skip to main content

Dark stain on Red Oak v. White Oak Flooring

13 years ago

We are having the hardwood installed in the kitchen starting today. Does White Oak take stain differently than Red Oak?

I want to go with a dark stain, either Jacobean or Dark Walnut.

Featured Answer

sas95

13 years ago

We have Jacobean stain on our red oak kitchen floors and on the white oak floors upstairs. They do take stain somewhat differently, but I can't say that one is better or worse than the other. There are no red undertones in our Jacobean red oak floors.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

nini804
13 years ago
I have a Jacobean/walnut stain mixture on my floors, and our builder suggested white oak would take the stain better, especially since I wanted NO red undertones. HTH!
0
Related Discussions
Can you match white oak s floors with red oak floors?
Q
Comments (6)
Same here. I extended my carpeted area to hardwood flooring. My contractor put new red oak in place of white oak and the stain stick out like a soar thumb. I don't know what to do. We haven't poly'ed yet. Any suggestions please?
...See More
Red Oak vs White oak - natural or stained
Q
Comments (7)
I like White Oak better than Red. It works better with a certain color pallette and is less grainy when stained. I have natural color White Oak in my master bedroom. Traditionally flooring here was White Oak when stained, Red Oak when natural, but that's going quite a long way back. Two things to consider. 1) The floor in the pictures looks almost certain to be #1 Common grade. White Oak will have some substantial color variations, especially in a grade lower than Select. 2) $1.00 per square foot additional for staining sounds like a lot. We charge $0.30 per square foot to go from natural to a standard stain. It takes a bit more time to make sure you've sanded out the small scratches that typically wouldn't show up on a natural floor, but you're not adding an extra coat. You're simply applying stain instead of clear for the first coat. I could see if it was a small area and might require lots of samples but not 2000'. Maybe he's charging for the stain as a separate added operation and still applying the same number of surface coats. Or possibly he uses a better (ie more costly) crew to do the stain jobs. Or maybe I'm not charging enough!
...See More
Deciding on a Dark Stain for Red Oak Floors...Dark Walnut or Jacobean?
Q
Comments (3)
It looks like you already have a medium stain (?Provincial?) on there so you are aware it will be lighter than any of the options you are looking at. Because you want to get away from 'red/orange' tones (as seen in your photo), I HIGHLY recommend you work with the Jacobean side of things. Just like in the make-up industry, floor stains use GREEN based stains to 'hide' or cover red tinges. Jacobean is green based. Jacobean is often used to create a mix of colour. The green base of Jacobean is used (50:50 or 25:75) to get rid of the red AND to darken a colour. This is normal. It is done all the time (by skilled refinishers). I'm not fond of Ebony. It can go down VERY dark (so dark it looks like black paint). Dark walnut might pull a bit to reddy-orange (browns are made up of reds and oranges and blues, etc). Be prepared to ask for a custom mix. And to stay away from orange all together you MUST WORK with a water based polyurethane. That means you MUST HAVE a coat of finish applied to the samples BEFORE you choose. This is normal. It is natural. It is 'industry standard'. Never, ever pick a stain colour without a coat of your finish (in your gloss level) over top. And make sure you view the stain patches through ALL 5 lighting situations. I like to see stain patches put down on Friday (with a coat of finish) and then the homeowners view it over the weekend. You tell the refinisher what you want on Saturday. The full staining process starts on Monday. That's the IDEAL way to do this.
...See More
Custom stain on red oak to match Bona Natural Seal on white oak!?
Q
Comments (5)
You might read about Bona Red Out and enter "Bona Red Out" in the 'Search Houzz' box at the top of this webpage to view past discussions on the topic.
...See More
Related Professionals
El Sobrante Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · San Jacinto Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Adelphi Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Artondale Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Glade Hill Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Linton Hall Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Port Orange Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Rancho Cordova Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Thonotosassa Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Citrus Heights Cabinets & Cabinetry · Parsippany Cabinets & Cabinetry · Whitney Cabinets & Cabinetry · Wells Branch Cabinets & Cabinetry · Channahon Tile and Stone Contractors · Farragut Tile and Stone Contractors
finestra
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks! I am thinking along the lines of Jacobean because I don't want any red tones either with my light blue kitchen!
0
poohpup
13 years ago
I just had my red oak floors redone and wanted to tone down the red tones too. I wanted a light color and went with a medium brown stain with a hint of black and lots of neutral. It looked great on the fairly large sample they did in the middle of the kitchen. But, I have to say, I'm a tad disappointed because some of the boards are very red and some parts of the floor still have those red tones. If I was installing new floors, I'd definitely would not have chosen red oak.
0
breezygirl
13 years ago
I went with white oak also because I didn't want red undertones. My flooring co said red oak will usually have red undetones regardless of what color stain is applied. Mine are stained with a mix of 75% Jacobean and 25% Coffee Black (similar to Dark Walnut from the more common stain company). I love them! Not so dark that the show every single speck of dust or cat hair. That sounds like a cleaning nightmare to me!

And shout out to Nini whose floor is my inspiration. She graciously supplied her formula to me so I could try to replicate her beautiful floors!
Bunny
13 years ago
I have a four-year-old unstained red oak floor. No denying its inherent redness. However, it has provided the much needed warmth (fire down below!) that my white and dark gray kitchen cried out for. I don't consider it a neutral at all.

Related Stories

WOOD Woodipedia: Make a Solid Choice With Oak

By Marci Crestani

Forget those low-end products of old. Red and white oak today are beautiful, versatile and relatively inexpensive

REMODELING GUIDES Renovation Material: Cerused Oak

By Rachel Grace

This traditional material adds welcome texture to the sleek surfaces of modern furniture, cabinetry and more

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: A New Home Honors a Historic Neighborhood

By Becky Harris

Stained glass, red oak floors and other traditional details give a newly built home in Texas an antique feel that fits right in

REMODELING GUIDES Your Floor: An Introduction to Solid-Plank Wood Floors

Get the Pros and Cons of Oak, Ash, Pine, Maple and Solid Bamboo

KITCHEN OF THE WEEK Kitchen of the Week: Goodbye, Honey Oak — Hello, Minty Green

By Mitchell Parker

After more than 30 years, the Kloesels revamped their space to reflect their rural country town and Victorian-style home

KITCHEN DESIGN Kitchen of the Week: Red Energizes a Functional White Kitchen

By Becky Harris

A client’s roots in the Netherlands and desire for red countertops drive a unique design

KITCHEN DESIGN Kitchen of the Week: A Dark Kitchen Brightens Up

By Mary Jo Bowling

A cooking space honors the past while embracing the present

KITCHEN DESIGN Kitchen of the Week: Industrial Design’s Softer Side

Dark gray cabinets and stainless steel mix with warm oak accents in a bright, family-friendly London kitchen

DECORATING GUIDES What Goes With Dark Wood Floors?

By Laura Gaskill

Avoid a too-heavy look or losing your furniture in a sea of darkness with these ideas for decor pairings

REMODELING GUIDES Light Wood vs Dark Wood

By Margaret Everton

See What Shades of Wood Can Do for a Space

Sponsored

Boss Design Center

33 Reviews

Reputable Home Renovation Company Serving Northern Virginia

More Discussions

Need help with kitchen design

4

What would be a good paint color for my kitchen?

4

Space behind the kitchen sink

5

Countertop install - what to look for

2

Backsplash help

3