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Help! What color to stain white oak floors?

14 years ago

Hi everyone!

We are refinishing the floors in the fixer-upper we just bought. My problem is that the floors are white oak, and all the samples we've seen are in red oak. Our floor guy is going to do a few samples for us, but I was hoping to get some feedback first, so I could narrow it down to a few possibilities!

About our house: It's a small, 1940's bungalow. It is a bit dark, and the floors are currently a medium brown. Pretty much everyone who has seen them thinks we should go lighter; generally, I prefer darker floors, but I don't want to deal with the maintenance, and I do really want the house to feel brighter. I want to avoid that 80's orangey-oak look though! A few people have recommended just scraping them and not staining. This sounds like a good option, but some of the floors are a bit different (the living and dining rooms have varied 4-8" thick boards with grooves in between, while the hall and bedrooms are consistent 2" strips without grooves), and I want to make sure we keep a consistent color throughout. As for the walls/windows, our trim is white, and most of the rooms are neutrals (Kelly-Moore Wise Owl and Oyster).

Anyway, anyone have white oak floors out there that they love? Any tips about how certain stains look in white oak versus red? Any feedback on just scraping and not staining?

Thank you so much!!!

kate

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Comments (5)

lesmis
14 years ago
We have quartersawn white oak floors that have no stain and just an aluminum oxide finish for protection...they were pre-finished in a very matte finish we specified to be put on at the mill. The quarter sawing changes the appearance of the grain so they may look a little different from yours unless yours are also quartersawn? We love the color and though they do scratch a little (we have two VERY active larger dogs, a Border Collie and and English Shepherd)the lighter color hides the scratches so far and doesn't show a lot of dirt.

Night shot with flash

Daylight with no flash

Good luck!

Kat :)
lesmis
14 years ago
Oops I should have mentioned that ours is NOT select grade white oak so it may have a bit more color variation in it compared to #1 or select grade oak which may be what is in your house if it's older.

Kat :)
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First off I don't see anything wrong but it is your house? The quality of the wood will dictate the finished look. You have a very skinny plank with many shades mixed in which usually means a lower end floor. Think about it, the more time the mfg has to pick and match wood tones the more uniform the floor will look and of course cost. I am not even sure that is white oak? It can be a stretch of the word as theater are planks that are not white oak and most do not look like white oak. When you stain wood it will LOOK EXACTLY as it does before the stain but with a different tone. The only way around this is a very dark gel type stain to even out sap wood. You have a lot of sap wood mixed in which again goes back to the quality of the wood. I am in no way saying you have a cheap floor but when you see pics of a perfect grain matched one tone floor it took a lot of money and labor to get to it. You have a nice floor get the 80's thing out of your head and enjoy.
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You will have to test sample boards in the space to achieve the look you wish. However, I agree with Diana Bier Interiors, the gray is quite trendy and gray is on its way out. Have you considered a "natural" look? Not sure what other elements are in your space, but white oak with a natural finish is really beautiful.
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kwb1999
Original Author
14 years ago
Wow! Those are BEAUTIFUL!!! I will have to check on the grade of ours. I hope it is the same as yours!!! Thanks so much for sharing your pictures, Kat. They make me feel much more confident about going without stain!

kate
judiegal6
14 years ago
We also chose to leave our white oak natural with a satin finish. We also put a board of a different type around the perimeter, that wood is also its natural color.

{{!gwi}}
User
14 years ago
I don't have a photo right now, but we have white oak in our house also, natural finish. I think it is pretty golden brown, mine is kind of like Judiegal's above. I like the natural variation in wood.

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