically change from season to season. A solid wood will cup or curl if humidity and moisture levels are not managed. Your installer should do a moisture test before installation to make sure the installation does not fail. All warranties will be voided if this step is not taken. Also, your transitions will need to be considered. Is the new wood floor going to butt up to tile, carpet, or vinyl? The height difference in the two products will need to be taken into consideration. You will have a greater selection of thicknesses in the engineered woods. Engineered wood should be several plys, all wood. If you choose a solid wood, the hand scraped versions are fantastic for a high traffic area with children. Hickory, Red Oak, most Brazilian Species, and even Bamboo are hard enough to take everyday traffic and still look terrific. Good luck!

We are in the process of filling our gaps with pine slithers (they cam in different widths) You can buy them online. You do suffer from bald/ red knees when you hammer them in and then need to chisel them down so they are flush with the rest of the floor but it really does help. What you can also order with the pine slithers is pine saw dust with resin - you mix the two up and can fill the really narrow gaps which the slithers don't fit into. If you don't mind spending the time doing this I would recommend it yourself (especially if you're worried about costs), depending how big the surface is, and then have someone in to do the sanding. The varnishing you can also do you yourself with a normal paint roller. We also recently had a quote for sanding and varnishing and I think it came to £500 for mid size living room and 3 m length hall.

Is the house on a slab or is it raised? Wood throughout is always a gorgeous pop of color since you are leaning toward a light wall color. Here are a couple of examples of light walls with various collections we offer. The flooring comes unfinished so it is a great canvas if you wish to create a custom look!

I know exactly how you feel. I had a similar situation. The prospect of lifting the board and potentially raising the level made me wait. The wood darkened, and now I'm never fully sure where that board is. In fact, I forgot all about it till I saw this post. Wait a while. If it still bothers you in six months or a year maybe then consider lifting it. But I guarantee you won't, lol!