We live in a townhome/condominium in Chicago area and we are thinking of upgrading some areas to get our house sell ready ( we are planning of moving in a few years). Currently we have a 17 years old carpet which starts to show it's age so we were thinking of replacing it. We got a quote for carpet (1600 sqf - $10000) and it seems kind of high. We were thinking of buying hardwood and installing it ourselves but not sure yet if it's doable.
The house has 2 bedrooms (which we are not going to replace with hardwood) and the rest - dining, living room, family room - is all open space, so I will have to do the same wood everywhere. A friend suggested we go to stores and see if they have remnants, but I am not sure if I can find that much wood as leftover. I am thinking I need around 1000 sqf if I exclude the bedrooms.
Considering we want to do it ourselves we were thinking of engineered with click and lock system.
We also have around 14 stairs and 2 landings, which I am not sure how complicated it is, I haven't researched it yet.
I found the Builddirect sites and lumberjack liquidators but after reading some posts here I understood I need something else. I don't want something that will start peeling in a few years, but not high end also.
What brands/sites should I look at? Maybe suggestion for colors/wood type? Our carpet is white and with the open floor plan it looks really nice, but not sure if I install a white wood it will look the same ( a friend said the lighter the wood, the harder to maintain, as dust and everything else is much more visible than on a dark wood). We have a small dog which likes to run, so that is a factor too.

It's actually the reverse. Dark will show far more than lighter colored hardwoods. I just wonder if a whitish type wood floor would work in Chicago. Aren't color trends more on the darker side? White and lighter hardwoods do quite well in the south or near the coasts

Stairs and landings are not an easy DIY project. As far as a click lock type floor, I would not be a fan of that for resale, unless it's installed correctly. No attention to floor prep comes to mind that results in spongy or noisy floors; common with DIY jobs.

Brands? Soooo many. That $ 10,000 number averages $ 6.25 per square foot which I would consider on the lower end of quality priced by a local retail store. How much do you really want to spend? Is it worth it to put more into the project? A very nice looking floor could raise the value and help sell the place quicker.

A light gray color will mask any dust that can settle on a wood floor. This color makes rooms look bigger, also. It seems to be popular now. Try to find an engineered floor with a micro-bevel. Be prepared to complete the floor job with a
painted base board without quarter-round. You may need to plane the bottom of the base board to match the floor surface so there are no gaps. A professional looking trim will make the job.
Get a book on Trim Carpentry before you start to see if you can handle it.

If you don't do your homework and do a lousy job it could end up being worse for you when selling the house. Hire a pro.