And the winner is...

...the darker wood. It actually ended up a little darker than the sample, but that's okay. We like it, and we'll like it even more once it's installed. For about a week, our rooms were nice, big, open spaces. And, by some strange miracle (called Kilz), the smell is gone! Seriously. Gone. If you've been to my house or seen pictures of the carpet, you know what a big accomplishment this is. Since we tore up the carpet I've wondered if it will ever really go away. The Kilz... All I can say is wow. There just isn't a smell anymore. Now I'm confident that when all the carpet is gone - meaning from the bedrooms, too - our house will smell like us, instead of dog.

Now the living/dining room looks like this (usually without Brad in the picture, though) because the wood floors have to become acclimated to our home. For two weeks. I guess this makes it less likely to expand and contract and be problematic once it's installed. But it's here, and some day soon we'll have floors again.