Really hard to tell from your pictures - it could be a wax finish. If you're going to be refinishing them anyway, you didn't screw anything up. From what you've shown the floors look to be in very nice condition. If it is a wax finish, the old wax can be removed and reapplied - you might be able to avoid sanding (which would be a HUGE incentive to me!) if you'd consider having waxed floors. I had them in my old house. They do require different care than poly or acrylic urethane finishes but waxed floors glow like none other.

That line of dots leading to the fireplace are interesting. Wonder if someone did some patching at one time?

I think I see areas of bare wood that have become stained from wear/tear, along with a few water spots.
The floor could have been sealed at one time and as it wore away the owners may have switched to wax. Overall it looks to be in great condition but it definitely needs to be sanded in order to get it back to a uniform color.
If you're going to refinish it don't use any other products on it and only clean with a damp mop.

You didn't destroy your floors, but please don't use any other products on them.

To test if the floor coating was shellac - get some denatured alcohol (from Lowe's or HD) and, in a very out of the way place, wipe some of the alchohol onto the floor. If the finish comes off easily, it's shellac.

The white could very easily be water from your cleaning.

By the way, looks like you have oak floors. I think the red brick looks really good with the floors (instead of your old carpet)!

I don't think I want waxed floors. I was kind of hoping not to have to resand but I don't think we have a choice. I am getting an estimate on Tuesday for the job. THe living room is probably the only room in the house we can live without for a few days. Hopefully it won't be too expensive. I'm thinking of going just a bit lighter then it is now.
The "trail" towards the firplace is just where the staples were.
The white is not water. I have to use my fingernail to "scratch" it off, so I'm guessing it is wax. I was trying to clean it so the kids could still play on it a bit till we can get it refinished...I thought it was just yucky grime. I'll just stick with water right now to try and it clean it as best I can. But it just feels "yucky" with just the water! :)

ok we just about finished last night and here are the results. We'll be getting an estimate soon to refinish it all as there is just to much staining....

Nadine, The color of your floors now is most likely due to 2 things - the grime and stuff on them, but also the original finish got more golden as it aged. You say you want to go a bit lighter - I'd just go with a clear finish. Cleaning the wood will get it lighter.

One thing to ask the estimate folks - Have your floors been sanded alot in the past? If they have, you may find that there isn't enough wood left to properly sand again. You can check this by removing a piece of quarter round against and see the height difference between what's under the quarter round and what's left on the main floor.

What flooring do you have in your dining room? Is it an extension of the carpet? Wood? Something else?

THe flash was on while taking the pictures, so it's actually darker then what the pictures show. Maybe I'll try to take more without the flash.
I'm not sure we have anyway to test the height as there is no quarter round anyway. The baseboard was placed down before the hardwood so I can't even tell how far down it is. Sonehow I doubt the floor has been sanded a lot. THe rest of the house needs serious work so it seems like the previous owners did little to nothing to keep up with the house, so I odubt refinshing floors was high on their priority.
The dining room actually does have hardwood and it was exposed when we bought it. However, when we remodeled the kitchen and opened to the dining room we decided we wnated the same flooring throughout. Our solution was to use a laminate product that looks like tile. So the hardwood is still under there. So you owuld suggest sanding it down and just putting a clear coat on? That may actually be what is done in our hallway as it's significantly lighter (although the width of the wood is quite thinner)
Pics of hallway floor

My guess is that you have wax over a shellac or varnish finish. This was pretty common with hardwoods before polyurethane came along. The shellac protected the wood and the wax protected the shellac. Once a year or so, the wax would be washed off and a new coat applied and the floor would be buffed. This was the finish in most of the houses I grew up in.

With an electric buffer, it's not all that much work. And a shellac finish is easy to repair in spots with hard wear.

But a polyurethane finish requires even less work, once it's applied.

To check the thickness of the wood, I was going to say to pull up one of your heating vents in the floor, but I see you have baseboard heating. Is it thruout the house?

Once you, or the floor guy, pull off that metal strip holding the carpet you may be able to see the edge of the wood and learn more about the type floors you have. Ideally, it should be removed and a wood strip put in it's place.

Annz's suggestion about removing the metal strip would have been my next suggestion. Or if you can get on your hands and knees, can you see any height difference under the baseboards vs the exposed floor?

Thanks for the wax/shellac info. Maybe that's what we have.
The floor looks downright nasty when I try to wipe it clean just with a damp cloth. The dark stains really show through.
Yes we have electric heating throughout the house.
The metal strip is just the threshold holding down the carpet. There is a single piece of wood underneath it. We're currently keeping it on because it is nailed in with large nails that leave quite big holes that can hold splinters for little feet. We'll remove it just before refinishing starts.
The baseboard heating is just about on top of the flooring..barely a space beneath it so I doubt this floor has been sanded a lot. Agian, the trim was put in before the flooring so I can't see under the trim as it goes below the floor height.

If you want to try cleaning the floor, mix 50% white vinegar and 50% water in a spray bottle. Spray and rub. White Vinegar won't hurt the floors.

And after you have the floors redone, only ever use damp rags, water and vinegar to clean them. Don't waste your money on any "cleaning" products.

Ooh...I think I've solved more of this mystery. AFter taking a peak under the metal strip and noticing a small strip of darker wood right at the bottom of the stairs (where the carpet on the stairs was that we just removed too) I think ALL the wood downstairs was stained the deeper orangy color and someone along the way refinished the front hallway and the dining room down to just a clear coat and that's why they are so light. AT least that will help mw with my choice as I'd prefer the living room to be a bit darker, so I guess I should also have the hallway refinished too. DOes the refinisher give you a bunch of sample colors to choose from?

Nadine, Camlan is right on. The product used years ago was a shellac - called orange shellac. You can probably scratch the surface and get down to bare wood. The stuff is not very hard and scratches very easily. Maybe that is why hardwood most always used to be covered up with carpeting!
Anyway, many of the floors under the orange shellac are oak. If you have a good refinisher, he will know right away.
A few years ago we had all of our floors refinished. The man even put down hardwood in the foyer - and forty years later, he matched it so perfectly you cannot tell the old from the new!
Mine just has a natural stain with clear satin over it.
My son had his done several years ago and they were a wretched mess. He needed to get a darker stain as there were a lot of pet stains. A good refinsher can work miracles! The worst part was not the dust - the sanders sucked most of it up - it was the fumes right after the urethane was put down. I am so very glad we had it done.

A refinisher, at least the ones I've seen/used, don't have samples but will put sample stains on the floor after he's prepped it. You then select the color you want. It helps if you have some idea of what you're wanting ahead of time or have a sample to show the refinisher.
After you select the color you want they do a little more sanding to remove the sample and then start staining.

I agree that you should have all the hardwood done the same color. Hopefully the hallway isn't white oak and the rest red oak!

Nadine, Refinishers, like all other trades people, charge a range of prices, too. And their quality varies as well. I'd encourage you to get a few estimates and go with recommendations from people near you who have had their floors done.

A bad floor guy can really muck up floors, if the work isn't done correctly.