When we stripped away all of the layers (9) of linoleum and sheet vinyl in our kitchen, we found unfinished pine flooring which had been installed diagonally to the original floors which are underneath. Because we have hardwood all the way through the house my wife really didn't want the same wood look in there too. We debated on several options but neither of us really wanted to cover the floors back up. Instead, we painted them. I used latex glazing thinned down to the point that the grain of the wood would still show through. I then taped off the floor to form a pattern of 18" squares in a checkerboard pattern. We painted half of the squares green and left the other half glazed. The flaws, cracks, and knots show through even on the painted squares. When it was all painted and completely dry, I distressed the finish with a sanding block. I knocked off some of the edges and created places where the natural color of the wood could show through. I then added five coats of water based poly. It looks like it has been there since 1880 when the house was built. It turned out just as my wife wanted, which is what really matters.

Even if you are not doing high gloss, if you are doing three coats, do the first two coats in high gloss, then top with satin or sem-gloss (whichever your choice). I did a living room about three years ago, wanted semi-gloss and used it for all coats. A few months after, I learned about using the high gloss for the bottom coats. The reason for this is that there are additives to the poly to make the semi-gloss or satin look (think milky looking). By using the high gloss for the undercoats, you are allowing all of the grain of the wood to show through. Take my word for it - my floors are little more "opaque" or milky looking than I would like. I learned this from several sources of professional woodworkers. Just wish I had found that little tid-bit of info before I did mine. Tuesday

When it comes to hardwood, trends are something to ignore! Why? Because hardwood is pretty much a lifetime purchase, and unless yours is damaged in some way, you're probably not going to replace it. So, light wood vs. dark wood, wide planks vs. narrow planks -- that stuff's all going to come and go. With that in mind -- as well as the very real concerns about cleaning dark wood -- I'll vote for a nice, neutral midtone every time. Not too much contrast, not too red, and (unless it's a beach house) not too pale. I think this is the wood that's most likely to give you good service and stand the test of time.

@Brian Adamczak I had to redo The Entire Floor by hand. I did not re-sand, instead I put on a second coat of Rubio to make the whole floor shiny. This is because I could never get the shiny spots to dull and become matte. I tried everything! My steps were: apply 2nd coat of Rubio chocolate product, wait 5 minutes wipe up as much as possible with a terry cloth towel by hand use a clean terry cloth towel under a handheld sander (Black & Decker Mouse Detail Sander) and get more of the product up and out use a Viva - like cloth - paper towel under the handheld sander to get the last bit of product up and out of the floor. I went through about 20 rolls for 1250 sqft. did not walk on the floor for 7 days I was (am) frustrated with Rubio Monocoat for not being honest about the situation and resolve. I spoke with them at length a dozen times. They were in denial of the problem - even though it happens quite often when you start asking around. Rubio does not recommend applying a second coat. But the problem was that the shinny spots (1% of the floor) soaked up more oil. Therefore I had to get the rest of the floor (99%) to also soak up more oil. It was all about making the sheen uniform with oil. Note, doing 2 coast did darken the color a bit. To be honest, I prefer the matte look over the shiny. In the end the upstairs has 2 coast and is shinny & darker. Downstairs has 1 coat and is matte and lighter. But the extra oil in the wood upstairs makes it more water spot resistant (that is helpful, because upstairs is where the kitchen is.) Whereas, downstairs with 1 coat, there is a tendency for the floor to spot when water gets on the wood. My goodness it was a lot of work. Best of luck!